Wine Chiller with Leaf Imprint

Old world technology meets the 21st century. Wine Chillers were originally made before electricity and refrigeration. They were made of bisque ware (low fired and unglazed pottery like a typical flower pot). Dunk bisque ware in a bucket of water and the water will soak into the pot. If you would place a wine bottle inside a water soaked wine chiller, the evaporation around the bottle would cool it slightly. A plate was also needed to keep the water from dripping out onto your table. Today, we glaze our wine chillers and fire then to stoneware temperatures. High fired glaze makes it safe to freeze the chiller (or just leave it in your freezer for ready use) and beautifies your chiller with bright colors. Place your chilled wine bottle in your frozen wine chiller and it will stay chilled on your table without ice. I make the chillers so that at least a standard 3 inch diameter wine bottle will fit. Contact me know if you need a larger size.

Wine chillers, with a leaf, are made through a process called wax resist. First I impress, or roll a live green leaf into the soft clay. The leaf burns away during the first kiln firing leaving an impression. Then I paint wax over the leaf impression and glaze the rest of the pot. The wax burns off showing the natural leaf impression underneath.