What does the wine industry owe to Cuba, Missouri?

     In 1956 small company in Cuba, Missouri started in the barrel making industry and in 1968 McGinnis Wood Products was founded.  McGinnis now turns out 500 wine and whiskey barrels every day.  McGinnis predominately uses white oak to make the barrel staves, which makes a good container to age wine or spirits.  Luckily, Missouri has an abundance of white oak, which is on of the dominant trees in Missouri‘s forest. 

     Researchers from the Scotch Whiskey Research Institute (yes, there is such an institute) in Edinburgh, Scotland (as you might expect) has done test on McGinnis staves and found that the white oak within a 50 mile radius of Cuba was among the best stave wood in the world for aging wine (take that Napa Valley).

     McGinnis keeps the higher quality wood for wine staves that will dry in the natural elements, which takes around 36 months.  The staves for the bourbon barrels are kiln dried and ready for production in 60 days.

     After the wood is dried, the staves for wine barrels are planed and cut with special saws to produce the same angle on the edge and wider middle than the edge.  After the wood is shaped the wine barrel staves are ready for shipment. The wine barrels are shipped in pieces to Coopers and barrel makers around the world for them to later assemble into barrels as needed. 

     The production of bourbon barrels continues with the barrel raiser beginning the assembly arranging the wooden staves in a circular configuration.  The barrel is next put through a steaming process, which pulls them into shape without breaking them.  A head ring is installed on each end then the staves are cut to an even length.  Next they char the inside of the barrel with a propane torch.  The metal hoops are installed using a hydraulic driver, the hoops keep the barrels shape intact.  Once the barrel is assembled a hole is drilled in one of the staves and a pressure test is done, if all goes well the barrel is ready to ship. 

      So give some thought to the people in Cuba, Missouri who support the wine and bourbon industry next time you’re enjoying a glass of Cabernet or blended Scotch.

Visit TwistedCorkscrew for all your wine accessory needs.

Information source for this article was the Feb 2011 issue of Current Times.

To watch a video on how a barrel is made visit www.ruralmissouri.coop