Oenowood

Two Wood Buyers and a Napa Cooper

FRENCH OAK WINE BARRELS MADE IN COGNAC & BURGUNDY

Want to geek out on the science of wood, seasoning and toasting? You'll want to chat with these guys. Alban Petiteaux is my "oak mentor." When I go down that rabbit hole, talking endlessly about the OTR of wood, barrel kinetics, tannins, etc... I'm always in good company with Oenowood.

Many years ago, Alban and Francois were global wood buyers and senior managers for Seguin Moreau. Alban is also on the board of France Bois Régions (the interprofessional network of the forest sector). They are so tied in with the cooperage and foresting industry in France, it's possible to get any wood they want. And they have their favorites!

Your Wood Buyers

Alban Petiteaux and Francois Parthon de Von will be buying and seasoning your wood for you. You can even visit the forests with them to watch the trees being harvested.

Consistency

The way to get consistency in your barrels is to buy wood from the same small parcel of forest year after year. But equally important is having the same cooper toasting all your barrels every time. We do that. And we closely inspect each one of your barrels before the heads are put on to make sure they're perfect.

Your Toast

Our cooper, the person toasting your barrels, will be available to taste with you at your winery once or twice a year, so he can personally perfect your toast. We'll keep fine tuning until we get it just right. It only takes one perfect barrel to make your wine shine.

Oak Industry Experts

Aside from being an active purchaser of premium quality French oak for 20+ years, Oenowood is on the board of these important organizations:

Society of Wood Experts France

Futurobois

France Bois Régions- Translated, this is the French forest union. Oenowood is on the board, along with the Director of the ONF (Office National des Forêts). The company is the only representative from the cooperage industry. At the regional level, a representative from Oenowood has the role of President, and at the national level, it has the role of Director.

Oenwood also buys, sells and trades wood for top cooperages in France and private barrel clients. It also acts as an independent auditor of French cooperages (services rendered by a third party auditing company).