Over many decades (and in some cases centuries!) food and wine industries have used large wooden vats to ferment, preserve, and intensify fruits, pickles, wine, cider, and vinegar. As technology continues to expand in all industries, vats are being constructed more often with stainless steel rather than wood. We’re glad to salvage the distinct wood staves and with your help, give it new life.

In contrast to our line of standard products that blend material from multiple sources to create a consistent, repeatable look/feel, Vat Staves are part of our Single-Origin Batches. Each batch can be traced to one specific source and are finite in quantity. One of our most popular vat batches was reclaimed from an Upstate New York wine production facility.

 The 17’ tall barrels were carefully dismantled (read about this process in another blog post) and have been celebrated for their original patina (image above) and center cut (wine cellar below).

For most batches of Vat Staves, there is a “patina” grade and a “center cut” grade. The patina grade celebrates the hard-earned surface character, texture, and tones of the vat wood. Center Cut is smooth planed, exposing the interesting grain and typically blondish-amber color tones of the wood.

From the Willamette Valley and Columbia River Gorge in Oregon, we salvaged decommissioned maraschino cherry vats creating Batch #20036. Not to be confused with Cherry wood species, these vats were formed with Douglas fir staves which had a unique light and dark exterior Patina and a clear salmon and tan toned Center Cut. Bonus is occasional dark staining from their previous life in food processing.

Conversation starter and balm to that biophilic desire, vat stock paneling from every batch continues to gain momentum as accent walls and more:

On occasion when quantities are right, multiple batches of vat stock have been mixed, creating a blending species, tones, grain patterns, and signs of the wood’s previous life (below).

Our acquisitions team is always on the lookout for new and cool reclaimed wood. A previous batch reclaimed from Pickle Vat processing yielded interesting mineral deposits and staining that was celebrated in both a private home and large retail store:

Weathered, wire brushed, or sanded smooth, Vat Stock Staves bring a storied façade to any aesthetic in residential or commercial projects. Want to know more about a particular batch? Looking for samples? Reach out; we’re here to help.