The 235-year old Whistler Cork Oak from Alentejo, Portugal was named the European Tree of the Year 2018, after gathering 26,606 votes of the 200,000 votes cast for thirteen candidate trees from countries representing every corner of Europe. The Whistler Cork Oak is named after the sound of the countless birds that perch in its branches. The bark of the …

(From Deborah Parker Wong in the Somm Journal) When it comes to wine storage, old habits are hard to break. But Dr. Paulo Lopes, Research and Development Manager at Amorim Cork, advises that if temperature and humidity are maintained at the correct levels, wine can be stored upright with no ill effects. In fact, sparkling wine should always be stored …

British Mathematician reveals the formula for the perfect pop when opening a bottle of bubbly (and it’s all about the temperature…) Dr Eugenia Cheng’s experiment characterised the perfect pop as in the frequency range of 8,000Hz to 12,000Hz This sound is the most appealing to the human ear, with those frequencies comparable to the ring of cymbals To achieve the …

Even many sophisticated wine drinkers when tasting a wine that doesn’t seem quite right will automatically say it’s ‘corked’. But just as the ability to distinguish varietals or terroir is essential to becoming an educated wine drinker, so is the ability to distinguish off aromas and tastes. With this educational goal in mind, noted enologist Dr. Paulo Lopes recently conducted …

Wines under cork rated higher in blind taste test – Most winemakers know that natural cork can make their wine taste better. That is why over 70 percent of all wine is sealed with cork, and the vast majority of the world’s finest wines.  The oxygen contained within the cork, diffused into the bottle at a predictable but non-linear rate …

Test Shows 47% Percent Sales Benefit for Wines Identified as Using Natural Cork, 83% for Reds Only – Does professed consumer preference for natural cork effect in-store purchase decisions? This question is difficult to answer because labels do not give information on closure type. What if information on closures was available to buyers? Would it effect wine sales? To answer …

From Emily Monaco at the Organic Authority: ‘You might think that you’re making a more sustainable choice when you choose wine bottles closed with plastic or aluminum, but the truth is that the traditional cork stoppers are by far the best option.’ The article goes on to say “major advances have been made in identifying corks affected with cork taint …

(This article excerpted from sevenfiftydaily.com, September 5, 2017, by Amanda Barnes “The Future of Cork Closures”) Cork trees have been harvested in the same way for centuries and that’s unlikely to change; the processing of cork bark, however, has become practically unrecognizable in the last few years. The cork bark from Quercus suber trees goes through several selection processes—in the …

(August 23, 2017) In continued validation of the connection between quality wine and natural cork, eight of the top nine rosé wines chosen in 2017 in a competition conducted by the Global Rosé Masters on behalf of The Drinks Business are finished with natural cork. The nine wines came at all price points from $19 to $90. As expected, France …

APCOR (the Portuguese Cork Association) and the Cork Quality Council attended the Wines & Vines Packaging Conference on August 16, 2017 – speaking to attendees about the attributes and advantages of natural cork, pouring wines finished with natural cork, and connecting with friends and figures from the wine industry. At our booth in the Lobby Bar, guests enjoyed wines provided …