From the barrel to the vine stock

The house of Matthey celebrated 125 years in November. Everything began in 1880, when the founder of the dynasty, Henry, set up a workshop in Vallamand where he produced oak boles and kegs. This small village in Vully vaudois is dedicated mainly to wine growing, and the youth have no difficulty living off this trade. Bearing in mind that even if the making of douelles is nowadays considered a rarity, in those days every wine growing hamlet had at least one cooper among its artisans.

Before the revolution caused by the appearance of plastic and stainless steel, all beer or wine containers, including railway wagons, were wooden. His son, Louis, took over the activities of his father in 1920. Did he foresee the problems created by the arrival of these less noble but cheaper materials, or did he simply love the earth? I wouldn't be able to say! The fact remains that during his lifetime he purchased wine growing plots and built up a respectable estate.

Advertising

Haut