Winery tours have become increasingly boring over the last few decades. The rows of stainless steel tanks and stacks of beautiful new French Oak barrels became the norm. Of course, as the wineries became boring — so did the wines.

The wines increasingly became the product of the vessels and additives, not the vineyard where the grapes were grown. Modern technology was so ubiquitous in the cellar that shiny tanks and new barrels became the norm — the traditional way of winemaking.

Clearly, this is not based on historical winemaking. Clay vessels, concrete, large well-used wood tanks and barrels were used to make the wines that made Bordeaux, Burgundy and Barolo famous names long before the first stainless steel tank arrived.

Not to say that there were not a lot of problems. I well remember the bretty wines from revered wineries a few decades ago. Yet, even if those wines had faults, they were at least authentic. As Nicolas Joly notes, “Until the end of the 1950s not all wines were good, far from it, but almost all of them were authentic.”

We’re at the end of a five-year complete replant of our vineyard at Troon in Oregon’s Applegate Valley. It was an intense project. Our goal in all this work and investment was to make wines that reflected this vineyard, this soil, and this place — authentic Applegate Valley wines.

So what’s old is new in the cellar at Troon Vineyard. Over the last few years, new amphorae have arrived, old foudré were found and concrete tanks are arriving this year to join the neutral French Oak barrels we buy from friends in the Willamette Valley.

In this episode of Troon Talk, Troon Vineyard winemaker Nate Wall discusses alternative vessels for alternative wines in-depth.