Cork should float your boat

As a lot of my friends will tell you, I’m rather partial to a glass or two of wine. I can often be found scanning the shelves of Sainsbury or Tesco looking for that decent Pinot Noir or Grigio. Now this isn’t because I’m an expert on wine, far from it. What I’m looking for is a good, affordable wine that comes with a cork. It seems to me that 70% to 80% of bottles on our supermarket shelves are screw top and not cork and this has nothing to do with the environment. Retailers are understandably keen to deliver a good wine experience to their customers and screw cap bottles safeguard the old problem of a corked or tainted wine. Customers feel confident the wine they buy will be drinkable and that is what we all have come to expect. In fact, I have even noticed that less and less diners feel the need to taste the wine before pouring. That’s how confident people have become.

What has been overlooked, is the effect this has had on the cork forest industry. And here, confidence is at rock bottom.













Wine bottle corks originate in forests that covers nearly 30,000 sq km of North Africa and extensive areas of the Mediterranean including Spain and Portugal. Not only do these forests provide income for around 100,000 people, they support one of the world’s highest levels of forest biodiversity (second only to the Amazon rainforests), from plants to endangered species, including the Lynx, the Spanish Imperial Eagle, and the Barbary Deer. As well as Black-shouldered Kite (below), Corn Bunting, also, millions of North European bird species make their winter home in the cork forests.













Cork is the bark of the cork oak tree that grows back after harvesting. Its commercial usage is ecologically sound because the trees remain standing.
Cork is a natural, environmentally friendly product, By recycling cork, we reduce the amount of product going into landfills and create 'green jobs'.


Cork is renewable, sustainable, natural and environmentally friendly. CO2 emissions per 1000 stoppers: Aluminum 37.161 grams, Plastic 14.716 grams, and Cork 1.437 grams.

We are seriously in danger of losing one of the finest examples of a system that perfectly balances the needs of both humans and nature. If the forests maintain their economic value, people care for them, reducing the risk of fire and desertification.

So, next time you’re in the supermarket looking to buy a nice bottle of wine: think cork.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Digiscoping DIY Adaptor

Image
Thought I would take this opportunity to explain and illustrate the way I digiscope. I have never bothered to invest in a purpose-made adaptor because I’m never sure which one would be best and I suppose I’m a bit stingy. Instead, I have experimented with different joining mechanisms which have include fruit juice bottle tops, paint roller tubes and plumbing joints. Over the five or so years I have digiscoped, the results have been unpredictable. This has been caused by the light conditions, the mobility of the subject and invariably, the distances between my camera and the bird. probably worth noting here that I also tend to focus through the scope before attaching the camera. The most successful adaptor for me has been the paint roller tube. I discovered if I strip off the furry bit, I’m left with a perfect basis for an adaptor. Depending on the camera lens width and the telescope eyepiece diameter, I wrap insulation tape inside the tube. Measure the depth and width of the ca...
Read more

Scotland day 6: Look out. Look up and look where you’re going!

Image
Oh my days! Is it Friday already? This was our last full day with Heatherlea and it was destined to be a big one. Correction: The big one. Do these birding tour operators plan this? Do they always save the best for last? I don’t know. Some would say the Capercaillie caper would have done it and it did in many ways but this day would match it or in some eyes surpass it. You be the judge. Another full fat breakfast! My only thoughts during this now routine ceremony was whether I would still fit in the minibus. To be honest, I thought we would be doing a bit more walking on this trip but apart from the odd amble up a hill, we were never far from the transport. The birding day began with an excursion to Roseisle and initially around some of the farmland minor roads where we picked up a couple of corn buntings just sitting on fence wires. Looking out from a viewpointon the Moray Firth at Burghead Bay there were velvet and common scoters, eider and a few red-breasted merganser. Telescope out...
Read more

Scotland Day 1: A few 'grouses' about the weather

Image
We woke in the morning to discover the beautiful sunny evening that met our arrival had turning into a cold, grey dreich. We caught up with our guides and fellow adventurers early so that we could could visit a black grouse lek before breakfast. The visibility was poor and the air damp. When we arrived at the site, it was very difficult to see the birds. A few bobbing backsides – the white of the male tail feathers was about all I could see.  Black grouse, what Black Grouse? Lesser redpoll called as they went over and the inevitable willow warblers sang from various trees. Everyone got poor views to be fair but at that stage, we were all happy. A bit later at breakfast we discussed the weather, as you do and Dave and Chris, our guides for the tour laid out plans for local birding in Abernethy forest, primarily for crested tit and the magnificent capercaillie. The excitement was clearly audible. We arrived and parked up near Loch Mallachie and made our way down through the incredibl...
Read more