To the cooper, the barrel is the end result of man’s ingenious creativity.  Significant manual skill is required to build a superbly crafted barrel and great patience is needed to properly prepare the wood.  Precise techniques must be implemented during what are distinct yet coordinated operations.

Trimming, in which the staves are planed wider in the center and narrower at each end. Assembly, in which narrow and wide staves are positioned in an alternating pattern.  The heating stage, during which an open fire is created inside each raw barrel.  The heat makes the wood soft and pliable against the mechanically controlled steel cord that bends the staves and draws them together, starting from the bottom until they are all perfectly in contact/aligned with each other. The next step is placement of the first head hoop made of galvanized steel milled to the correct thickness, followed by three other so-called "working hoops".  At this point, the barrel has its characteristic shape and it's ready to be transferred to toasting over a distinctly different fire.

 

Vanilla, caramel and many of the other aromatic compounds are produced during this stage.  After heating to fix the curvature of the stave, the barrel remains over the fire for a minimum of 40 minutes, the time necessary and to modify the phenol content of the wood.  In addition to traditional light, medium and strong toasting, our latest research has resulted in the development of a specific temperature controlled slow toasting method called Toast Check™.  This process utilizes an infrared hand held monitoring device that aids the craftsman in regulating the toast temperature.  The slow toast has been proven to be more homogeneous and promotes deeper toast penetration into the stave.  This process virtually eliminates bitter inner surface burns (blistering) resulting in a sweeter toast that softens the aromatic compounds.  The outcome is a delicate homogenous toast, which elevates the natural aromas of the wine and provides for greater control/ consistency of the toast from barrel to barrel.

 

 

Upon completion of the toasting stage, the barrel is ready for the router machine that hollows out the grooves or "crozes" into which the heads are inserted.  The heads are prepared utilizing a tongue and grove technique and shaped by a milling machine.  They can be toasted upon customer request.  A special insertion system is used to complete the assembly operation, without the use of any iron nails.  Working hoops are removed and replaced by permanent hoops fit into position and nailed.  Finally, the barrels are sanded, pressure tested, visually inspected and poly shrink wrapped for protection during transport.