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More than 2,000 years after the Romans made the switch from terracotta amphora to wooden barrels for shipping and storing wine, the Italians are once again at the forefront of wine technology. In an “everything old is new again” twist on using oak as a primary vessel for fermentation and aging, two different Italian companies, Clayver and Tava, are providing winemakers around the globe with ceramic barrels that, unlike oak barrels and unfinished earthenware amphora, provide a neutral environment for winemaking and maturation, allowing the grapes to speak for themselves. And the result is a style of wine more consumers are reaching for today.

“What sets them apart is their

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