Only one winery in Australia still makes its own barrels for wine storage

ABC NEWS (Australia)

In Australia there's only one winery that still makes the barrels to store its wine. In fact, it's the only winery in the southern hemisphere that does that one of only six worldwide. It's called coopering and some in the industry believe it's a trade that's becoming less and less popular.

Transcript

00:00 At a workshop in the Barossa Valley is where you'll find Kim Venning plying his trade.

00:07 This traditional craft of making wine barrels has remained relatively unchanged for hundreds

00:12 of years.

00:13 We use wood predominantly from France, America and Hungary, then different forests in those

00:18 regions as well for different flavour profiles.

00:22 For the best wines you need to stick to the traditional technologies, fires and getting

00:28 your taste levels right is the most important part.

00:31 Fire is lowered into the barrel to change the chemical compounds in the oak and therefore

00:35 improving the flavour of the final product.

00:38 Once the barrels have been made in the cooperage they'll make their way here to the cellar

00:42 and be filled with wine with that wine being stored in the barrel for about 18 months.

00:47 Machinery has eased the workload on a cooper's body to be able to prolong their career but

00:52 Kim believes it's a profession that's now a dying art.

00:55 I would say it would still be under 100 people, it might be around that sort of ballpark.

01:02 It's also proving difficult to attract young apprentices to this trade.

01:06 In 2017 the Federal Government retired the Certificate 3 in coopering course.

01:12 Students now study a Certificate 3 in cabinet making and timber technology to allow them

01:17 to become coopers.

01:19 In South Australia there are just five training providers registered to deliver the course

01:23 to apprentices.

01:24 I love doing metal work and woodwork and this job kind of integrates the two of them.

01:31 Kim works alongside 19 year old Harper Klingner, the winery's trade assistant cooper.

01:37 It's really hands on, you get a good reward at the end of each day.

01:42 Kim loves what he does and wants others around the country to consider coopering.

01:47 I think it's really important that we try and keep growing the trade within Australia

01:51 and keeping the workers here.

01:53 Continue both the trade and the wine to flourish.

01:56 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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