Barrel Orders Herald Winery Optimism

(Wines&Vines) - Robust barrel orders for the 2013 vintage provide another sign the wine industry has made it through the economic doldrums of recent years.

“This is a big year. This will be our biggest year since 2007. We’re up 15% over last year,” said Phil Burton, who owns Barrel Builders in Napa Valley. “It speaks well for the industry in general, because if wineries aren’t buying barrels they’re not making money.”

Jason Stout, Napa-based international sales director for Cooperages 1912, said the company had posted a double-digit sales increase of “good, solid, organic growth from our core customer base.”

Stout said wineries have cleared out back inventory, and with a good vintage in 2012—and one expected for 2013—wineries in the United States are looking to take advantage of growing domestic and global demand for fine wine. “Certainly the American wine industry has really bounced back from the recessions of ’08, ’09, ’10,” he said.

Strong demand for American oak

Bruno Remy, vice president of sales for Canton Cooperage in Windsor, Calif., said orders are up 5% from 2012, with the promise of another good vintage prompting wineries to order more barrels.

But Remy said the French-owned cooperage, which produces only barrels made from American oak, has had issues with supply. Wood keeps getting pricier, and it has not been easy to secure oak. “It’s becoming a real problem,” he said, noting the cooperage raised its prices 3-5% this year.