Screwed: Move away from corks threatens wildlife

November 30, 2008 by Doug Haugen  

Corks have been the bottle stopper of choice for ages, but are they the best option?

Sitting in the tasting room of White Heron Cellars one night, Cameron Fries told us a joke about a salesman trying to sell the latest innovation: corks. In his pitch, the salesman said, “Sure, this will spoil one out of ten bottles of wine, will sometimes crumble into the bottle, and requires a special tool to open, but all that is made up for by the satisfying popping sound it makes when you pull it out.”

Over the past few years, even winemakers of premium wines have been turning to alternative bottlestoppers like synthetic corks, screwcaps and glass stoppers. Developments in technology have resulted in closures that still allow wine to breathe a little, and age as wine should (though at a slower pace), while eliminating the risk of a wine becoming “corked.”

Sounds dreamy.

But, it turns out that the move to screwcaps isn’t without its consequences. According to an article in the Telegraph in the UK, the move away from corks is threatening to kill off important wildlife habitats in Europe.

Cork comes from the bark of matured cork oak trees. It takes a tree forty-five years to mature to an age where it can be harvested without killing the tree, and then the tree can be harvested every nine years. Cork stoppers make up seventy percent of the income for cork harvests, and as wineries stop buying corks, some farmers are tearing up their trees to try different cash crops. However, cork oak forests are often on inhospitable ground, and the terrain turns to desert.

This is bad news for the wildlife that inhabits the forests. Reportedly, in only 0.1 of a hectare of cork forest, there are more than 100 certified species. Two species in particulare are at risk of extinction, the Iberian lynx and European cranes.

Perhaps new technology will eliminate the chance of cork taint without eliminating corks.

Comments

  • http://NWTotemCellars.com/ Mike Sharadin

    Cork Tree Habitat
    Lost in this article’s sources was the vacancy of atributable science from anyone other than cork manafacturers. It should be noted that the cork groves are man created. They are akin to an apple orchard or a tobacco field. If the cigarette companies were complaining that the decline of tobacco use was threatening the eco system created in the fields of the tobacco farmers, we would all agree and start smoking again?
    Our solution has been the glass stoppers and not only are they recyclable, they can be bioled and reused.
    By local and reuse!

  • http://NWTotemCellars.com Mike Sharadin

    Cork Tree Habitat
    Lost in this article’s sources was the vacancy of atributable science from anyone other than cork manafacturers. It should be noted that the cork groves are man created. They are akin to an apple orchard or a tobacco field. If the cigarette companies were complaining that the decline of tobacco use was threatening the eco system created in the fields of the tobacco farmers, we would all agree and start smoking again?
    Our solution has been the glass stoppers and not only are they recyclable, they can be bioled and reused.
    By local and reuse!

  • http://www.winomagazine.com/ Doug

    I like the glass stoppers, too. I’ve got a collection of them in a container on my kitchen counter, and I reuse them all the time.

  • http://www.winomagazine.com Doug

    I like the glass stoppers, too. I’ve got a collection of them in a container on my kitchen counter, and I reuse them all the time.