A lot has happened to Talha wine since it teetered on the edge of extinction a decade ago.
Portugal’s ancient answer to modern Amphora wine making managed a paltry 700 litres in 2010, produced by a handful of dreamy eyed romantics trying their best to keep the last threads of Roman winemaking technology from drifting out of reach forever.
This year Alentejo’s production should easily top 80,000 bottles of ‘officially’ certified Vinho de Talha DOC with another 60,000 declassified as Talha made ‘Amphora’ wine.
Currently at least 15 professional producers are focused on Talha wine, with more in early stages of experimentation. Restaurants have opened again, with Talha serving homemade wine to customers, families and hobbyists are making wine again, new museums and interpretive centers and tasting rooms have opened up, jobs and affluence are on the rise, villages have scrubbed up and things are looking good.
November’s yearly Amphora Day event has gone from 20 to 40 to 60 exhibitors, establishing it as ‘ground zero’ for clay pot winemakers from around the world. Talha wine has been nothing short of transformative.