The production of wine has long been dependent on the quality and use of wooden barrels—a practice that survives to this day in part because of a romantic attachment to the tradition and in part because the wood of the barrel helps create the rich variety of tastes to be found in the wine. Still, despite the great debt wine enthusiasts owe to this ancient art of barrelmaking—called cooperage—very few of them might know just how intricate a barrel is. Here’s a quick primer for those interested in learning more.
The wooden slats that make up a wine barrel are called staves, which are shaped into their curves to create a bulging cylinder, and then held together with metal hoops. The ends of the barrel are also referred to as heads. The specific curve of the barrel, called the bilge, is designed specifically for ease of rolling and steering—an empty barrel weighs almost 150 pounds, so you can imagine how heavy a full barrel must be!
Most wine barrels are made of oak from French forests, many of which were first planted in the 18th Century by Napoleon Bonaparte for purposes of shipbuilding. More recently, American oak has begun to grow in popularity as a barrel material. Initially considered inferior wood for winemaking barrels, it was determined after several years that the American wood was fine, but the methods used to prepare the wood and construct the barrel were faulty. With these methods corrected, American oak barrels now present a less expensive alternative for wineries looking to save money.
Constructing a barrel requires the skilled cooper to first choose the best possible staves. They will then utilize a precise combination of moistening and charring the wood to first render it flexible enough to be bent into shape, and then carefully assemble it to ensure that the barrel is made with an airtight seal. The entire process of creating a single barrel may take eight hours for a single cooper.
Cooperages exist throughout the world, still practicing the craft in much the same way as it was first practiced generations ago. Some cooperages, such as Speyside Cooperage in Scotland even maintain a visitors’ center, where you can watch the process right before your eyes!
