Why corks are popping once more - - The Guardian

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 Why Cork Stoppers in Bottles of Our 

Spanish Artisan Wine Group Wines Matter

(Click on the line above, includes a slide show on cork.)

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 "Cork-makers are feeling buoyant as the wine industry turns away from screw-top bottles and back to traditional corks."   - - The Guardian

Carlos de Jesus of Amorim in Portugal explains the process of preparing cork
that will be made in natural cork wine stoppers.
Photo by Gerry Dawes©2010 / contact gerrydawes@aol.com for publication rights.
(Note: the photos in this blog post were not a part of The Guardian article.)

"Corks are on the way back, as 70% of winemakers favour them over screw-tops or plastic stoppers.

Forget screw-caps, the old-fashioned cork is making a comeback. This week, as the wine industry gathers at Vinexpo, the world's biggest wine fair in Bordeaux, traditional cork-makers are feeling buoyant.

"Today, 70% of winemakers have chosen cork over screw-caps or plastic wine stoppers," says Carlos de Jesus, head of communication at Amorim, the world's biggest cork producer.

So why the sudden comeback? Are consumers increasingly associating screw-caps with cheap wine? 

Not according to Valérie Hamon, of the wine retailer Nicolas. Light summer wines are still preferred in screw-cap bottles and, she argues, "cork doesn't always mean quality".

Nonetheless, winemakers from South Africa to California are making the switch back from screw-caps to cork.

Proof, according to De Jesus, that cork is back and here to stay."

Origin information: The Guardian

Gerry Dawes gerrydawes@aol.com

Premio Nacional de Gastronómia 2003 (Spanish National Gastronomy Award)

Food Arts Silver Spoon Award December 2009

Gallery of Chefs & Food Personalities: Portraits by Gerry Dawes

Web Pages:

Gerry Dawes's Spain: An Insider's Guide to Spanish Food, Wine, Culture and Travel

Adventures in Spanish Taste: Insider's Food, Wine, Cultural and Photographic Travel in Spain

The Traveling Gastronomer: A Celebration of Food, Wine, Life, Photography & Quixotic Musings

The Spanish Artisan Wine Group & Amorim Corks; A Cork Briefing from Amorim Cork Producers, Portugal

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 Why Cork Stoppers in Bottles of Our 

Spanish Artisan Wine Group Wines Matter

Tubes of cork destined to become wine stoppers at Amorim in Portugal.

All photos by Gerry Dawes©2010. Contact gerrydawes@aol.com for publication rights.

The Wineries of The Spanish Artisan Wine Group

Will All Be Using Specially Selected Amorim Portuguese Corks

In Our Bottles Within Two Years of Being Selected Into the Group

We Will Guarantee Our Wines Against "Cork-taint" 100% 

And We Will Say So on Our Labels!

Carlos de Jesus of Amorim in Portugal explains the process of preparing cork 
that will be made in natural cork wine stoppers. 
All photos by Gerry Dawes©2010. Contact gerrydawes@aol.com for publication rights.

Cork Briefing

Courtesy of Amorim (Click)

Slide show of Amorim cork production.

(Double click on images for enlarged version in Picasa; 
click on "slideshow" in the upper left-hand corner, then hit F11 for a full screen show.)

Alentejo:

Portugal’s Cork Country

The Alentejo is a mystical place of gliding plains, sudden mountains, and the largest cork forests in the world. The Alentejo’s Cork Country is a lightly populated region with open horizons where the rhythm of life follows the rhythm of regional songs. And this fertile land produces more than half of the world's total cork supply.

Cork harvesting at Amorim in Portugal's Alentejo region. 
All photos by Gerry Dawes©2010. Contact gerrydawes@aol.com 

Click here to read the rest of the article.