Deborah Heath is Assoc. Prof. of Anthropology at Lewis & Clark College, Portland, OR. Her research on the cultural significance of terroir has included foie gras production, and now focuses on natural/biodynamic wine. She has conducted extensive field research in France, Sicily and the US.

Jeff Vejr is Creator & Host at drinkSNOB.tv (Sustainable, Natural, Organic, Biodynamic®), Portland, OR. An importer of small-production wines, he has launched and worked with several restaurants and wine bars, and currently curates the wine list at Sauvage Wine Bar, Portland, OR.

Deborah and Jeff will be delivering a talk titled:

Re-Inventing Tradition: Qvevris, Amphorae, Concrete Eggs, and the Natural Wine Movement 

Wine fermentation vessel history began with Georgia’s qvevri, and its later variants, the amphorae and pithos of the Phoenicians, Etruscans, and Greeks. Contemporary winemakers associated with the natural wine movement have re-invented tradition, fermenting wine in clay amphorae and egg-shaped concrete vessels. We offer an overview of these experiments and their impact on wine tourism, with case studies in Sicily, Spain, and the U.S.