🍷 Cooper
A craftsman who makes barrels from oak staves.
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.
How it connects to Wine
🍷 Cooper ← works with ← 🍷 Oak barrel ← packed in ← 🍷 Wine
How it connects to Spirits
Links
- Next step
- 🍷 Oak barrel
- Previous step
- 🍷 Cooperage
- Who works with it
- 🍷 Oak barrel, 🍷 Stave, 🍷 Barrel hoop, 🌵 Agave: tequila and mezcal, 🥃 Whisky, 🍇 Grape brandies, 🍎 Fruit brandies, ⚗️ How spirits are made, 🌴 Rum and sugarcane spirits, 🥃 Single Malt Scotch Whisky
and 19 more
🥃 Bourbon whiskey, 🥃 Blended Scotch Whisky, 🥃 Straight bourbon whiskey, 🥃 Single Grain Scotch Whisky, 🥃 Rhum agricole, 🥃 Straight rye whiskey, 🥃 Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey, 🥃 Corn whiskey, 🥃 Canadian whisky, 🌵 Tequila, 🥃 American single malt whisky, 🥃 Tequila classes, 🥃 Cask Strength Whisky, 🥃 Scotch Whisky, 🥃 Aguardente de Vinho Lourinhã, 🥃 Straldzha Muscat Rakia (Straldjanska Muscatova rakya), 🥃 Pomorie Grape Rakia (Pomoriyska grozdova rakya), 🥃 Vinars Târnave, 🥃 Karlovo Grape Rakia (Karlovska grozdova rakya) - Works with
- 🍷 Cooperage
- Part of
- 👩🌾 Wine professions, ⚗️ How spirits are made
- Wine and milk
- ⚙️ Butter churn
Frequently asked questions
Who is a cooper?
A craftsman who makes barrels from oak staves.
How is a barrel made?
Oak is split and seasoned, staves are assembled in a circle, warmed over fire, bound with hoops and toasted inside.
Why does the cooper matter for wine?
The oak and toasting of the barrel affect the wine's taste, giving notes of vanilla, toast and spice.
What to read next
- 🍷 Oak barrel — A wooden vessel made of oak staves in which wine matures, picks up new aromas and slowly takes in air.
- 🥃 Single Malt Scotch Whisky — Scotch from a single distillery: only malted barley, water and yeast, distilled in pot stills; at least 3 years in oak, 40% ABV (80 proof in the US) or more. Not the same as single cask.
- 🥃 Whisky — Whisky is a grain spirit: under EU rules it is aged at least three years in oak casks and bottled at 40% ABV (80 proof in the US) or more. Scotch, Irish, bourbon.
- 🥃 Scotch Whisky — Scotch whisky is whisky distilled and matured in Scotland from water and malted barley (plus whole grains of other cereals), at least 3 years in oak, bottled at 40% ABV (80 proof) or more. EU-protected since 1989.
- 🥃 Bourbon whiskey — Bourbon is American whiskey from a mash of at least 51% corn, aged in new charred oak barrels and bottled at 40% ABV (80 proof) or more, with no colouring or flavouring. “Straight” means at least 2 years.
Similar
🍷 Négociant · 🍷 Master of Wine · 🍷 Grape picker · 🍷 Vineyard tractor driver · 🍷 Vine nurseryman · 🍷 Wine critic