Five Feet, Nine Inches Above Ground

Portugal is famous for cork production and my current digs with Randy and Marc are in the vicinity of one of the major producers of cork s for the champagne and wine industry in France, Spain and Italy. So, off I went for a guided tour of the Nova Cotiça Cork Company on Friday January 5. It was an enlightening and educational experience. According my tour guide, screw top and plastic cork wine bottles are not a threat to the cork industry. The reality is a shortage of cork in the market place and the other capping devices fill a need particularly in the lower end wine market. Considering that it takes 45 years for a cork tree to reach harvest age, one begins to understand the need to plant now.

The entry into the factory promotes the many uses of cork. A thin layer of cork applied to a synthetic backing makes a durable and very comfortable upholstery fabric. The suspended christmas tree is made with cork as well.

A selection of cork items for sale.

The bark or outer layer of the cork tree takes time to develop before the first harvest – about 45 years.

Various grades of cork are used for a variety of purposes.

Champagne bottle corks are made up of three layers of cork to prevent the bubbles from escaping. Champagne only gets to breathe when the the cork is pulled.

Six grades of cork are produced in this factory.

Yes, Mary Poppins, you could have a cork umbrella for 150 euros.

Skids of cork waiting for processing.

The cork is harvested in June and July by hand by expert cutters.

The bark is boiled to flatten it for processing.

Fresh from the boiler, the steamy bark has a sweet scent similar to boiling maple sap.

Once dry, the bark is sliced horizontally.

January is low production season after the holidays.

Slices of bark are punched to make cork rounds.

The slices retain their tendency to curl.

Automatic punching and sorting.

And out they come…

Waiting for the slicer.

Filling the bins.

Each cork round is scanned and evaluated by a computer.

and graded accordingly.

And the product piles up..

Keeping watch over the production line.

One for this bag…

And more for this bag.

The sorted cork is bagged, stored and sold.

All parts of the cork are used.

Large corks, thin strips, no matter what, there is a use for it.

It was break time in low season.

The exterior of Nova Cortiça

Nova Cortiça is a family-owned and operated cork business in the Algarve.