Dimensions
D 18 cm · H 23 cm
First Collector's Edition · Calassi × AYA Estate
AYA · MELNIK
Meet the wine before you taste it.
Ships worldwide by DHL, in a protective hard case.
Flavour is more than taste. It is the work of all our senses, carrying us through memory, imagination and time.
Maria Baleva, M.Arch.
From wine to form
How the shape tells the story of the wine Every decision of form, glaze and texture answers a specific note in the wine — grounded in crossmodal correspondence research.
The translation · at a glance
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Age · structure · tanninBroad, weighted base
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Mature cherry · dark fruitDeep ruby-earth glossy glaze
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Earth · tobacco · forest floorWarm, layered mineral depth
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MaturityGlaze breaking to a pale raw base
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Opens and evolves with airAsymmetric, open neck
The full reading
Age, structure and tannin → a broad, weighted base
A broad, weighted base carries the wine's age, structure and tannin — the fullness of a mature red held in a stable form.
Mature cherry and dark fruit → a deep ruby-earth glossy glaze
A deep ruby-earth gloss reflects the wine's mature cherry and dark fruit, ripe and settled rather than youthful.
Earth, tobacco and forest floor → a warm, layered mineral depth
Warm mineral tones layer through the surface, echoing the wine's earth, tobacco and forest-floor character.
Maturity → a glaze breaking to a pale raw base
The glaze breaks towards a pale, raw base, marking the wine's maturity — the fruit giving way to earth and structure.
A wine that opens with air → an asymmetric, open neck
An asymmetric, open neck makes room for the wine to breathe, opening and evolving with air and time.
Congruence check
The broad, weighted base and deep ruby-earth glaze carry the wine's structure and mature fruit, while the glaze breaks towards a raw mineral base and the neck opens — making room, like the wine, to keep evolving with air and time.
Specification
The vessel, in detail
Capacity
750 ml (recommended)
Colours
Ruby red, red-brown, sandy
Glaze
Deep ruby-earth gloss · pale raw base
Material
Warm white porcelain, food-safe coloured glazes, fired at 1200 °C. Dense, durable, non-porous.
Edition
Handcrafted porcelain · Made in Bulgaria · First Collector's Edition with AYA Estate · signed Maria Baleva, M.Arch.
A vessel created for
Created for Ayano Melnik 2020. Made to live beyond it.
Mature, structured red wines with developed tannin and earthy, evolving complexity — at their best with air and time.
The wine it is created for
View the wine on AYA Estate
Ayano Melnik 2020, Old Vintage Collection
2020 · SHIROKA MELNISHKA · MELNIK
Ripe cherry and sour cherry woven with earth and tobacco, and the herbal warmth of late autumn in Melnik.
Terroir
S. Harsovo, the Melnik Triangle. Shiroka Melnishka Loza, an endemic variety found only here; sandy soils near the ancient volcano of Rupite.
Colour
Deep, mature ruby with earthy tones.
Aroma
Ripe cherry and sour cherry, with earth, tobacco and herbal, spicy notes.
Palate
Distinctly fruited and structured — ripe cherry woven with earth and tobacco, on developed tannin.
Finish
Long and evolving, herbal and spiced, warm with late-autumn Melnik character.
Serve at
16–18 °C
A wine untouched by oak, holding on to the freshness of its fruit aroma. The taste is distinctly fruited, and delicate nuances of ripe cherry and sour cherry weave gently into a sense of earth and tobacco. The herbal, spicy notes typical of the variety return the mind to the warmth of late autumn in Melnik.
The ritual
The wine, met with the senses awake
A Calassi vessel works on the moment before the wine — the anticipation. Form, colour and texture wake the senses before the first pour, and the act of serving becomes part of how the wine is met. Poured into the glass, the wine arrives to senses already prepared. The cooling system holds an ideal temperature through the whole ritual, from opening to the last glass.
The system · three ways
The vessel, the cooler, or the whole system The vessel stands on its own. The cooler is a dedicated companion, available separately.
Designed to hold the wine at an ideal serving temperature throughout the ritual. The double-walled porcelain body holds cooling agents that regulate heat exchange and keep the temperature for up to two hours.
The base opens easily so the agents recharge in an ordinary refrigerator, ready for the next bottle. Developed as a dedicated companion to the vessel, it brings temperature control into the serving system while leaving the vessel itself unchanged.
Ships worldwide by DHL, in a protective hard case.