Process of Making Stave Wood

After being sorted at the log yard, merrain-quality oaks are cut into logs approximately 1.20 meters long as they enter the stave mill

Each log is split into several quarters along the grain. This critical step ensures the watertightness of the future staves.

The quarters are sawn lengthwise, always along the grain, to the desired thickness for the staves (22, 27, 32, or 42 mm).

The resulting stave boards are edged to remove the bark and sapwood on one side and the heartwood on the other, forming straight merrain pieces. These pieces range from 4 to 12.5 cm in width for the barrel body and over 5 cm for bottom pieces.

Each of these pieces is inspected individually. Pieces with defects (such as wormholes, knots, severed grain, etc.) are marked with red chalk according to the type of defect. The merrain is then “shortened” based on the defects and sorted by length:Barrel body: 110, 105, 95, or 90 cm, Barrel bottoms: 40 to 80 cm, Oak shingles: 33 cm

Finally, the merrain pieces are stacked in open-sided pallets of 0.5 m³, allowing air circulation during the maturation period, which lasts a minimum of 24 months outdoors before being used in cooperage.

Visuals © Christophe Deschanel