Cooperage professions

Bending is the keystone of crafting an oak cask, and it takes place just after the raising (“mise en rose”). During this stage of production, the cask takes on its definitive shape thanks to mechanical force combined with the joint action of heat and water. The hoops fitted during bending hold the whole structure together, […]

To carry out the “mise en rose” (raising), the cooper assembles the staves vertically, side by side, inside an assembly hoop. This stage comes just before bending, during which the cask takes on its final shape.   The “mise en rose” is the cooper’s domain a skill that demands dexterity, speed and precision. Each cask […]

Fresh from the stave mill, the oak stave wood consists of four-sided, straight-grained pieces with clean edges. Upon arrival at the cooperage—after a minimum of 20 months of open-air seasoning—they are shaped and transformed into staves that form the barrel’s shell. Four successive steps are required to produce a stave ready for use.   The […]

Cooperage is a noble and ancestral craft, a profession rooted in expertise, requiring precise gestures and specific tools. Though the trade became more industrialized in the 19th century with the advent of machine tools, it remains deeply artisanal, with the human hand still essential to every step. The quality of barrels produced in our cooperage [...]