🍷 Cooper

A cooper is a craftsman who makes barrels from oak staves. The trade is older than wine barrels: coopers made containers for water, oil and grain. For wine the profession is especially important, because the quality of the barrel affects the taste. The work goes in several steps. First the cooper splits an oak log into staves and seasons them in the open air for at least two years. Then he assembles the staves in a circle and holds them with a temporary hoop. The barrel is warmed over a fire so the boards become flexible, and drawn in tighter. The fire also toasts the inner surface, and the degree of toasting determines the notes of vanilla and spice. At the end metal hoops are driven onto the barrel and the heads are fitted into a groove. The cooper works in a cooperage, a workshop for making barrels. Fine handwork needs many years of training. Today some barrels are made by machine, but the best are still assembled by hand. Coopers made not only wine barrels but also wooden butter churns: the craft has many uses. For winemakers the cooper is a partner on whom part of the wine's taste depends.