Another successful bottling event at Vinoland today. That's four down and two to go, (Vinomaker made a lot of wine in 2009). The various vineyard owners, on leaving Vinoland, were very happy farmers indeed.The above photograph shows a partial order of corks, (at the winery where I am gainfully employed), destined to be the closure of choice for bottling a Cabernet sauvignon, also 2009. Each box contains 5,000 corks. In Vinoland we purchase our corks in bags of 1,000 at a time, and have only gone through 2,500 up to this point. Economies of scale.
The humble cork was first utilised as a stopper by the ancient Egyptians. Later, it was popularised by a certain French monk who made sparkling wine. Then in the 18th century, cork finally began to be commercially produced as a wine closure by the enterprising Portuguese - who coincidentally just so happened to grow copious amounts of cork oaks.
Cork is renewable - the trees are harvested approximately every 9 years. Cork is recyclable - flooring, place mats, sandals, you name it. Cork is romantic - a sommelier cracking open a screw cap during ones candlelit, $200 per head dinner just doesn't cut it.
Cork: renewable, recyclable...and romantic: thank you Mother Nature. Go ahead, pop a cork today.
7 comments:
If I paid $200 for dinner I'd pop my bloody clogs.....scouse is about $2 a plate..beetroot extra.
"Cork is romantic." It's incredible to think how powerful the cork is in our perception of wine.
What are your thoughts experience on the new CO2-blasted particle corks made from recycled corks?
Wasn't it such a romantic thing to keep the cork from that bottle of wine shared on a special occasion with a loved one?
("Look sweetheart....I've still got the screw top from the bottle of Hirondelle we drank when you proposed to me!" Not the same, somehow.)
Thud: Well, the amount of beetroot your family goes through would bring any meal up to $200!
2B: Yes, cork is romantic...see Affer's comment below yours.
Like the Sil-cork brand? There is always something new and improved waiting in the wings isn't there? Plenty of room in the industry for all types of wine closures.
Affer: Exactly!
Cork also looks right smart on the right pair of summer shoes, though I vastly prefer corks of the popping variety. :) Looks like you are stocked up for a while. How long do they stay useable in storage before they are shoved into bottles?
Nice to see others extolling the virtues of natural cork - I sometimes feel like a lone voice! Actually, cork appears to be gaining again in popularity, with some growers (even in the Antipodes) moving AWAY from screwcap.
In Europe it's the Diam cork (guaranteed no TCA) that is gaining ground. Synthetics are getting to be history apart from Nomacorc. Screwcaps are perfect for everyday/allday (Ron Combo) wines.
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