In the Department of "What's Old is New Again"

This is one of the coolest art and wine projects ever.

If you've been to Saracina winery in Hopland, you may have heard about their new fermentation vessels - terracotta - which is how it was done back in the day. As in like ancient times. But it's the new hip thing.

John Fetzer and friends hit upon the idea of getting clay vessels made that would echo the forms of modern stainless steel tanks. And so they ordered custom clay pipes - the kind used in heavy construction projects - for wine fermentation, customized a bit.

With the help of a California College of Art student, they went a step further, commissioning ancient style figurines to sit atop the buried fermentation tanks (that take advantage of cool underground temps). 

These are photos from the delivery in December 2010. 

Read the whole, fascinating story here.

And enjoy the pics.

These sit on top of the buried fermentation tanks.