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Azaruja

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    • Diane and DarrylJourney in Portugal and Spain
      Day 6

      All About Cork

      March 8 in Portugal ⋅ 🌬 55 °F

      Between our farm visit yesterday and our trip to a cork factory today, we got to know all about cork. Portugal is responsible for 60% of the cork production in the world, and it is a big point of pride for them (and concern, as more screw-tops come into use).

      The cork product comes from the outer layer of the tree, and it takes very skilled workers (no machinery) to carefully cut into the outer layer and not damage the growing cambium layer below. Once the bark is cut, they can peel off large sections of bark to be processed.

      Only when a tree has reached about 25 years of age can it begin to be harvested for its cork. This first bark isn’t the quality needed for wine stoppers. Portuguese law prohibits stripping the trees more than once every nine years in order to protect the species. It isn’t until the third harvest (over 40 years after planting) that the bark becomes of high enough quality to produce high-quality wine stoppers. In fact, the more often you peel the bark, the better the quality of cork bark you will get.

      They do make other things with the first cycles of cork harvest—purses, notebook covers, shoes, flooring, t-shirts and much more. We saw most of these products in shops around the towns we’ve traveled to.      Read more

    • TravelerPortugal
      Day 6

      Azaruja-Terra Da Cortiça

      November 16, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

      C’est ici à Azaruja qu’on trouve les factories qui préparent le liège. Nous avons eu de la difficulté à trouver la bâtisse dans ce centre industriel où l’on pouvait acheter ces produits . En demandant à des gens j’ai enfin réussi.Read more

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    • Treasured MemoriesPortugal
      Day 6

      All About Cork

      August 29, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 88 °F

      When I first saw the itinerary for a visit to a cork factory near Evora, Portugal, I was a bit apprehensive. Touring the production of such a common item seemed unexciting. However, the tour turned my expectations around.

      Led by David Caeiro, the grandson of Corticarte - Arte em Cortica's founders, it provided an insightful education on cork making. We explored the meticulous process of hand-harvesting cork from cork oak trees, known as "Sobreiro" in Portuguese. These trees require 25 years to mature before skillfully harvesting layers of the tree bark for various products. The trees aren't cut down and can be re-harvested every nine years across their 270-year lifespan. Witnessing the transformation from raw cork to exquisite items like wine stoppers, bags, bowls, lamps, shoes, jewelry, and insulation materials was enlightening.

      Exiting the factory, I had a newfound appreciation and affection for this remarkable material. The humorous presentation by David was a bonus. He was hilarious throughout his presentation. The seemingly unremarkable cork became a source of entertainment, evoking our group with tears of laughter.      Read more

    • Sarah McCabeEurope 2016
      Day 13

      cork factory

      November 1, 2016 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F

      Next stop was a cork factory. They harvest a given tree every 9 years. Then they dry the slabs for about 3 months. There is Russell standing in front of a drying pile. Then they boil the cork for an hour to make it more malleable. That big machine is the boiling vat. Then they sort and grade for quality and wait 30 days and then boil for one more hour. Then they package them in pallets. The best grades go off to the wine cork producers (about 18% of the total factory production) and the wine corks end up costing between 5 cents and 1 dollar per cork.

      I hope you were paying attention, there will be a test later.

      One thing they do with cork that isn't quite wine grade is cut it into very thin sheets with a felt backing and it can be used to make all sorts of stuff. We kind of went crazy in the gift shop.      Read more

    • LadyandtrampPortugal and Islands - 2019

      Azaruja Cork Factory

      January 23, 2019 in Portugal ⋅ 🌬 12 °C

      We have seen cork oak trees everywhere on our trip so far. Trees whose bark has been stripped leaving an almost black trunk whose thick spongy bark will grow back in time. In Portugal, the felling of cork trees is prohibited by law and each tree is individually identified, in order to ensure its absolutely traceability.

      On our way home from Elvas, we stopped in at a cork factory and a man gave us a little talk and tour of his families enterprise.

      This area, the Alentejo, is known for its cork as well as its wine. Besides just wine stoppers, cork can used for many things, from bulletin boards to floor tiles to umbrellas and purses. It is pretty remarkable as it is spongy and pliable and water resistant.

      The tree, a type of oak with acorns that black pigs eat, is about 10 m tall with a wide canopy and a very knotty trunk. It grows well in this area of sandy soil and dry heat. After 25 years, the tree is mature enough for harvest. The outer bark is carefully stripped from the trunk using a special hand tool. It takes about 9 years for the bark to grow back and then it is harvested again. The tree can keep producing for 100 years. Six months after harvesting (to dry the bark), the cork bark is boiled to soften in up and flattened it. Then machines can cut it into desired shapes or punch out bottle stoppers.

      So far, the cork industry is doing just fine, even though plastic corks are being used now. Wine consumption has gone up so it hasn’t really affected the industry in Portugal yet.

      We recently heard though, about a bacteria that came on Lavendula plants that has started to damage cork oak trees near Lisbon. Hopefully, scientists can figure out a way to control it soon.      Read more

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    Azaruja

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