sourcing » olive tank redwood

These olive tanks were built by the George Windeler Company, Ltd. Established in 1885, the George Windeler Company of San Francisco was the largest redwood tank manufacturer on the West Coast until it closed in 1964. Windeler shipped world-wide to wineries, pickle companies, olive companies and water districts that needed the unique qualities of old-growth redwood." The tanks salvaged by TerraMai were created for an olive grower in California's central valley in the 1930's.

 
 

As one tank industry old-timer put it, “Redwood was the stainless steel of the 19th and 20th centuries. It could contain a liquid without imparting any flavor to it, making it totally unique among woods.” The huge size and incomparable quality of old-growth redwood made it possible to meet the needs of the industrial revolution with larger, longer lasting wood tanks. Since redwood grows only along the California coast, the region became renowned for its redwood tank artisans. The skill is largely being lost as all-heart, old growth redwood becomes commercially extinct and steel replaces wood as the tank material of choice. TerraMai is fortunate to have the opportunity to give another life to this amazing and historic wood.