More than a century of generational coopering knowledge plays out in John Carberry’s strong hands as he planes an aged piece of oak from a whisky barrel.
The Scotsman is a long way from home in a toasty southern New South Wales cooperage, but he is determined to pass on skills that are becoming increasingly rare.
Mr Carberry has trained over 25 coopers in Britain, and has now spent more than three years chiselling his first Australian apprentice into shape.
Ciaran Quinn is learning the cooper trade. (ABC News: Erin Somerville)
“Most people don’t know what [coopering] is; very rarely, you speak to someone who knows what it is,” apprentice Ciaran Quinn said.
Coopers specialise in building and maintaining wooden vessels like casks and barrels, many which last at least 200 years.
Over time, the barrels that help flavour wines and spirits need care and maintenance to help prevent cracks or warping, and might even be charred again to enhance flavour.
For Mr Carberry, passing on that niche knowledge feels essential.
“I’ve got all this knowledge up here that I need to pass on to the next generation,”
he said.
“I’ve had [my apprentice] for three years now; he’s got another year to go to be time served, as I would say — even though it’s not a recognised trade yet.
“That will hopefully change.”
John Carberry works at a cooperage in Corowa. (ABC News: Erin Somerville)
Trade becoming distilled over time
Mr Carberry is one of just a few dozen coopers working to keep hundreds of thousands of oak barrels in use across Australia’s wineries and distilleries.
He estimates he is one of just four master coopers nationwide that carry a form of accreditation and the skills to train newcomers.
Australia’s national coopering certificate was whittled down to a cabinet-making elective over a decade ago, so the master coopers have a big job on their hands.
Mr Carberry said he would welcome more training oversight.
Corowa’s cooperage is one of just a dozen dotted around Australia. (ABC News: Erin Somerville)
“Coopering is a food-grade industry, so it would be good for them to re-establish that side of the craft, more for the fact of the job getting done right,” Mr Carberry said .
“There’s so many wineries, there’s so many distilleries; you don’t want people just haphazardly trying to repair a barrel or trying to do stuff with a cask because it is a food-grade vessel, so it has to be done right.”
Top-shelf skill vital
A Deloitte report into the economic contribution of Australia’s spirits industry showed the number of national spirit manufacturers had jumped from 500 in 2019 to 700 in 2024, generating over $15 billion in economic activity.
Dean Druce says distilleries need to source coopers from overseas due to the skills shortage. (ABC News: Erin Somerville)
But finding a cooper can be tough, and before the Corowa Distilling Co hired Mr Carberry the company trucked its barrels on a 20-hour return trip to a South Australian cooperage.
The distillery’s hunt to find a cooper turned into a global search and frustrating red tape battle.
“We need coopers and we need to get them in from overseas, but yet [the government] makes it so hard to get them in from overseas; we are going to end up with no coopers here in a matter of years, really,” Corowa Distilling Co’s managing director Dean Druce said.
Dean Druce wants coopers added to the skills shortage list. (ABC News: Erin Somerville)
Coopers are not listed on Australia’s occupational shortage list despite there being just 150 people employed under the “other wood machinists and wood trades workers” category, according to Jobs and Skills Australia.
The category includes jobs like coopers, wood model makers and cane furniture makers.
Mr Druce wants coopering added to the shortage list.
Master cooper John Carberry working on a barrel. (ABC News: Erin Somerville)
“On top of that, the ones that we do have they are slowly getting older, and they’re retiring out of this,” he said.
“We’ve got a lost art that is slowly disappearing”.
He also supports calls for better recognition of the trade.
“So that we can get young Australians learning what coopering is and protecting this trade that we need in Australia,” he said.
Jobs and Skills Australia will release an online survey next year to help better determine where skills shortages lie.
