DISQUS

Oenophilus · 1 year ago

I'm all about mitigating climate change and all of us doing our part to protect our Little Blue Marble. Amorim should plant all the cork forests it can to help in its own way. However, until something can be done about controlling TCA contamination to an acceptable level, they can then sell cork to floor tile manufacturers and trivet makers. The contributions their industry makes to the green movement do not mitigate the damage they do to my industry.

Gabriella Opaz · 1 year ago

I am so happy that you brought up this point! I've been biting at the bit for someone to say this because I have been feeling in the exact same boat. If TCA is such a problem, or if we need to switch to tetrapak because glass is too heavy and requires too much energy to recycle, then hell, let's do away with cork closures and switch completely tetrapak.


But here's the rub for me, and please chime in with your thoughts, but taking the TCA argument, not all cork companies are the same, and because we have no way of placing blame to a specific company when wine is tainted, we blame the whole industry. Second, if we get rid of cork as a closure, we may welcome in screwcaps that produce a considerable amount more CO2. Third, assume we completely get rid of cork, and go to tetrapak (which I'm not clear this is th best conservation measure because I haven't seen the numbers), how can wine age? Fourth, I believe that cork closures are the main profit producer for cork companies, whereby if we get rid of cork, we may also put forests as risk. Granted, I'm not totally sold on this last point.



I want to make the eco-friendly choice, there's no doubt, but I feel a little frustrated because the only choice I know is not eco-friendly, meaning screwcaps, is one choice that protects young wines. Thoughts?