Cork Bark, Cork covered Jar

(4 photos)

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Outside of the bark

As we drove through Portugal (and through Corsica and Sardinia) we saw acres of cork trees, huge piles of cork drying in the sun, and there were always cork products for sale in the stores. To our eye, the cork trees look something like olive trees. To harvest cork, the thick bark is sliced off the tree trunk, dried in huge piles, then made into various products, the most familiar of course being bottle stoppers. The process of removing the layers of bark every nine years or so, reminds us of shearing sheep once a year.

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Inside of the bark

Cork trees are harvested in the summer. After the harvest, the trees will be left alone for 9 or 10 years to re-grow their bark, over a lifetime of approximately 150 years. At the first harvest, cork is rough, crumbly, and can only be used for insulation, gaskets, shoe soles, etc., not for bottle corks. By the third harvest, the cork is a smooth and clear, and makes great corks for wine bottles.
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The stores in both Corsica and Sardinia had interesting cork covered pottery, and other cork items for sale, and I don’t remember just where we bought this pretty cork covered jar. It was interesting to note that many of the cork products in Corsica were labeled, “Made in Italy,” and were priced at least double the cost we found in Sardinia a few days later.

We saw acres of cork trees and there were always interesting cork covered pottery, and other cork items for sale in the stores.
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