Vino In My Dino

Barking up the right tree

September 11, 2014 15:51

I am taking a moment, a bit of a breather so to speak, during harvest to bring you this blurb on just where corks come from. We bottle two thirds of our wine with them. Wine corks have been around for a long time, shortly after the goat skin and right around the time winemakers wanted to securely stopper the containers. They are harvested from the bark of the Quercus suber or Cork Oak Tree. In the photo you will see how the corks are punched from the bark. It takes about 9 years for the bark to attain the right thickness to produce a 1 ¾” cork. A lot of patience goes into these cork forests mostly planted in Portugal, the multi-tasking country that also brings you Port, and Spain. It is akin to waiting for a fine Cabernet Sauvignon to age. For all kinds of background on cork oak and the harvesting of them please check the Cork Quality Council’s website here. 

While you peruse the pages, I’ll pull a cork on some vino and enjoy!

Corks Display

Tags: Pedroncelli, wine, Cellar
Categories:
comment