Once the trees are about 25 years old the cork istraditionally stripped from the trunks every nine years, with thefirst two harvests generally producing lower quality cork.The trees live for about 300 years.
So if you get pieces of cork in your winethe cork is probably bad and there is a good chance thewine is oxidized or spoiled. Wine with a badcork isn't toxic, it just doesn't taste good. When in doubt,taste the wine. A bad cork won't hurt you but it mayhurt the wine.
A mature cork cell is non-livingand has cell walls that are composed of a waxy substancethat is highly impermeable to gases and water called suberin. Thelayer of dead cells formed by the cork cambiumprovides the internal cells of the plants with extra insulation andprotection.
Cork is made from the bark of a tree,Quercus suber, or the cork oak. These trees can grow prettybig, and they have really thick, rugged bark.
Cork is formed by the division of corkcambium or the lateral meristem(phelloderm). Cork providesmechanical strength to trees and is fire resistant. Cork ispresent at the outer surface of a tree made up of suberin.It is made up of dead cells which are compactly arrangeswith no intercellular spaces.
Cork oak trees can be harvested forthe first time for cork bark after about 25 years.Thereafter, the tree bark is harvested every 9 years. Acork tree will be “stripped,” on average,sixteen times in its 150 to 200 life.
Wine corks cannot be reused as wine corksbecause of bacterial concerns, but they can be recycled intomany other useful objects such as pushpin corkboards, coasters andflooring. While cork is environmentally friendly andrenewable, it takes a long time to renew.
In its natural form, cork is also a verygood fire retardant, although cork dust is actuallyextremely flammable (because here the cell structure has beenbroken down). Impermeable: Cork has a magic chemical in itscell membrane that makes it completely impermeable to liquids andgases.
MYTH #3: Harvesting cork kills trees
Cork is harvested on a sustainable basisand the stripping of the bark does not harm the treein any way. The bark grows back completely, taking on a smoothertexture after each harvest.Because it is harvested only from the bark of thecork oak tree (which means the tree keeps on living andhelping to clean our air) it is one of the most highly renewableand eco-friendly resources on the planet. In fact,cork harvesting can help in the fight against globalwarming.
Stripping the bark -- A cork oak must be at least 25years old before its bark can be harvested. Its cork can thenbe stripped every 8 to 14 years after that for as long asthe tree lives.
