Posted on 27-112-2002
Cork
Please
Photo shows famous cork tree named for the songbirds in its
canopy, the 212
year old Whistler Tree is the most productive cork oak on record.
It stands
in the Alentejo region of Portugal. (Photo courtesy Cork Quality
Council)
LISBON, Portugal, December 24, 2002 (ENS) - You might not give
a second
thought to what kind of stopper you pull out of a bottle of
wine, but
sustainable development advocates wish that you would. Conservation
groups
like the WWF are concerned that the wine industry is moving
away from
natural cork, a shift that they believe could ultimately cause
an
environmental and economic crisis in several parts of the Mediterranean
region.
The Mediterranean produces some 99 percent of the world's cork,
which is
harvested in an environmentally sustainable manner. The cork
bark is
stripped off the mature trees, which can live for some 200 years.
With
careful management each tree can be harvested throughout its
lifetime, and
the cork oak forests provide important habitat for an array
of wildlife.
But within the past decade the wine industry has slowly begun
to embrace
plastic stoppers and screw caps. The Portuguese Cork Association
(APCOR)
estimates some seven to eight percent of the wine market now
uses plastic
stoppers or screw caps instead of traditional natural cork closures.
Some winemakers believe these synthetic stoppers protect the
wine from
becoming "corked," a term used to describe wine that has been
spoiled from
contamination. Although wine can be spoiled by things other
than a tainted
cork, the primary concern comes from 2,4,6-Trichloroanisole
(TCA), which is
a compound nurtured by cork that can spoil the wine's flavor.
Industry
estimates on wines noticeably tainted with TCA range as high
as four
percent to less than one percent. The cork industry, through
various trade
groups, is seeking to eliminate TCA through improved testing
and monitoring
of cork supplies.
Although sustainable development advocates fear the rise in
synthetic
stoppers, few in the wine industry seem concerned. According
to Cork Supply
USA, the largest provider of natural cork stoppers in the United
States,
improved cork harvesting techniques and a rising demand for
wine throughout
the world has the cork industry in fine shape. "Now more than
ever, the
future for natural cork is bright," said Cork USA president
Jochen
Michalski. "There will be enough cork to ensure buyers of a
reliable and
stable market, and with the large investments that some of the
top wine
cork producers in Portugal have made to improve quality in recent
years,
taint level in processed wine corks is approaching zero." Portuguese
cork
oak forests have been increasing at a rate of three percent
annually for
the past 20 years, Michalski added.
The concern from groups like the WWF comes from the potential
impact of a
weakening market for natural cork on the cork oak forests. It
is the
economic value of these forests that has ensured their survival,
argues
Clara Landeiro, the Portuguese coordinator for WWF's Green Belt
Against
Desertification project. The cork industry also indirectly supports
local
agriculture as villagers graze cattle, sheep and goats in the
forests, and
also collect fruits and honey that are used in local produce.
The loss of the cork oak forests would shatter this economy
and could
easily lead to desertification, Landeiro says, as the cork trees
are
replaced by other forms of agriculture that are less sustainable
and often
non-indigenous. Cork oak forests are also less susceptible to
wildfires,
which destroy some 600,000 to 800,000 hectares of Mediterranean
forests
each year.
Two wildlife species, the Iberian lynx and the Iberian imperial
eagle, are
both seriously endangered, but can survive within cork oak forests.
If the
forests suffer, the outlook for these native animals will also
worsen. WWF
estimates the Iberian lynx population has decreased some 90
percent in the
past 15 years and population estimates range from 1,000 to only
150. It is
the most threatened carnivore in Europe.
Wine stoppers account for only 15 percent of the cork production
by weight,
but bring in some 80 percent of the harvest by value. Cork is
also used for
insulation materials, tiles and other industrial applications.
It also has
more creative uses - last summer two Americans built a 27 foot
ship out of
165,321 corks. They successfully sailed the cork boat on the
Douro River in
Portugal.
For more information on cork oak forests, see: www.corkqc.com
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