cork Archives - Finca del Rio, Self catering holiday in Andalucia, Spain

July 23, 2018

Harvesting cork in Andalucia

Finca del Rio Andalucia, andalusia, corcho, corcho perro, cork, cork dog, cortes de la frontera, Finca del Rio, harvest, La Canada del Real Tesoro, wine 0

During the summer months cork (corcho) is harvested by hand in Andalucia, Spain to be used in wine bottles.

Workers use axes to cut and strip away the bark.

cork_forest_15_Finca_del_rio cork_forest_14_Finca_del_rio

The cork trees are then left for ten years, so the bark can grow back. Leading to more ecological way of harvesting the cork.

cork_forest_13_Finca_del_rio cork_forest_16_Finca_del_rio

The cork can only be harvested when the sap is rising, making it mallable to cut and peel it away from the tree. At other times of the year the bark would be more difficult to render from the tree.

cork_forest_9_Finca_del_rio

The cork is loaded by hand onto very tranquil and tame mules (mulos).

cork_forest_8_Finca_del_rio

The mules are so used to the work, they can take themselves to the unloading area.

cork_forest_5_Finca_del_rio cork_forest_4_Finca_del_rio

cork_forest_3_Finca_del_rio

cork_forest_2_Finca_del_rio cork_forest_1_Finca_del_rio

The cork is loaded onto a large trailer (remolque) which is secured, then driven via truck to another area.

cork_forest_6_Finca_del_rio

The cork is then sorted and weighed using large weighing scales (bascula).

cork_forest_11_Finca_del_rio

After weighing the cork, it is then thrown onto large piles (lots). Which are then driven on trucks to Portugal to be processed and turned into the cork found in wine bottles.

cork_forest_10_Finca_del_rio

A ‘cork dog’. A special dog bred to resemble and protect the cork.

cork_forest_12_Finca_del_rio

September 1, 2011

Bottling 2011

Finca del Rio 2011, cork, corking machine, grapes, tempranillo, vineyard, wine, wine barrel, wine bottle, wine making

We decided to bottle one of the barrels now in January, another in February and the last one in May. This will give us a spread of time that the wine has been in the barrels and how the flavour compares over differing time periods.

The devil is in the detail, so . . .

Barrel One

Five days prior to bottling,in mid January, I used four egg whites mixed with half a litre of salty water to pour into the barrel. This is to take down to the bottom any remaining sediment that may be in solution.

Used 4 crushed camden tablets (sodium metabsulphite) in small white bucket for corks to soak. Used 10 crushed camden tablets in larger white container to flush through the pump and then put water into bottle soaking bin. We are using the pump to transfer the wine from the barrel to a container that has a tap and can thus fill the bottles easily.

Used two crushed camden tablets in container with tap and put water in bottle soaking bin.

Rinsed bottles in sink using bottle brush then into black bin that has crushed camden tablets added. Soaked and rinsed bottles thoroughly, then into oven at 200 degrees centigrade for 15 minutes. The bottles have then to cool down for 10 minutes or so and then go straight to have the wine poured in and corked.

Changed water in soaking bin after processing 100 bottles or so and used 10 crushed camden tablets each time.

Started bottling at 12.30 and finished at 6.30 having bottled 256 bottles from the barrel before the sediment came through.

We tasted as we bottled and found the wine to have a bright, clear and fresh burgundy colour, there is some nose which should dissipate and the wine has medium length and a fresh young fruity flavour.

Barrel Two

Late February and time to prepare for bottling. Used exactly the method as previously.

Bottled 252 bottles, which took nearly 6 hours.

The wine has a bright and clear burgundy colour, this time with no nose and good fresh berry fruit bouquet and flavour.

Barrel Three

Late April and time to prepare for last bottling of the 2010 vintage. Used exactly the method as previously as it has worked well.

Bottled 238 bottles, which again took nearly 6 hours.

This final bottling has bright and clear colour with no nose and fresh berry fruit flavour, but is a little dryer.

Next year we will go into stainless steel tanks as I want to have consistent flavour.

September 20, 2010

Bottling the Wine

Finca del Rio cork, corking machine, grapes, tempranillo, vineyard, wine, wine barrel, wine bottle, wine making 0

With the hot summer months coming it is now time to move the wine from the barrel into bottles. It was in early September 2009 that the wine from our first harvest was put into the barrel. This was from our first section of planting, which was of Tempranillo vines 3 years before. Now at the beginning of July 2010, with the help of John from the States and Tom from London, I have the extra hands necessary for the job.

Bottling July 10 (6)

Bottling July 10 (23) — Tubing wine from barrel

Using a narrow tube and capillary action we took the wine from the barrel and put it through a Vinturi Wine Aerator so that the wine was oxygenated before going in the bottles. This was a slow and laborious job involving many hands and because of the position of the barrel we had to sit awkwardly. A lesson to be learned for next year! We then poured the wine into the bottles

Bottling July 10 (24) — Hands, Tubes and Funnels

Bottling July 10 (17)

The bottles had previously been thoroughly washed in a cleaning and disinfecting solution and then had 15 minutes in the oven at 200C. As the bottles were filled we then took a cork from a separate cleaning solution and using our super corking machine pressed home the cork. This requires a strong arm as the nozzle first compresses the cork to make it smaller than the bottle opening and then pushes it down.

Bottling July 10 (8)
Bottling July 10 (9) As the day continued and the line of finished bottles got longer the tedium of this particular job struck us and with a ready supply to hand we had to sample as we went. This led us to think of seemingly inspired variations of how we could accomplish what we were doing more easily. As our talkativeness increased so did our need to quench our thirst on what was after all a hot day anyway.

The line of bottles increased until at last we had over 200 of the blighters. Now where to put them? The coolest place in the house was in the porch, where the barrel had been, and in the family bathrooms. So the bottles were racked and stacked under the double sink tops in boxes to lie quietly to see how the taste would mature.

Bottling July 10 (20) — Many green bottles waiting by the wall!

Tag: cork

Harvesting cork in Andalucia

Bottling 2011

Bottling the Wine