La suma importancia del corcho en la conservación de los vinos

La suma importancia del corcho en la conservación de los vinos 

06 de diciembre de 2013

En este día festivo El Enófilo 2.0 quiere hacer un homenaje al corcho por la suma importancia que tiene en la conservación de los vinos. La función del corcho es conservar el vino en buen estado durante su período de almacenamiento evitando que en él penetren el oxígeno y agentes desagradables como las bacterias y el moho.

El corcho se consigue de la corteza del alcornoque, árbol que prolifera en zonas con climas suaves que cuentan con muchas horas de sol y humedad. En España los encontramos en gran número en provincias como Badajoz, Cádiz, Huelva, Málaga y Sevilla. También están muy presentes en Portugal, lo que convierte a ambos países en los primeros productores mundiales de corcho. Para que luego digan que no lideramos nada.

Un alcornoque necesita unos treinta años para producir corcho y ocho años para regenerarse y volver a darlo. El proceso para obtener corcho se produce de siguiente forma: se “pela” la corteza del árbol dando lugar a unas planchas que se dejan secar para que pierdan la humedad y cuando se ha conseguido esto se escaldan con agua caliente para cerrar los poros y obtener una mayor elasticidad. Al término de este proceso se cortan los tapones bajo las siguientes directrices: tapones de 49 a 54 mm para los vinos destinados al envejecimiento, y de entre 38 y 44 mm para los vinos jóvenes. Posteriormente, los corchos son lavados y tratados con sustancias como parafinas o aceites para poder ser introducidos en las botellas.

Es importante colocar las botellas en posición horizontal para que el vino esté en permanente contacto con el corcho para que éste no se rompa y cumpla perfectamente con la misión que se le ha encomendado. Cuando abramos una botella deberemos fijarnos en que el corcho salga entero. Los corchos de buena calidad son los que aparecen enteros, sin grietas y manchados sólo en la zona que ha estado expuesta al vino. Si no ocurre esto habrá que permanecer en guardia ante el estado de conservación del vino.
Tipos de corchos
Naturales. Son los fabricados de una única pieza. Deben ser uniformes y sin orificios, conocidos como lenticelas. Son ideales para conservar vinos de larga duración, como reserva o gran reserva.
Aglomerados. Fabricados de distintos trozos de corcho unidos entre si por poliuretano. Son los utilizados para los vinos espumosos. También se emplean en vinos jóvenes y en crianzas.
1+1. Corchos de aglomerado a los que se les coloca un disco de corcho natural en el extremo que va a estar en contacto con el vino. Se emplean para los vinos jóvenes y para los crianzas.
Técnicos aglomerados o corcho Altec. Son corchos aglomerados de última generación, donde el aglomerado está más compactado.
Corchos para vinos espumosos. Son los característicos del tipo seta que están confeccionados a partir de un aglomerado de corcho aunque en ocasiones se usan tapones tratados con parafina. En estos corchos aparece un símbolo en la parte inferior que informa del tipo de espumoso que contiene:
una estrella de cuatro puntas:
cavas o vinos elaborados según el método tradicional.
un rectángulo:
vinos fermentados en botella.
una circunferencia:
vinos granvas.
un círculo relleno:
vinos espumosos.
un triángulo equilátero:
vinos gasificados.
Sintéticos. Elaborados con polímeros sintéticos. Este tipo de corcho es muy empleado en vinos jóvenes.
Tapón de rosca. Son metálicos y tienen una rosca. Se emplean en los vinos generosos. Son muy frecuentes en los vinos del “nuevo mundo” desde donde sus “expertos” están intentando convencernos de que son los mejores para la conservación del vino.

Afortunadamente, la mayoría de los bodegueros españoles aún no se han vuelto locos y siguen confiando en el corcho de calidad para conservar sus vinos, y no están haciendo caso de las recomendaciones de los “expertos anglosajones” que tanto perjuicio están haciendo al universo del vino. Con esas ocurrencias se está consiguiendo que la industria del corcho se tambalee en nuestro país. Qué diferentes serían las cosas si los alemanes, australianos, británicos, estadounidenses o sudafricanos fueran productores de corcho. Al igual que no permitimos que los italianos nos aconsejen en materias como el jamón y el aceite, porque los nuestros son infinitamente mejores que los suyos, no permitamos que un tipo de Napa nos “aconseje” sobre vinos. ¡Fuera complejos!

Me gustaría acabar este post mostrando mi solidaridad con los productores y trabajadores del corcho que están pasando momentos muy complicados porque no les sale a cuenta mantener este primordial sector ante los ínfimos precios que se les están pagando. Por el bien de todos, los bodegueros deberían ser más sensibles al respecto y no dejar que el corcho termine desapareciendo de nuestras botellas. Si permitimos esto, qué sera lo próximo, ¿los vinos en botellas de plástico?

Ah, y los corchos siempre se pueden reciclar cuando han dejado de cumplir su función creando salvamanteles, lámparas, esteras, cuadros, y todo lo que vuestra imaginación pueda soñar.

Hasta la próxima, amigos. Salud y a catar.

Orígen información: Directo al Paladar

CVNE, primera bodega española en conseguir la doble huella ambiental

CVNE, primera bodega española en conseguir la doble huella ambiental

10 de octubre de 2013

Hace diez años que CVNE dio los primeros pasos para convertirse en una bodega respetuosa con el medio ambiente, tanto en sus procesos como en sus productos. Desde entonces, ha llevado a cabo una serie de acciones dentro de su 'Plan Ecofriendly'.

Así, la bodega ha reducido el peso de sus botellas en casi un 20%. Además, el cartón que usa para las cajas de vino está producido con material totalmente reciclado y las tintas son también respetuosas con el medio ambiente. Los tapones que utilizan son de corcho, una materia natural cuyo uso protege los bosques de alcornoques. En cuanto a los viñedos, cuida de más de 545 hectáreas, entre otras medidas.

El objetivo ahora es reducir su impacto medioambiental en un 10% de cara a los próximos 5 años por lo que CVNE continuará con su 'Plan Ecofriendly' que contempla el aprovechamiento y reutilización de recursos en la bodega, la mejora de los materiales y fomentar la concienciación de los proveedores.

Bodegas Raimat avanza en su compromiso medioambiental

Bodegas Raimat avanza en su compromiso medioambiental

 

La marca del Grupo Codorníu incorpora a su vino Raimat Terra tapones de corcho con el sello FSC

04/09/2013. infoRETAIL.- Bodegas Raimat, empresa perteneciente al Grupo Codorníu, ha incorporado a su vino 100% ecológico Raimat Terra (D.O. Costers del Segre) los tapones de corcho con la certificación internacional FSC, que garantiza que el material procede de bosques gestionados de forma responsable.

Raimat Terra es un vino Chardonnay 100%, elaborado con uva procedente de los viñedos propios de la bodega, cuyas vides están certificadas como ecológicas y sostenibles, de producción integrada.

Su nuevo tapón de corcho está elaborado con un material natural, biodegradable y sostenible, cuyo sello es fácilmente reconocible.

La elaboración de corcho, producto forestal procedente de los alcornocales, está destinada mayoritariamente a la fabricación de tapones. Por esta razón, el sello defiende el empleo de este material natural en el tapado de cavas y vinos, como garantía de la conservación de los alcornocales a través de los estándares de gestión forestal responsable más exigentes del mercado.

También los distribuidores de vino australianos aprecian el tapón de corcho

También los distribuidores de vino australianos aprecian el tapón de corcho

 
Puede verse en http://www.cellarit.com.au/wine-blog/screwcap-versus-cork/cork-versus-screwcap-penfolds-re-ignites-the-debate/  el comentario de Rhys Goodey de Arks Wine Agency en Edgecliff, Australia donde acoge positivamente la posición de la relevante bodega Penfolds:
 
 Rhys Goodey says:

April 20, 2012 

I am glad Penfolds have backed down somewhat on their conversion to screwcap, WHATEVER THE REAL AND COMPLETE REASONS BEHIND IT! St Henri in screwcap has almost broken my heart.
Screwcaps continue to make much of Australian wine look cheap and cheerful rather than distinguished. I’ m just not paying more than fifteen dollars for an Australian wine with a sauce bottle top and a crappy label, would rather open one of my lovely French or Italian wines.

Tapón de corcho en una ginebra de Alemania

Una excelente ginebra alemana, Monkey 47 (ver  http://www.mercadocalabajio.com/2013/08/ginebra-monkey-47-el-gran-descubrimiento.html) cierra su ginebra con tapón de corcho. 

 

 
Ver http://www.monkey47.com/  para ver su presentación y elección del corcho.

New Zealand: Alain Limmer defending cork closures use - Alain Limmer que defiende el uso de los tapones de corcho

Visiting New Zealand's wine regions 
Part 12: Stonecroft, Hawkes Bay

Alan Limmer (pictured above) is one of the pioneers of the Gimblett Gravels, that special piece of vineyard land in Hawkes Bay. He’s also achieved recent celebrity status in the closures debate, where, as a trained (PhD) chemist he’s been able to provide some much-needed scientific rigour to discussions about sulfides, reduction and screwcaps.

He has two blocks in the Gravels, the first of which was planted way back in 1983 (the first experimental plantings here were 1981). Everything he makes comes from these, with the exception of his Sauvignon Blanc. Altogether he has 25 acres on the Gravels, of which 15–20 acres are in production.

The big focus here is on Syrah, and winemaking is pretty straightforward. ‘There seems to be something more to learn every year’, says Limmer. ‘And the more you learn the less you seem to do with the wines’.

Of his involvement in the closures debate, where he became deeply unpopular in some quarters for suggesting that using screwcaps with very low oxygen transmission runs the risk of reduction problems, Limmer says that ‘it still occupies some of my time’. He began by writing articles primarily for winemakers and then saw that the whole issue was much bigger than this. He put out a newsletter saying that there might be some problems with screwcaps in 2002, and this was picked up by a local journalist. He was particularly scathing about claims by screwcap supporters that corks showed a one-thousand-fold level of variation in oxygen transmission. ‘You only had to look at it for half and hour to see that it was rubbish’. 

Stonecroft's vineyard 

‘Screwcapped wines harden up’, says Limmer. ‘They go into a tight ball’. He often does comparisons of cork-sealed versus screwcapped wines, and reckons that this is the best way to see the low-level reduction that hardens up the palate. ‘Most people don’t get a chance to see the comparisons’. Limmer is currently using Diam for his wines (a taint-free technical cork), but says that ‘if I could be sure of getting clean corks, I’d use them.’ He also says that the choice by some winemakers to use screwcaps for their whites but corks for their reds is not logical.

An interesting information on Australian closures market - Una interesante información acerca del mercado de tapones de vino en Australia

Wine Closures - screwcaps

Publish Date: 07 Dec 2011

Authored by: Media Release

The following piece from the Australian & New Zealand Grapegrower & Winemaker raises an interesting aspect of closure usage.  While over 98% of white wines and red wines under $20 sold in the Australian market are closed with screwcaps, it is obvious that export markets are leading to split bottling, with cork the preferred closure for the US, China (and UK?) markets – preferred, that is, by the market, not the winemakers.
Australia’s love affair with the screwcap continues to blossom with a new industry survey revealing 93 per cent of Australian wineries use this type of wine closure.
The Australian & New Zealand Grapegrower & Winemaker inaugural Closure Report surveyed 266 wineries from across Australia on the type of wine closures they use on their bottled wine. It also asked wineries to rate the four main wine closures used in Australia on price, performance, cost and consumer acceptance.
Consumer acceptance and wine quality were key reasons the survey respondents chose screwcaps as their preferred type of closure.
Grapegrower & Winemaker publisher, Winetitles, general manager Elizabeth Bouzoudis said Australian winemakers were instrumental in developing the use of screwcaps on wine bottles and growing consumer acceptance worldwide.
“This survey offers the most current closure data in Australia, to date, and demonstrates that Australian wineries continue to drive acceptance of this type of closure around the globe,” Ms Bouzoudis said.
“In 2000, it was estimated that just 200,000 wine bottles in Australia were closed with screwcaps. By 2004, it had grown 1000-fold to 200 million.*
“Australia’s wine industry is unique in its acceptance of this type of wine closure. Only in New Zealand, do we see similar levels of screwcap use by wineries.
“In fact, in the United States and China we see the exact opposite, with consumers and the wine industry preferring natural and technical cork than any other type of closure.”
According to the survey, 74% of the wineries that use screwcaps bottle more than three-quarters of their production under this type of closure.
Just 25% of the survey respondents said they use natural cork to close their wine, with almost half using it for less than a quarter of their bottled wine.
Respondents were also surveyed on their use of technical cork and synthetic closures, which are the two other main types of closures used in Australia. The survey showed just 24% of respondents used technical cork and 8% used synthetic closures.
Interestingly, screwcap use on Australian bottled wine dropped significantly if the wine was being sold in an export market.
The largest segment of Australian wines still closed with natural cork is on wine sold for more than $21 in China and the United States.
“There’s no doubt Australian wineries love screwcaps but these figures do show that consumer preference for cork, particularly in China and United States, still forces Australian wineries to use this type of closure, despite their own preferences,” Ms Bouzoudis said.
“We plan to run this survey every year, as we’re interested to see if pressure to bottle under cork rises, especially as the China wine export market continues to open up to Australia wine.
“Or, will Australian wineries continue to drive acceptance of screwcap in these export markets, as it has done in UK and Europe.”
The survey was conducted online in November 2011, with results published in the Grapegrower & Winemaker November and December issues. The first half of the report is out this week in the November issue. To subscribe go to www.winebiz.com.au/gwm/
* Closure data based on information presented at the 1st International Screwcap Closure Symposium, Marlborough, NZ in 2004.
Closure Survey - key results
Survey Respondents
- 266 respondents participated in the survey
- 55% of the survey respondents said they crushed less than 100 tonne of grapes in 2010-11 harvest, which represents almost three-quarters of the total Australian wineries.
- 2.3% said they didn’t crush any grapes from the 2010-11 harvest.
Type of closure used - overall
- 93% of the Australian wineries surveyed said they use screwcaps
- 74% of those who use screwcaps use this type of closure on 75%-100% of their bottled wine production
- 29% of respondents said they use natural cork
- 43% of those wineries who use natural cork only use it on less than 25% of their bottled wine production
- 24% of respondents said they use technical cork and just 8% use synthethic closure. The majority use it on less than 25% of their bottled wine production.
Type of closure used – export markets
- 59% of the 266 respondents said they bottled wine for an export market
- More respondents export wine to China (164), than to Europe (145), United Kingdom (148) and the United States (102)
- More respondents export premium red wine (above $21) to China than to the UK, US and Europe
- Respondents said 88% of the bottled wine destined for an export market is closed with screwcap
- 31% of exported bottled wine is closed with natural cork, 17% is closed with technical cork, and less than 1% used synthetic closures
- The smallest amount of exported Australian bottled wine with a screwcap went to China, followed by the US.
Type of closure used – winery perceptions
- ‘Consumer consideration’, and ‘wine quality’ were selected as the respondents’ chief reasons for choosing a type of closure
- The majority of respondents rated screwcap as having better performance overall and on the bottling line, has a better price, is easier to remove and has excellent levels of consumer acceptance
- Most respondents believed cork had better environmental credentials than all other types of closure.
Media Information: More key findings of the survey are in the Closure Survey Key Findings. If you would like to discuss these results further please contact the Australian and New Zealand Grapegrower & Winemaker editor Jennifer Barwick on 08 8369 9504 or 0413 512 745 or editor@grapeandwine.com.au

Moving back to cork

Closures: Part 3 – moving back to cork

12th September, 2012 by Patrick Schmitt

In contrast to yesterday’s views from Domaine Laroche, today we hear from a winemaker who has ditched screwcap in favour of cork after problems with the former closure.

Christian Canute

Despite sealing its other nine labels from Rusden Wines in the Barossa under cork, Christian Canute, winemaker and director at the family-run business, decided in 2005 to close its Driftsand Grenache and Shiraz blend with screwcap.
However, after four years of using screwcaps, he changed his mind, and hence the Driftsand 2010 vintage, which is due for release in October this year, will be closed with natural cork.
“I wasn’t happy with how the wines bottled under screwcap had been ageing,” he says. “Our wines are handmade and bottled without fining or filtration, and under a screwcap I have noticed the wines seem to sweat – producing overly dominant reductive characters, a problem we have never had under cork.”
Although he says that this “blows off after a few hours in a decanter”, Canute became concerned that customers were drinking Driftsand immediately after opening, while sommeliers in the Australian restaurant trade had been recounting incidences of “reductive, sweaty characters, and a great deal of bottle variation, particularly in our last vintage, 2009”.
Canute explains that he considered employing sterile filtration and copper additions to clean the wines up prior to bottling, but as Rusden is renowned for its traditional approach to winemaking and minimal use of additives, that is something he will not change.
He adds, interestingly: “I am aware that there are other winemakers out there unhappy with how their wines have aged under screwcap, but many would feel unsure about the market perception of moving back to cork, as there has been so much negative press, predominantly in Australia, in regards to the use of cork.
“Any winemaker should be able to have the choice of using the closure they see as best for their product without negativity surrounding their decision.”
And in any case, “Why are we as an industry trying to sell ‘screwcap’ over and above ‘Australian Wine’?”
Nevertheless, Canute believes that there is room for a variety of closures, just as there is room for a variety of wine styles.
As for the choice of cork source, Canute favours Portugal, and stresses that Rusden has opted for Amorim.
He explains: “Cork companies would admit they have made mistakes in the past, sending us poor quality cork, particularly in the early 2000s. I know they are trying to make up for that in a big way, and Amorim has spent millions of dollars on improving cork recently and I am completely confident in their product.
“The proof is in the pudding; TCA is so rare in our last two vintages that I am happy to open samples in front of my customers again.”
Finally, he notes that while cork’s sustainability “is a beautiful thing”, his decision to return to cork is purely based on technical performance.
As noted in yesterday’s piece, this profile is an extract from a longer article in the August edition of the drinks business which considered three winemakers and their closure choices, as well as the results of an experiment by Paul Pontallier at Château Margaux, along with views from a range of closure manufacturers.

Una encuesta de Vitisphère: Taponado del vino: sus experiencias nos interesan - Bouchage des vins : vos expériences nous intéressent !

Interesante encuesta realizada por la revista Vitisphère de Francia y que puede responderse en la página http://www.vitisphere.com/index.php?mode=sondage_0713


Bouchage des vins : vos expériences nous intéressent !

Outil crucial dans la vie d'un vin, le bouchon scelle la bouteille et marque le début d'une dégustation en libérant le vin. Sujet clivant s'il en est (le trio liège-synthétique-capsule passionne), quels sont les facteurs motivant le choix d'un type de bouchage ? Pour aborder cette question, l'équipe de Vitisphere vous en pose 6, qui font appel à vos témoignages sur les modalités de bouchage en tant que professionnels de la filière. Le sondage ci-dessous ne vous prendra que quelques instants, mais vos retours nous permettrons de rendre compte dans nos colonnes de vos expériences.
 Vous remerciant d'avance,
 L'équipe Vitisphere


Question 1 : Le mode de bouchage est-il pour vous une préoccupation ? *    Très importante
    Importante
    Relativement importante
    Pas très importante

Question 2 : Lorsque vous consultez un fournisseur pour le bouchage de vos vins, vous êtes attentif…

(Faites glisser les propositions à l'aide de votre souris pour les classer par ordre d'importance) :
A la qualité
A la traçabilité
Au rapport qualité/prix
A l’innovation technologique
Au conseil
A la variété de gamme proposée
Aux certifications dont dispose le fournisseur
Aux arguments environnementaux
Question 3 : A propos des modes de bouchage, diriez-vous que vous avez suffisamment d'information sur :


… les aspects techniques :

Force d'extraction ? *    Tout à fait
    Plutôt
    Plutôt pas assez
    Pas assez


Perméabilité à l'oxygène ? *    Tout à fait
    Plutôt
    Plutôt pas assez
    Pas assez


Risque de goût de bouchon ? *    Tout à fait
    Plutôt
    Plutôt pas assez
    Pas assez


… les aspects environnementaux ? *     Tout à fait
    Plutôt
    Plutôt pas assez
    Pas assez

Question 4 : Etes-vous sensibles aux études/informations des fournisseurs ? *    Oui
    Non

Question 5 : Lors de l'achat, pensez-vous que ce serait une bonne idée que le consommateur sache comment est bouché son vin ? *    Tout à fait
    Plutôt
    Plutôt pas
    Pas du tout
    NSP

Question 6 : Quel mode de bouchage a votre préférence ? *    Liège naturel
    Liège aggloméré
    Plastique
    Aluminium
    Autres (verre, BIB…)

Précisez

 Vous êtes *

Autre activité

 Volume conditionné en bouteille (en hl) *

Si vous souhaitez recevoir le résultat de ce sondage, merci d'indiquer votre adresse e-mail :


 * Champ obligatoire

Science helps Spain's natural cork industry pop back

By Feliciano Tisera

Mon Sep 10, 2012 6:29pm IST

(Reuters) - For three generations Antonio Gorgot's family have carried axes into the mountainous forests of northern Spain to cut slabs of bark off their cork oaks. A few years ago their livelihood was under threat as the cork business lost its buoyancy.
Sales of Spanish cork plummeted between 2008 and 2010 as plastic wine stoppers or metal screw tops made headway globally alongside declining wine consumption.
But now the traditional cork business has recovered, rescued by unlikely saviors: cutting-edge laboratory researchers in white coats who are demonstrating why nature's stopper may still be one of the best ways of preserving and serving bottled wine.
"We're totally in debt to the labs. It's great for our market that they have shown that cork has advantages over other competitors," said Gorgot, 53.
Now natural wine cork production is back at levels of its best times, a bright spot in a Spanish economy that is mired in its second recession in just three years.
Cork cutters and wine producers say the turnaround is largely due to scientists helping them boost the quality of cork production by introducing a strict new European protocol to certify quality corks.
Spain's cork-producing regions of Catalonia, Andalucia and Extremadura have set scientists the task of ensuring corks don't have any infamous "cork taint" - a musty odor caused by the chemical trichloroanisole (TCA).
The Catalan Cork Institute (ICC) in Girona, the largest research institute of its kind, has had its public funding cut but continues its work due to contracts with cork producers and wine bottlers wanting improved standards to give them an edge.
The laboratory tests wine corks and bottles of wine from producers to see which stoppers perform best. It tests whether corks emit smells or contaminating molecules, does a microbiological analysis and also checks out torque and extraction to see how strong the cork is.
Results, which include comparisons with plastic stoppers, are used by bottlers to make buying decisions.
 The result is higher quality corks being used for wine, driving out poor quality offerings.
MARKETING PUSH
The testing has also shown that sometimes wine tasters have wrongly blamed corks. Juan Pablo Orio, director of research and development at winemaker Bodegas Riojanas remembers: "At a wine tasting in England a client complained that a wine tasted of cork but when we checked on it, it had a plastic stopper."
That kind of scapegoating is becoming less common thanks to cork producers implementing stricter protocols.
The research has also helped cork producers to better market themselves, particularly targeting the more lucrative export market beyond crisis-rattled Spain.
Spain has exported cork since the 19th century and is now the second largest cork exporter in the world, last year selling 300 million euros ($384.03 million) of cork abroad. Spain each year sells 3 billion corks, making 1.3 billion for sparkling wines and 1.7 billion for ordinary wines.
While many mid- to low-range wines are increasingly bottled with plastic or metal corks in big wine drinking countries like Britain and Germany, Spain's producers are now pushing the advantages of traditional cork.
"With the alternative corks people lost sight of the fact that real cork works very well," said Manel Pretel, director of the ICC. "(Synthetic corks) generated problems such as the loss or gain of oxygen which weren't issues with real cork."
Cork can be compressed on bottling lines and then instantly revert to 85 percent of its original size to form an airtight seal for the bottle.
SYNTHETIC EDGE
Rival synthetic cork producers have noticed the improvement in natural corks but say there are still many poor quality corks on the market.
The most expensive natural corks are cut from a slab of bark in one piece, but "agglomerated" corks are made from the offcuts glued together.
"Those corks have a chemical that's a lot more aggressive and complex than the plastic we use," said Carlos Valero, manager of ExcellentCork, a synthetic maker in Alicante.
Spain's cork industry says, however, that developments from laboratories like the ICC have led to an improved quality in agglomerated corks.
Increasingly, environmentally aware consumers are also drawn to the fact that growing cork trees helps the planet since forests of cork-oak trees, Quercus suber, remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Also, cork is a renewable resource, since the bark of the tree grows back.
"It's (the) green economy: respecting natural regeneration cycles and respecting the ecosystem," said the ICC's Pretel.
Gorgot and his crew of between four and seven men harvest the cork in the thick forest of Alt Emporda, bordering France, between May and August, searching for the trees planted in higgledy-piggledy formations, rather than rows. An experienced cork cutter can earn 100 euros a day during the harvest season.
A cork tree must grow 25 years for the first harvest, and then it's another eight to 14 years until the next bark has been formed. And the bark is not good enough for corks until the third harvest.
"You don't learn to cut cork in one or two years," said Gorgot. "You need a lot of skill with the axe. You need to leave behind the lower layer of bark that regenerates the next harvest of cork."
($1 = 0.7812 euros)
 (Writing by Sarah Morris; Editing by Fiona Ortiz)

Origin information: http://spainwinesnews-noticiasdevinoespanol.blogspot.com.es/2012/09/science-helps-spains-natural-cork.html

Lavernia & Cienfuegos de Valencia diseña etiquetas, con motivo principal el tapón de corcho, para la cadena de supermercados belga Delhaize

Desde Star Cork Spain queremos felicitar a la empresa Lavernia & Cienfuegos de Valencia por las elegantes etiquetas, con motivo principal el tapón de corcho, que ha elaborado para la cadena de supermercados belga Delhaize

WINES OF THE WORLD / Delhaize 

Gráfica para etiquetas de vinos.

Año de salida al mercado: 2012

Diseño: Lavernia & Cienfuegos

Se trata de una línea de vinos que la cadena de supermercados belga Delhaize* ofrece dentro de su marca propia “365” que engloba productos cotidianos, básicos, de bajo precio.

Nos planteamos como punto de partida una comunicación acorde con el espíritu de la marca “365”: sencillez y ¿por qué no? humor, ironía. Además, debíamos procurar que toda la línea tuviera una unidad visual. Era también una exigencia del brief.

Nos parecía interesante comunicar la sencillez del producto, puesto que había otras gamas de vinos también de marca propia de precio superior. Y buscamos un motivo o un elemento capaz de comunicarlo de modo eficaz. Y así dimos con el tapón.

El tapón de corcho es signo de humildad, un objeto de poco valor, utilizado muchas veces como material de manualidades, como simple materia prima, pobre y fácilmente manipulable con el que jugar, crear y hacer servir para los usos más inesperados. La utilización del tapón de corcho como motivo principal de la etiqueta le confiere el aire de un trabajo manual, de un entretenimiento. De algo sencillo, propio de un producto cotidiano.

El tapón es, además, el elemento que unifica y personaliza toda la línea.

El diseño de cada etiqueta hace referencia al país de origen. En el caso de Francia los diferentes tipos de vino se identifican por un tipo de gorra francesa: el canotier, el sombrero de Napoleón, el gorro de chef de alta cocina o el quepis del gendarme francés...

Y así, con ese mismo lenguaje, se resuelven los demás orígenes: el indio y el vaquero para los vinos de California, el elefante para el sudafricano, un futbolista para el vino de Argentina o un moai de la isla de Pascua para el de Chile.

La humildad de un producto y su bajo coste no tienen por qué estar reñidos con el humor, con la intención y con un público inteligente.
DELHAIZE es una cadena de distribución belga con más de 800 supermercados en Bélgica y unos 1.500 en la costa este de EEUU.(ver http://lavernia-cienfuegos.com/wines-of-the-world/)