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The return of the wine cork

We visit the world's largest cork producing region in Portugal where business is booming.

The humble wine cork, once the main way to stop a bottle of wine, had its market share decimated in the 1990鈥檚 when screw caps were favoured. However, the problem of 'corked' wine has been almost completely solved and cork is recognised as a more sustainable, if slightly less convenient material for wine makers to use.

In this episode we visit the world鈥檚 largest cork producing region in Portugal to find out more about how the cork industry has hit the good times once again. We explore which wines taste better with cork and how supermarkets are cutting down on wine packaging.

Presenter / producer: Rick Kelsey
Additional reporting: Alastair Leithead
Image: Cork production; Credit: Getty Images

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18 minutes

Last on

Wed 23 Aug 2023 07:32GMT

Broadcast

  • Wed 23 Aug 2023 07:32GMT

Podcast