€6.2 million invested in the cooperage of the future and first large-format-vessel education centre

he first foundation stone of the ‘Education Centre of the Cooperage of the Future and Innovation’ was laid on September 9 in Cognac. The Centre is part of the New Aquitaine and Charente Chamber of Trade and Skills and comes at a cost of 6.2 million euros. The modernised facilities will be officially opened in July 2026 and operational by September 2026 for the start of the school year. Its focus will be on crafting oak wood maturation vessels for wines and spirits. “The new educational facilities for young coopers will align with the quality of the teaching so that they can learn about the cooperage industry, how to make a barrel and repair it”, explains Nicholas Tiquet-Lavandier, chairman of the Charente master coopers’ group.

The Cognac curriculum will benefit from a workshop designed for “crafting barrels, large truncated cone-shaped vessels, foudres and large barrels. That’s what defines this workshop”, adds Tiquet-Lavandier, stressing that this is a first. “Previously, skills were passed down within companies. Now, thanks to efforts by the Chamber of Trade and coopers, this will be perpetuated out-of-house”.

Despite the challenging economic situation for wines and spirits given the ongoing geopolitical uncertainties and therefore concern over trade, the new centre is a mark of the Charente cooperage industry’s faith in the future of education and skills. Admittedly, sustaining those services is contingent upon the financial health of coopers, but at the same time, the age pyramid within the industry makes it vital to continue to train new coopers and improve skillsets. The Cognac course will welcome an average 25 young people over a two-year period who will then go on to join cooperages, wine and spirits companies and Grands Crus properties.