Save Oak, Save Money: Why Recoopering Makes Sense

Reduces Pollutants  

Saves Forests  

Adds Wine Complexity  

Restores Original Cooper’s Style  

Preserves Barrel Integrity    

Recoopering brings “used up” oak barrels back to life and provides a like-new barrel at a fraction of the cost of new oak. Quality Wine Barrels perfected this centuries old practice, and saves it for only the best barrels in the warehouse. 

Years ago, our founder tinkered with a name-brand curved planer tools creating a totally “new” tool. This unique tool shaves each stave 3/16th to 5/16th-inch thinner to remove residual wine and contaminants that may linger in the pores. As a result, oak extraction and oxygenation is close to that of a new oak barrel without off-flavors.

In fact, to this day, we dismantle and remake planer tools to shave barrels precisely to ensure exceptional quality. Consequently, barrel integrity is safeguarded since we don’t tear barrels apart to shave staves individually. 

This saves time and allows us to sell high quality used oak barrels with cost-savings built right in.

The next step, after shaving, is to re-toast the barrel. This imparts furfurals, trans-oak lactones, vanilluns, tannins and other oak compounds to add complexity to the wine. It gives the wine a similar oak profile to the original cooper’s style.  

Save Money & Go Green

Not only is cost savings paramount these days, but also “recycling” oak barrels back into production reduces demand for new barrels. This prolongs and often doubles the life cycle of a barrel and is a GREEN alternative to new oak barrels. 

Quite simply, it cuts the demand for finite forest resources, and reduces pollutants generated by shipping barrels around the planet.

We Love to Talk Barrels

Call or Email us with any questions about this unique process or to order recoopered oak barrels. Additionally, we can also custom toast barrels to your preference.