Barrel Maker

We know that in ancient times the products, the fruit, the oil and the wine were stored in jars. When wooden barrels began to be made, wine was stored in them. In Chania, the construction and sale of barrels took place in the current old port, a place where maritime trade took place. Already from…Read more

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We know that in ancient times the products, the fruit, the oil and the wine were stored in jars. When wooden barrels began to be made, wine was stored in them. In Chania, the construction and sale of barrels took place in the current old port, a place where maritime trade took place. Already from the end of the 17th century we find barrels in the port of Chania.

The wood used to make a barrel is chestnut or oak. The trunks are cut into slices called doyes. After the wood is stored for two years, the doyens are placed next to each other creating an upright cylinder. In order for this cylinder to take its curved shape and become a barrel that will close with two lids, the barrels try with the temperature to affect the elasticity of the woods and to bend them.

For this reason, with the help of fire, in this early form of barrel that looks like a wooden cylinder, they glow the doylas which bend into their desired shape.

Many barrels use thymus and sea urchins to “burn” a barrel. The fire is placed in the barrel and as soon as the wood goes to grab, the barrels close the lids to extinguish the fire and not to burn the barrel itself. After the carpenter gives the barrel its final shape, it scrapes it internally, cleans it and puts water in it in order to swell the wood and it is ready for use.

In the past, the barrels were gathered in the area of the Fountain, at this point the sale took place. Next to the old Carnagio, opposite the Neoria of Chania, their construction took place. Whoever bought a barrel, received his barrel the next day of his purchase, because the barrel had to go into the sea for twenty-four hours, to swell, before being loaded into the cart and transported to its owner.

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