São Bento do Mato

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