22 Apr 2023
Whoever thought court could be so interesting! We learned that cork can be cut into thin or thick sheets, it can be ground up and reformed for composite materials for so many different uses. We learned that fancy champagne and expensive wines will use whole cork, and the lesser wines will use cork made from composite materials. The woman who led our tour of about 25 people was very knowledgeable. The factory is a place where raw cork is brought and sorted by quality, and then dipped in boiling water so it can be flattened or shaped (our guide said it is "cooke-ed".) We appreciated that at the end of the tour, she gave us directions to the nearby national park, Fonte Ferrea, where cork trees grow plentiful. We drove there and had a picnic.