Egg-shaped wine tanks whet appetite (Italy)

As iconic and seductively curved as the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Mo., the egg-shaped wooden fermentor displayed by Bordeaux-based master artisan Joseph François may be the image many visitors will retain of SIMEI 2011. Inundated with interest in his work, Foudrerie Francois directeur general Laurent Lacroix struggled to find time to respond to questions concerning the enological benefits of this unconventional design, reports Wines & Vines