Introducing The Guitar Barrel Project
Building guitars with wood from wine barrels isn’t new. It’s cool, but it’s not something the world has never seen before.
But when a small group of friends and fellow luthiers asked me to join The Guitar Barrel Project, it was instantly clear that this was a project with far more to it than building guitars from old wine barrels. There’s plenty in the project to get guitar nerds excited, sure, but the story of these guitars touches key moments in the history of Europe, the winemaking lineage of Portugal and the significance of Lisbon as a cultural centre – plus the journey of a group of friends and fellow craftspeople trying to encapsulate all of this through building guitars.
And from start to finish, this has been no ordinary process of building guitars.
Adriano Sérgio of Ergon Guitars discovered our wine barrels looking very much how you would expect, considering they turned out to be over 250 years old. But stripping away the layers of dust and remnants of caked-on wine revealed beautiful mahogany beneath – ripe for guitar making. The opportunity to work with special materials will get any craftsperson excited; presented with some old or particularly interesting wood, any guitar builder will start buzzing with ideas. But it isn’t just the age of this wood and its use in wine production that makes it truly intriguing. Those wine barrels belonged to the Marquês de Pombal, a figure who looms large in the history of Portugal and whose impact can still be seen and felt in Lisbon – and arguably across Europe.
Tasked with rebuilding Lisbon after the devastating earthquake of 1755, Pombal went on to accumulate immense power, which he used to modernise the whole of Portugal, bringing it out of the Middle Ages and into a revolutionary era. You can learn more about the earthquake and Pombal’s impact on Portugal here, but it’s enough to say that the earthquake itself and Pombal’s response are often pointed to as catalysts for key elements of the Enlightenment period which drastically reshaped Europe. These old wine barrels, which were used to make Pombal’s revered Carcavelos Wine, are a relic that comes to us directly from this moment in our history.
Having made his discovery, Adriano contacted Ulrich Teuffel of Teuffel Guitars. The two discussed the possibilities that could come from buying and using the wood, and soon a small group of luthiers was formed: Adriano and Ulrich, Michael of Spalt Instruments, Claudia and Claudio of Pagelli Guitars, Andy of Andy Manson Custom Guitars, and myself. We were to each build a guitar with the mahogany from the wine barrels.
We all came together in Portugal in September of 2018 to select the wood and to each take our share. But this was also an opportunity to form a deeper connection with the history behind this wood – after all, it’s this connection to Portugal’s past that gives this material something magical and has grown the project into something beyond building guitars. We toured the winery at the Villa Oeiras, the former estate of the Marques de Pombal, which today still produces its Carcavelos Wine (not a bad way to learn some history!), and we had the opportunity to pick some grapes ourselves and meet with their master winemakers. The potential of our project and the connection with the winery interested members of the local government, and we met with representatives to discuss plans for the project. There was no shortage of ideas, and soon a broader plan started to come together.
We also took that opportunity to officially introduce The Guitar Barrel Project at the winery. Having each brought one of our own guitars as part of the presentation, the evening was topped off by amazing performances from Rui Veloso and Miguel Araújo using our guitars.
At the end of the sun-drenched and invigorating trip, with all our minds buzzing, we each took our selection of the wood back to our workshops and started on the guitars.
What happened between 2018 and 2023? Well, as with everything, the pandemic slowed things down. But it far from put a stop to the project. Those many hours of discussion at the Villa Oeiras winery and with local representatives led to the project coming to life in whole new ways, and both the winery and the municipality came on as generous sponsors of the project. A film crew visited each of the luthiers in their workshops, on top of filming the entire development of the project, and a full-length documentary film has been completed. The winery has fully reconstructed two of Pombal’s 250-year-old barrels and is using them to produce an extremely special wine in conjunction with the project.
And then, of course, there are the guitars. As an extra twist, each one was completed in secret, without any luthier seeing anything of their fellow guitar builders’ work. No pictures, no sneak peeks, no hints, nothing. Until, that is, they were finished.
In January of this year, we all travelled once more to the Villa Oeiras and, with the film crew and photographer present, unveiled the guitars to one another for the first time. In a way, the few years of delays and interruptions only added to the excitement of that moment. I can tell you that the six guitars make a stunning collection. Expressive, diverse and surprising, between them they speak to the region’s history of winemaking, the devastation of the 1755 earthquake, the revolutionary Enlightenment era that followed, and the Marquês de Pombal’s impact on Lisbon and beyond – all captured in wood from the barrels of his estate’s winery.
Which all brings us to the question you’re probably asking: when do we get to see these guitars then? Those of you following us and the other builders on social media will probably have noticed that, in all the pictures shared, you’ve never actually seen anything of any of the guitars. Well, in the spirit of the collaboration, the guitars are still a secret to the public until 13th May this year. On that date, everyone will gather once again at the Villa Oeiras for the unveiling of the whole project together in an event open to the public. The guitars will be shown to the world for the first time, the first screening of the film will potentially take place, and the wine – made in the reconstructed barrels – will be presented.
But until that time there’s still plenty to be unveiled, including, possibly, some sneak peeks of the guitars! In the run up to 13th May, you’ll be able to keep up to date by following The Guitar Barrel Project on Instagram and Facebook.
There are lots of exciting things to share between now and May, on all aspects of the project, so please do follow along to support us. And, of course, if you’re in the area, come to the Villa Oerias on 13th May for the big event! Even if you’re not in the area, you might want to keep it in mind – a beautiful part of the world combined with unique guitars and quality wine makes for a pretty special visit.
And on that note, I’ll finish with a big thank-you to all the other guitar makers in The Guitar Barrel Project, the Villa Oeiras, the amazing film crew and the Oeiras municipality itself for making this incredible experience possible. It’s been a wild ride and a privilege to be a part of. Here’s looking forward to May!
– Nik
Learn more about The Guitar Barrel Project here: theguitarbarrelproject.com
