A & K Cooperage
Today the Kirby Family and the Meyer Family are good friends having developed a professional relationship over the past three decades. The Bonny’s Vineyard cabernet maturation takes place in 100% A&K barrels for a period of almost 3 years. In 1972 when Justin prepped Bonny’s vineyard for planting, Dale Kirby started a small cooperage with his father-in-law D.L Andrews in Higbee MO. A few years later Justin Meyer experimented with the fledgling cooperage and never looked back.
In the early years of Bonny’s Vineyard at Silver Oak, barrels were sourced from France, USA and Eastern Europe. Over a period of ten years, Justin decided he favored the aroma and the flavor of American Oak. He made the decision that his wines would become totally American Oak. He continued to use seven or eight cooperages but increasingly favored A&K barrels, based on frequent comparative tastings.
In 1999 Silver Oak began the negotiations to buy a 50% share of A&K. After the Meyer’s sale of Silver Oak in 2000, the family retained a financial interest in the cooperage, but later sold their share in 2004. Today the family remains firmly committed to the cooperage, identifying with the small family operation and its dedication to quality.