Manuel Joaquim Rocha

Where there’s a vine, there’s a cooperage

Manuel Joaquim Rocha was born in 1953 in the parish of Esmoriz, in Ovar municipality, within a family of coopers. He was seven years old when he began to learn the craft with his father, Joaquim da Rocha. Tanoaria Rocha, as we know it today, was founded in 1967 by his father, joined later by one of his brothers who’s still dedicated to this craft at Esmoriz. The cooper, as he is known, settled in Penafiel in 1976, «a year of great wine production, we had a lot of work».

Nowadays, besides making and recovering barrels, using many of the inherited tools, he is also dedicated to making objects from the barrels material: chairs, tables, bars, flower boxes, wall clocks, fruit bowls, whatever the customers wants. He likes challenges and, proudly, praises his art, «this profession is beautiful and has history, kegs appear in any movie, even to blow powder».