About Us
The essence of Slavonian forest in the barrel...
ABOUT US
Our barrel making process begins in a centuries old Slavonian oak forest where we choose the best trees from these lushes and sun-drenched timber, using sustainably grown and well-managed practices.
The oak timber used for our barrels is hand-picked and we confidently vouch for our timber source, taking the time to acclimatize our timber for proper stave seasoning, perfecting what nature has already taken its time to deliver.
Solely Slavonian oaks
70%
Sessile oak Quercus Petraea
30%
Pedunculate oak Quercus Robur
15.000 ha
of privately owned forest
auric barrels boast a unique alliance of exceptional natural potential offered by the century-old, well-maintained and lavish Slavonian oak forest, a high-tech and ultra-modern barrel manufacturing plant, and extensive know-how and understanding of not only barrel making but also of winemakers, and their needs and expectations.
Stave aging is controlled by our master coopers and the surrounding micro-climate, which keeps our wood at the same climatic conditions it was grown, giving our barrels unmatched consistency and quality.
ABOUT US
The greatest value of the auric barrels comes from the combination of high-quality types of Slavonian splendiferous oak and superior barrel-making technology.
Although many other coopers procure logs from other parts of Europe, we nurture our own forest, striving to weave the terroir attributes of Slavonian oak into wine barrels. The abundance of properly matured, 120-year-old trees, grown in a private forest (covering more than 15,000 ha), enables us to build adequate lumber stocks which are optimally acclimatized and aged for at least 24 months in the same climatic and environmental conditions.
History of barrel making
The history of the use and quality of Slavonian oak can be traced several centuries. Slavonian oak can commonly be found in the windows, portals and flooring of Venetian Renaissance architecture. The history of barrel making, on the other hand, is more recent, and spans a little under to century. The advent of cooperage found the territory of the present-day Republic of Croatia within the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy and thus limited its sphere of influence accordingly.
The story behind barrel making begins with Austro- Hungarian entrepreneurs, who foundeda private company in 1886 to exploit the private forests of the local family of Count Pejacsevich Marcos – now owned by auric barrels. Ten years later, and teamed with new partners, the company grew into the thriving nasic Oak Extract Factory, with five saw-mills in the Slavonian region, a flooring factory and a barrel factory in Djurdjenovac, not far from the current Auric cooperage. The premises were considerably damaged during World War I, but were repaired soon afterwards, fostering a boom in furniture, flooring and barrel making. After the creation of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the newly formed nasic company, exported its products on a large scale across Europe. The company’s management was later entrusted to its headquarters in Geneva, ensuring the export of oak staves to France, Germany and other Western European countries in search of high quality Slavonian oak.
1886.
Neuschloß & Sohn, Schmidt and Marchetti founded a private company for the exploitation of Slavonian oak from the forests of Pejacsevich Marcos family (nowadays owned by auric barrels)
1910.
The Nasic company founded a barrel factory in Đurđenovac (a halfhour walk from the present-day auric barrels)
1921.
The company established its enterprise called “Union des Usines et Des Exploitations Forestières de Nasic S.A.” seated in Geneva to coordinate overseas and Western European exportation
1940s
Industrial activities slowed down due to World War II, and a change in the ownership structure ensued
1950s
Export of significant quantities of Slavonian oak to France and Italy
1980s
The Đurđenovac Wood Industry Conglomerate delivered 35,000 Slavonian oak barrels of 500 L to Cuba for the aging of rum
2004.
Return of confiscated forests during II. World War II again owned by the Pejacsevich family
2011.
Today’s owners of the auric group buy the forest from the Pejacsevich family
2015.
German investor and Croatian Arborist join forces to create Slavonia Cooperage and employ coopers from Đurđenovac
2016.
The Slavonian Cooperage becomes the present-day auric barrels
2021.
Descendant of the Pejacsevich lineage, former forest owners, after more than 300 years becomes a sales representative of barrels made from logs planted and nurtured by his ancestors.
Technology
The unique methodology for making barrels from 100% Slavonian oak trees rests on the following:
Tree Source
Trees sourced from a known micro-location – the Slavonian oak forest privately owned by auric barrels
Slavonian oak wood
Making barrels from 100% known Slavonian oak wood – authenticity guaranteed
Timber transport
Timber transport with minimal energy consumption and without a carbon footprint – the cooperage is in the immediate vicinity of the forest
Wood Seasoning
Wood seasoning in identical climatic conditions – at low stress levels making lumber more durable
Strict Selection
Strict selection of staves by grain tightness and color – allowing the creation of consistent and repeatable barrels in terms of aromatics and characteristics
Augmenting aromatics
Scrap wood recycling in the toasting process – augmenting identical aromatics
Toasting
The process of toasting using an open fire with digital parameters – aromatic structure traceability
High-tech CNC machine
In addition to the art of creating a barrel by hand, the use of a CNC machine ensures the highest precision and accuracy in the production of our barrels.
About The Slavonian Oak
SLAVONIAN OAK
Although Croatia is not very known as a barrel making region, its present-day territory is covered in thick oak forests, hosting Slavonian oak exploited also by other countries.
Slavonia is a low-lying and fertile region in Croatia famous for its forests, with a high density of pedunculate oak (Quercus robur). Owing to its impressive growth rate and larger trunk size, this oak has high oxygenation rates, which is why these oak barrels are typically found in older Italian wineries. These slow-growing sessile oak forests were mostly privately owned and sustainably managed for centuries, keeping the Slavonian version of sessile oak from overexploitation.
Philosophy
PHILOSOPHY
We operate in sync with nature, and only harvest the special wood that has to bare. For that reason, we can also offer small batches of specific harvest barrels in limited quantities because of what we can proudly hold the title of a boutique cooperage.
The exquisite craftsmanship of our coopers, paired with leading-edge technology, facilitates the making of large-size oak vats, and increases our toasting capabilities.
auric barrels boast a unique alliance of exceptional natural potential offered by the century-old, well-maintained Slavonian oak forest, a high-tech and ultra-modern barrel manufacturing plant, and extensive know-how of not only barrel making but also of winemaking.
PHILOSOPHY
Responsible management of auric's forests in combination with the proximity of the timber source and manufacturing facilities, have played their part in contributing to what is today commonly known as a traceability.
The exquisite craftsmanship of our coopers, paired with leading-edge technology, facilitates the making of large-size oak vats, and increases our toasting capabilities.