Cooperage

Cooperage is the general term for containers used to store wine. Small barrels, large wooden casks, and stainless steel tanks are the most common kinds of cooperage, but containers made from concrete, fiberglass, and glass are also employed . In California, one of the newest forms of cooperage are concrete eggs which have been used by high end wineries for a decade.

Which one of the following was not one of the original First Growths in the 1855 Classification of Bordeaux, France?

A. Château Margaux

B. Château Mouton-Rothschild

C. Château Lafite-Rothschild

D. Château Haut-Brion

E. Château Latour

Château Mouton-Rothschild was originally a Second Growth. But owner Baron Philippe de Rothschild petitioned the government for twenty years to have Château Mouton-Rothschild named a First Growth. In 1973, his hard work paid off, and his château was given the coveted status Premier Cru (First Growth). This classification system began when Napoléon III asked Bordeaux’s top château owners to rate their wines from best to worst for the Paris Universal Exhibition. They declined. The Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce became involved and ranked the wines on one quantitative measure: how much the wines sold for. This ranged from Premier Crus (First Growths) down to Fifth Growths. In the end, 61 châteaux were classified under the original 1855 Classification treatise —but there was one provision: it could never be revised. And, until Philippe de Rothschild came along, it wasn’t.

“It takes me twelve minutes to eat a good plate of food and two hours to drink a good bottle of wine, so who cares about the food?”

—Peter Barry
Winemaker/Owner of the Australian estate Jim Barry

Cooperage

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