The Guitar Barrel Project

On his search for quality Mahogany wood for his guitars Portugese luthier Adriano Sergio discovered a pile of just that in the back of a warehouse. It turned out that the wood came from old wine barrels, stored in a disassembled state, dusty and still caked with the essence of the wine they had contained. But a few strokes with the hand planer revealed the rich hue of Mahogany beneath the grime -- ripe for guitar making. Adriano told his friend and colleague Ulrich Teuffel about this discovery and the oppor- tunity to purchase this wood. Researching the history of the barrels Adriano discovered that they had belonged to the estate of the Marquês de Pombal, a significant figure in the history of Lisbon.