cork

USA Wineries Increasing Use of Cork Closures

Filed under: Wine

Despite a move in recent years to replace cork closures for wine with alternatives such as synthetic cork or screw-caps, a study by AC Nielsen on behalf of the Cork Quality Council indicates that the premium domestic US wineries are increasing their use of cork closures, with brands using cork showing higher annual sales growth over those using alternatives.

According to the data released recently by the CQC, out of 100 top selling wine brands, the number of brands using cork closures rose to 72 during the past five months, registering an increase of 7.5%. These brands using cork as the closure also posted an average annual sales bump of 10.2 %, compared to annual growth of 3.7 % for alternative closures majority of which are screw-caps.

Cork comes from a certain variety of oak tree that is only found in the Mediterranean, especially Portugal.

Tags: AC Nielsen, cork, cork taint, corks, french wines, Makers Mark, premium wines

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Elie Tahari Charlotte Cork Wedge

by Marsha Reid (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Shoes

A shoe that is both comfortable and provides an extra 5" inches is rare and a heaven sent. The Charlotte Wedges by Elie Tahari ($398) are just that. They feature a platform cork wedge and a padded footbed which allow for all sorts of comfy feelings for your feet.

Its snakeskin pattern is subtle while breaking up the wedge's ultra white color palette. Giving a dose of dressy are the hints of gold hardware across your toes, along the sole and at the ankle straps, making these fun to wear either with jeans and a top or a flirty summer dress.

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Tags: cork, Elie Tahari, shoes, snakeskin, wedge

France Fights To Keep The Cork

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

The rise of the screwcap and plastic stoppers for wine bottles has continue but not without some grumbles from the the French. The Telegraph reports that France's cork federation is going on the offensive with a poster campaign that features wine and champagne bottles with outlandish alternative stoppers like a plastic duck and the slogan: "Always imitated, never equaled."

The federation also points to a recent poll that says that almost nine out of ten French people prefer the traditional stopper. Real cork remains associated with quality wine, well-preserved aromas and long conservation despite the fact that many critics say the screwcap is, and should be, the new standard for ease of use and preventing the dreaded cork taint. Even the emperor of wine, Robert Parker has said that he thinks that only great wines that are meant to age for years will be cork topped in the future.

One advantage of cork production is the green factor. Cork topper production produces less carbon emissions than the production of plastic and screw tops. More importantly the cork industry supports the cork oak forests of Portugal and Spain which are a home for wildlife.

Tags: cork, cork forests, france, screwcap, wine

How to Use a Wine Key Like a Pro

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Also called 'waiter's friends,' wine keys can be tricky to use successfully if you're not familiar with how they work. Here's a quick 'how to' guide to using them like a pro.

Step 1: Open the blade and use it to cut and remove the foil, letting the ridge of the bottle guide the blade and keep it from slipping.

Step 2: Fold back the blade and open the screw. Hold the wine bottle by the neck with one hand and use the other to center the point of the screw on the cork and turn it firmly several times until the worm (spiral) is solidly anchored. Then continue turning the screw, without pressing down, until it's embedded halfway into the cork.

Step 3: Unfold the lever and anchor it on the lip of the bottle. Use it to help you pull up until the cork is half exposed.

Step 4: Turn the screw again (still being careful not to apply downward pressure) until the worm is all the way through the cork.

Step 5: Pull up until the cork is free.

Broken cork: If the cork breaks and you're left with part of it stuck in the neck of the bottle you have two options: Try gently repeating steps 2, 4, and 5 and see if you can remove it, or if that fails push the cork through the other way into the wine (being careful so it doesn't splash). It won't affect the flavor and the wine is still drinkable, although there may be sediment and bits of cork.

Tags: cork, corkscrew, how to, wine, wine key, wine-pedia

Maestro, The New Pop Top Champagne Closure

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

We first heard about it in April but now we can take a look at the new system for opening Champagne. The Maestro opening system, developed by Alcan Packaging Capsules, looks similar to a regular champagne top but there is one big difference, a large lever on the side. Champagne house Duval-Leroy is the first to use the new closure, putting it on their cuvee Clos des Bouveries Vintage 2004. To open the bottle you simply lift up the lever (a video is after the jump). The closure does make a soft popping noise and is, if less elegant, certainly faster. The process is more like opening a can of soda than opening a wine bottle.

The new closure has similar benefits to the screwcap on still wine, the main selling point being that it eliminates cork taint. Prevention of the dreaded TCA has made the screwcap a favorite of wine producers and the public has caught on to the fact that a screwtop doesn't mean that the wine is cheap or of poor quality. I haven't seen it in person yet but there is something appealing about the lever that I believe lends itself to graceful pouring. I think this closure may catch on.

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Tags: alcan, champagne, cork, maesto

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The Disappearing Cork Forests Of Portugal

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

For a couple years now the wine industry has been moving toward more screwcaps but there are some good reasons that the pendulum may shift again.. A study by The World Wildlife Fund shows that up to three quarters of the Mediterranean's cork forests could be lost within 10 years if the trend for plastic stoppers and screw tops continues. A BBC Natural World documentary highlights the fact that these forests also support rare species such as Iberian lynx, black storks and booted eagles which are already disappearing in some areas. Because the farmers can no longer make as much money from cork harvest they have been ripping up the trees in order to grow alternative crops that will provide more ready cash. But the land that the cork oaks are on sometimes turns into a desert when the trees are removed. According to an article in the Telegraph, in the Algarve, Portugal, cork forests have declined by 28 per cent in the past 10 years. The cork industry in Portugal is now attempting to fight back and has introduced new methods to protect against cork taint and are trying to bring increased attention to the industry through public service announcements.

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Tags: cork, screwcap, wine

ReCork America, Wine Cork Recycling Gets Organized

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine, Green

When it comes to recycling most people don't think of the wine cork. Usually people either save them as mementos, turn them into trivets, bulletin boards or in one rare case a suit, or the simply place them back into the wine bottle and toss the bottle in the recycling bin. FOr personal consumption it's perhaps not that big an issue but when you are talking about restaurants and wine tasting rooms, that can be a lot of corks. ReCork America is a new recycling program sponsored by Amorim, a Portuguese cork manufacturer. The project began as a pilot program in Oregon is in place in many San Francisco businesses and restaurants and is spreading into Napa Valley, the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena recently came onboard. The plan is to eventually take cork recycling nationwide. Used corks can be recycled and remade into floor tiles, insulation, gardening products and more. According to an article in the Napa Valley Register, the biggest problem is logistics, if it takes more energy to pick up the corks than it negates the worth of the recycling. So far, this has been a grassroots program with people getting the word out and working to gather corks to deliver to collection centers as well as starting to brainstorm new uses for the recycled cork. For more information, visit the ReCork America website.

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Tags: cork, recork, recycling, wine

Trevor O'Neil's "Dulce de Leche Divan"

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor

It sounds like a dessert, but the Dulce de Leche Divan by Trevor O'Neil is a contemporary sofa that's both stylish and eco-friendly. Made of recycled cork and birch, this sofa is simple and contemporary in design. Besides neutral/natural colors (it looks almost unfinished) clean lines with rounded soft edges make this an inviting seat, although with no back it's probably not the best for real relaxing -- sit up straight! Only available in the one color scheme, and notice the handy built-in end tables on either side. $5,800

Via Born Rich

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Tags: contemporary, cork, corks, couch, decor, furniture, modern, oneill, recycle, recycled, seat, sit, sitting, sofa, trevor oneill, TrevorOneill

The Corkxedo, Old Corks Take A Turn As Formal Wear

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Wine

I love Wine Spectator's Unfiltered column, it never fails to call my attention to something that makes me smile. Today, the ultimate solution to what to do with leftover corks, the Corkxedo. The Corkxedo was created by Los Angeles wine lover Dave Hamilton who spent around ten months putting together a top hat, cane and jacket with tails that are all made of whole corks drilled, reinforced and woven and knotted with nylon twine. The set contains the corks of more than 240 wineries and the oldest cork is a 1935 Chateau Lynch-Bages. Hamilton isn't averse to selling the Corkxedo either, he guesses the size 44 jacket would auction off in the $35,000 to $40,000 range. It occurs to me that some enterprising craftsperson could have quite a business turning the collected corks of oenophiles into functional objects. More inspiration can be found at this great post on Terramia.

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Tags: cork, corks, corkxedo

Willamette Valley Vineyards Switch To Sustainable Corks

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Willamette Valley Vineyards is going green in a new way. Wine Business reports that they will become the first winery in the world to use cork stoppers harvested from forestlands certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. Willamette Valley Vineyards annually produces around 100,000 cases of mainly Pinot Noir wine. Starting with the 2006 vintage Pinot Noir to be bottled in July, the winery will begin using corks that are FSC certified and imprinted with the FSC and Rainforest Alliance logo. The corks come from from FSC-certified cork forests in the Alentejo region of Portugal. The Rainforest Alliance says that cork is important to protecting the environment because the use of plastic stoppers and aluminum screw caps aren't environmentally friendly. The 2005 vintage sells for $24 per bottle.

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Tags: cork, orgeon wine, pinot noir, red wine, willamette valley vineyards, WillametteValleyVineyards, wine closures

Reporting FromThe Unified Grape & Wine Symposium: Screwcap Versus Cork, Is The Debate Already Over?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

I've covered the screwcap versus cork debate on this blog a number of times (yes, there are other closures but in the end it really does come down to these main two). In my thoughts on natural cork, I've wondered about cork taint, pondered the implicit romantic nature and the history of the cork and made my peace with the fact that some damn fine wines can come out of a screwcap bottle.

There is one thing I didn't consider which I realized during the Unified Grape & Wine Symposium panel on Closures which is that I might not even be able to recognize cork taint in small percentages and that in some cases it might not be such a big deal. Knowing that 2 to 5% of bottles get hit with a bit of TCA (the stuff that causes the musty, moldiness known as cork taint) averages would indicated that I have opened many tainted bottles. And yet I can only remember a few cases in which I was certain the wine was corked. I think I know what cork taint is but I may actually have no idea at all.

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Tags: closures, cork, screwcap, unified wine and grape symposium, UnifiedWineAndGrapeSymposium, wine, wineries

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DWR's Champagne Chair Contest

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

Design Within Reach is hosting their annual Champagne Chair Contest, which gives you a chance to not only do some design work of your own, but to actually be recognized for it. The idea is that you have to use a champagne cork and turn it into a miniature chair. The cork, cage and foil are all fair game, but you can only use what comes with two champagne bottles. Entries will be judged on craftsmanship, creativity, character, innovative use of materials, and durability and must be no larger than 4" x 4" x 4". The grand prize is a $1,500 DWR gift certificate and the deadline for entries is Monday, January 15, 2007.

Above are some of the designs from the 2005 contest to give you some ideas.

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Tags: art, chair, chairs, champagne, conest, contest, cork, corks

The Cork

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor

From the designer who brought us The Crate, this is The Cork. The "very basic, very versatile" cork is a rounded, cylindrical cork available in both high (13.39"H x 12.6" dia.) and low (9.8"H x 17.75" dia.) versions. Too large to be used to stop up that half-drink bottle of wine from dinner, the corks are recommended for use as (very small) seating or as tables. At $300, the corks seem overpriced for what they are, but somewhat less outrageous than the Crate, for all that's worth.

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Tags: cork, crate, designer, the cork

Rogar Bronze Cork Pull

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Most wine openers seem to work in about the same way as long as you're buying one of the highly-rated lever models. But the black and silver Screwpull from Le Creuset just doesn't stand out anymore, since the design is so popular. Instead, try using an opener like the Rogar Bronze Cork Pull, is surprisingly lightweight with an antiqued bronze finish. Its design is based on one from the 1890s and is richly engraved with depictions of vines and grapes on the sides. It measures 10 x 8.25 x 8.25-in. Price: $120.

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Tags: cork, cork pull, holiday, wine, wine opener, wines

Cork Cuff

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry

We already knew that cork was getting fashionable, and we've seen it in both handbags and shoes, but one area we never expected to see it was jewelry. This is because the new technologies developed for processing cork have been focus on making it more like fabric or leather and less like... cork. This Cork Cuff makes no bones about its origin. Each piece is carved from a single block of cork is made from recycled product. The cork blocks are individually numbered and included in the purchase of the cuff for storage and/or display. The cuffs come in one size only, but are flexible (not to mention water repellent) and will fit most men's and women's wrists. Price: $48.