Portugese Cork industry unites

Wines & Vines, Sept, 2002 by Tina Caputo

"I am absolutely sure that, with all the research that's going on, the cork industry will solve the TCA problem. I think that this will happen within three years.

Curt Goodsill, president, Portocork America

This quote first appeared in an article I wrote for Wines & Vines in 1999, almost exactly three years ago. Though advances have been made in the fight against cork taint since then (according to the Cork Quality Council, the average TCA level in cork shipments to the U.S. decreased 62% in the last two years), Mr. Goodsill's prediction was a bit premature.

In my 1999 article, I reported on the extensive--and expensive--research that individual cork companies were conducting. But in spite of all the time and money spent on these projects, TCA remains a problem and wineries continue to abandon natural corks in favor of alternatives like synthetics and screwcaps.

In light of the current situation, the Portuguese cork industry is taking a new approach in the fight against TCA: unite and conquer.

"I think the best way is for everyone in the industry to work together as a whole, rather than as individual companies," said Neil Foster, owner and director of M.A. Silva Corks USA.

Foster's sentiment is a direct reflection of a new industry-wide campaign launched this past spring by The Portuguese Cork Association (APCOR), which represents 75% of Portuguese cork producers.

APCOR members have good reason to band together and fight. As the No. 1 cork producing country, Portugal supplies 54% of the world's cork and is home to 33% of the world's cork oak forests.

APCOR's Cash Infusion

In June 2002, APCOR received a total of $2.3 million from the Portuguese government and private cork producers. The grant money will be used to fund independent research with the aim of eliminating TCA in natural cork wine closures. From 2003 to 2005, five areas of research will be undertaken: 1) the life cycle of natural cork stoppers; 2) the stabilization period of raw natural cork; 3) natural cork's contribution to the maturation of wine; 4) new treatments and developments within the industry; 5) new processes to eradicate TCA.

As stated in a recent press release by APCOR director Francisco de Brito Evangelista, the initiative "demonstrates clearly, and for the first time, that we are dedicating the appropriate resources to finding a solution to TCA in natural cork stoppers, industry-wide."

An Oath of Quality

Not content to wait until 2003 to begin making improvements, the Portuguese cork industry is stepping up quality control measures and adhering to a strict code of good practices.

In 2000, the cork industry established the International Code of Cork Stoppers Manufacturing Practices to help enforce quality control standards. Implemented in Portugal by APCOR, the code outlines measures to be adopted in the forests, during the production process and in the transportation of cork stoppers.

A second phase of the code was introduced in 2001, and the European Cork Federation is expected to approve an updated version in the near future. So far, 138 Portuguese cork companies have been certified. (The complete code is available on APCOR's Web site: corkmasters.com/industry/apcorassociares_03.stm.)

According to APCOR public relations representative Joana Mesquita, the positive effects of the new code will become evident in two or three years, after cork producers have put the guidelines into practice.

Barking up the Right Trees

It takes 25 years for a new cork oak to be ready for harvest, and even then, the first year's product is unusable. According to a Portuguese law designed to protect the forests and promote cork quality, farmers must wait at least nine years between harvests.

Though most TCA prevention takes place in the cork processing facility, there are some important quality measures that occur in the forest.

Only the best cork is reserved for stoppers, and the bark closest to the ground is no longer used (studies have shown that this bark is more likely to develop TCA). For an extra fee, farmers will cut off this part of the bark before selling it to producers, who pay for the planks by weight.

To cork forest owners like Antonio Josef da Veiga Teixeira, whose family farms 1,976 acres of cork oak trees southeast of Lisbon, this sort of quality control is crucial because without wine stoppers, his family's business would no longer turn a profit.

"Cork had no economic relevance before stoppers," he said. "The stoppers pay for everything else." Da Veiga Teixeira estimates that 40-60% of his cork harvest is used for wine stoppers, which account for about 90% of his company's revenue.

Other cork products, like flooring, shoes and insulation, are by-products of the stopper business.

The Process of Processing

According to Dr. Marta Sa Pinto, scientist for Subercentro's sister company, Vinocor, the processing plant's state-of-the-art equipment and high-tech quality control measures are part of an elaborate process to eliminate TCA.

APCOR points to Portugal's Subercentro cork processing facility--which happens to be owned by APCOR's current president--as a prime example of the industry's commitment to the elimination of TCA.