History: TONNELLERIE BILLON SA was founded in 1947 by Gaston BILLON and is located in Beaune Burgundy. The cooperage was purchased by the Damy family to become the sister cooperage of Meursault's Tonnellerie DAMY. Positioned in the Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuit's largest city; Beaune, the cooperage has built a strong reputation amongst BurgundToday Tonnellerie Billon annually produces around 10,000 barrels a year and has 2 hectares dedicated for wood seasoning, 2 hectares for barrel production, and a 4,000 square meter shop workshop that employs 20 coopers. The current CEO of the cooperage, Vincent Damy was awarded the prestigious "Meilleur Ouvrier de France" title in 2007 and overseas production at Tonnellerie Billon. y chardonnay and pinot producers.   Today: Tonnellerie Billon annually produces around 10,000 barrels a year and has 2 hectares dedicated for wood seasoning, 2 hectares for barrel production, and a 4,000 square meter shop workshop th

CANADELL ensures the quality and consistency of its oak adjuncts by overseeing the entire manufacturing process, from selecting trees in the forest to seasoning, fabricating, toasting, packaging and sales. This 100% vertical integration gives winemakers full traceability and confidence in the impact its oak will have on their wine. "The Canadell Family delivers a full range of premium oak products that are classically made, traditionally crafted, and extremely consistent," says Paolo Bouchard, Business Development Manager for Bouchard Cooperages, CANADELL’s exclusive partner in North America, Australia, and New Zealand. "Wineries producing everyday value and premium price point wines often appreciate the consistency and quality of the CANADELL portfolio," adds Sarah Lanzen, International Oak Alternatives Consultant at Bouchard Cooperages. "Their consumers rely on consistency in today's ever-changing world. CANADELL's approach has always

On February 25, 2022, Cooperages 1912’s domestic stave mills and cooperage achieved certification to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI). Now, all TW Boswell and World Cooperage American oak barrels will be certified to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative Fiber Sourcing Standard. In crafting premium oak barrels, Cooperages 1912 is dedicated to ensuring healthy, productive forests that will continue for generations to come. They are committed to only using oak that has achieved a sustainable certification. “This is another step on our journey to become a more environmentally responsible and sustainable cooperage,” said Elizabeth Van Emst, Cooperages 1912 general manager. “Responsible management of our most important resource, white oak, has always been our focus, and this certification demonstrates our commitment to sustainability. Our French oak barrels have been certified with the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification for years and we

In previous posts, we have discussed how French oak forests are exceptionally well managed by L’Office National des Forêts (also known as the ONF) and have been since the late 1600s. Due to the hundreds of years of diligent management, the trees are tall, straight, and slow growing – characteristics that make them ideal for wine barrel cooperage.  While all the national forests of France are well-managed, some have now leveled-up to be “exceptional”. What does that mean? Well, in 2008, L’Office National des Forêts began the Forêt d'Exception® – or exceptional forests – label and to date, it has given this designation to 15 forests.  The Forêt d'Exception® label promotes the forest heritage and marks the forest as exemplary in sustainable development. The National Forêt d'Exception® Charter has ten qualifying points that outline what it means to be an exceptional forest. If you are

We last left off in the American oak forest with our resident tree guy and Director of Log Procurement, Garret Nowell. If you missed that video, catch-up here.  In this next video, Garret walks us through how American oak logs are graded and purchased by our team of Log Buyers. Watch as he illustrates the process at one of our company-owned stave mills. Enjoy!  

We are excited to bring you the first article in a new series we’re developing on everything oak. Welcome to Oak 101. A Look at Oak Species for Cooperage When it comes to picking a wood species for cooperage, oak is the Michael Jordan of choices – or simply put, the G.O.A.T.  Now we are biased, but there are some pretty good reasons oak is the only choice for our barrels. Today, let’s start at the beginning and discuss where oak comes from. Oak, A History Oak (Latin name ‘Quercus’*) is in a category of plants called “angiosperms”, which is a scientific way of saying their seeds are protected by a seed case. And as you might guess, this gives angiosperms an advantage over plants whose seeds have no case. Compare it to your smart phone – the likelihood of it surviving a high impact drop is much higher when you have a hard-shell case (a lesson we’ve learned more times than we’d like to admit). Angiosperm seeds have improved