Every year we try to organize a visit for those customers who feel a special interest in knowing the cork harvest and also in knowing first-hand where and how is obtained the raw material from which come the cork stoppers that will cork your wines later.
This year we have been visited by our customers Federico and Antonia, from Bodegas Tamanca, located in La Palma, who have come to spend a few days on our native land. We set off for the country estate, located in the vicinity of Monesterio (Badajoz), on the border between Extremadura and Andalusia. Once we have arrived there, where we were welcome excellently, we were able to know closely what consists exactly the cork harvest in. This process is still carried out in a traditional way, and one can’t stop being amazed, when one contemplates the great work of the workers in order to extract the cork from the tree in a so precise way. They make the work seem simple, when in fact it is not. In the heart of the cork harvest we were able to discover some curiosities such as the pleasant fruity aroma of the cork recently extracted from the tree. We also visited our colleagues, who were in another area of the country estate, selecting the cork that will immediately arrive at our facilities.
The visit was quite productive because we were shown other parts of the country estate devoted to other economic activities. Life in the countryside is like this, the diversification of livestock / forestry activities guarantees the sustainability and the exploitation of the farms. As well as the cork oaks, that produce cork, the owners have holm oaks, and their fruits are one of the bases of the feeding of the pigs that are bred there. The consumption of acorns when the time of the ‘montanera’ (acorn feed) arrives, makes these animals become more valuable. Pig breeding also entails special care, because they are pachyderms, their skin does not transpire and in these hot days they have a small ‘spa’ just for them, a small pond where they can cool down, and the mud also serves as protection against insects.
As well as pig breeding, they also have cattle and sheep intended for the food industry, which also serve the purpose of ‘cleaning’ the farm, since they feed on dried grass.
And in this way, everything is part of a cycle where all converges in perfect balance. In our case, it is already known. With the cork that we bring to the factory, we will do every year our best to produce safe cork stoppers, that with total security will cork good wines.
A. Gómez
Export Department
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