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Article: On the trail for cork. (cork oaks for the wine industry)(includes related article)
- Article from:
- Wines & Vines
- Article date:
- January 1, 1993
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1993 Wines & Vines. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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We had bumped over several kilometers of dirt road somewhere north of Evora in east central Portugal, three hours by paved highway from Lisbon and under an hour from the Spanish border. We were deep inside a mixed cork oak forest. Mixed to the point that we had to wait for a cowherd to drive a herd of cattle out of our way.
"This is where it all starts. This is where we have to begin to apply the quality controls." The man speaking was Carlos Albertos Relvas of Relvas Corticas, one of the world's leading suppliers of sparkling wine corks.
Pointing to the huge stacks of cork oak bark, Relvas noted that they were sitting directly on the ground. "You see, the ...