Presentation of cooperage
The beginnings of cooperage at the Küzma homestead date back to 1921.
The beginnings of cooperage
The independent forest craft of ‘cooperage or barrel making’ has been an important economic sector in our wine-growing regions throughout Slovenia since Roman times. Later on, cooperage became established as a domestic craft here, but in the last two decades, it has slowly been dying out. The main reason for this is the exceptional difficulty of the work and the lack of younger masters in the cooperage craft. In the market, however, there are also quite a few providers of metal and plastic containers for storing wine. However, true wine virtuosos still swear by wooden containers, where the wine can breathe, hence cooperage continues to exist.
Küzma Cooperage
We are at home in Gančani, a village that has always been renowned as the village of coopers. Before the Second World War, there were as many as 12 registered cooper workshops in the village of Gančani. The development of the cooperage craft was facilitated by the proximity to the wine-growing regions of eastern Slovenia and Croatia, as well as the proximity to rich oak and acacia forests.
The beginnings of Küzma cooperage
The beginnings of cooperage at the Küzma homestead date back to 1921 (May 10, 1921) Our great-grandfather Ivan Küzma (1887 – 1946) started the craft, for whom cooperage at that time was primarily a supplementary seasonal activity on the farm. Later, the craft was taken over by his son, Anton Küzma Sr. (1923 – 2015). He primarily crafted chests, barrels, tubs, and buckets for wells and transporting water. He started presenting his products at various village fairs across Prekmurje. At the beginning, the work was done manually, and the first tool that significantly simplified the work was a wooden plane.
In the 1960s, mass wine production began, leading to a significant demand for cooperage products. This prompted the appearance of the first suitable machines for coopers on the market. Despite having acquired several machines for making barrels at the homestead, barrel making still predominantly involved manual labor during that time. Nevertheless, the craft already represented the primary source of income. The largest barrel made at that time measured 6000 liters. Most barrels during that period were sold in the nearby Lendavske Gorice, Goričko, and the vicinity of Varaždin in Croatia. Barrels were also sold in the wine-growing region of Dalmatia, but transportation was extremely challenging as the cargo was mostly transported using horse-drawn carriages at that time.
In 1976, the craftsmanship was officially taken over by the grandson, Anton Küzma Sr
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Anton Küzma st.
Anton Küzma
Cooper
info@sodarstvo.si
Anton Küzma st.
In 1971, he enrolled in the carpentry apprentice school in Murska Sobota, where he gained the necessary education that enabled him to take over the craft from his father. At the beginning, barrels were mostly made to order, and oftentimes, the earnings were dependent on the wine harvest. Thus, the market gradually expanded, and today we have customers from various parts of Slovenia, Croatia, Italy, Austria, Germany, and Spain. The large market demanded workshop modernization, adaptation, and an expansion of the range of cooperage products. So nowadays, you can find regular and oval barrels of various sizes, barrique barrels, balsamic barrels, different chests and wooden containers (like jacuzzis), fermentation tubs, etc., available with us.
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Anton Küzma ml.
In February 2017, the great-grandson officially took over the cooperage craft.
Anton Küzma ml.
He finished high school in Murska Sobota in 2010. Following high school, he went to study in Ljubljana but became employed as a high school graduate in 2015. He started learning in the workshop a year earlier, in 2014, from his grandfather and father. During that time, three generations were present in the workshop.
We take pride in our long-standing tradition passed down through generations at the Küzma homestead. We ensure quality, adaptability of the craft, and comprehensive expertise in the field of cooperage. We are delighted with every purchase and visit from our customers.
Anton Küzma ml.
Cooper
info@sodarstvo.si
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The Küzma Family
Because coopering at the Küzma homestead is a family affair, we are all present; the great-grandchildren Gabrijela, Mirjana, Tadeja, and Anton (the successor).
and mother Elizabeta.
Küzma Cooperage – Gančani
Years of experience
Barrels made
Satisfied customers
We are a family-owned business with a long-standing tradition.
Reference
- Vinska klet Dobrovo,
- Vinska klet Kabaj,
- Vinska klet TILIA,
- Turistična kmetija ARKADE – Cigoj,
- Turistična kmetija Klinec,
- Turistična kmetija Škrlj,
- Turistična kmetija Bric Ivo,
- Brič – Koper,
- Armando Vidmar,
- Blažič Borut,
- Paladin Mario,
- Renčelj Joško,
- Čotar Branko, Vasja,
- Baša Rafael – Zalošče,
- Sirk Miran – Dobrovo,
- Sirk Aljoša – Višnjevik,
- Perko Marko – Italija,
- Giorgio Marega – Italija,
- Terpin Franko – Italija,
- Venčeslav Černič – Italija,
- Marina Danieli – Az.Agricola Italija,
- F.lli BARALDI S.p.A. – Italija,
- Plenkovič Zlatan – Hrvaška
Cooperage
Anton Küzma s.p.
Gančani 18a
9231 Beltinci
Slovenia
Phone: +386 (0)2 542 10 45
Mobile: +386 (0)41 500 231
Mobile:+386 (0)41 383 165
e-mail: info@sodarstvo.si
Tax number SI: 97290815
Registration number: 5324943000
