This Is Where Your Wine Corks Come From

Uncorking a bottle of wine after a long day is one of the few true pleasures in life. But ever wonder where that small cork—aka the last thing standing between you and your favorite red—comes from? In Portugal, there’s a long and rich history of harvesting cork trees. Harvesters strip trees of their bark by hand, using a process that makes certain the tree remains alive and healthy. The method is so difficult that harvesters begin learning the trade from a young age, keeping up a skill passed down through the generations. So, the next time you kick back with a bottle of wine, give that pesky cork a second glance—its journey from bark to bottle is more surprising than you think.

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[ChartreuseDan]

I didn't know cork was just the bark of the tree. Interesting stuff

[moneymonkeyman]

Il just watch this every 9 years and pretend the cork has grown

[VeriStrawberi]

Huh! Didn’t know there were cork trees.

Am I the only one who thought Cork was made from like a process of compressing wood bits of other trees in a solution at some factory?

[sourcherryscones]

So that’s why there are cork shops everywhere in Portugal... seriously they have everything from hats to fanny packs all made out of cork

[trentonbolles]

When it’s 4 am and I’m watching cork videos

[ChongiFishing]

3:41 so you peel your son's skin off with an axe?

[JtsTheDaneAndCrab]

There is something quite wholesome about seeing production lines not hurting the environment and ensuring that trees stay healthy.

[ilyasbaloch]

*"Through all of our generations, we take care of our trees like we take care of our sons."*

hol' up

[AntonioCostaRealEstate]

The old country. Nothing beats their dedication to the craft and to longstanding traditions. Gorgeous orchard.
Cork is employed in bespoke shoemaking and other end uses. Bottle stoppers is one of them.

[bread]

Great Big Story continues to be the best and most wholesome channel on YouTube. Thanks again for the beautiful video!

[Youkai_graphics]

1:38 he actually chopped a line, no miss, such precision, years of experiences

[avantelvsitania]

Fantastic! We Portuguese grow up earring about our Cork, the best in the world! And it is great to see our quality recognized. As we discovered the world centuries ago, now is the world that is discovering Portugal.

[Zap-rwmo]

We take care of our trees like we take care of our sons
*CuTs SoN’s SkIn OfF*

Edit: I see a lot of people saying I’m stealing this but I’m not, I just came up with the same idea.

[o.portista]

I like how I knew it was in Portugal, just by seeing their faces and being raised in Portugal, I knew it. Portugal has a lot of cork trees 🇵🇹🇵🇹🇵🇹

[RandomPerson-jocw]

"When you are skinning your customers, you should leave some skin on to heal, so that you can skin them again."
-Nikita Khrushchev

[funny-video-YouTube-channel]

People from Cork are very happy with this video :-)

[FiddlerSafelyOnTheGround]

This was pretty eye-opening. I thought that it was a bad thing to use real cork because of deforestation, but it appears to be quite sustainable when done responsibly since the trees are not actually chopped down.
Interesting stuff

[ThePsychMo]

I assumed it was a factory composite made of different materials. I never knew it grew naturally on trees!

[SleepingSoldier]

Hard work, dedication, and a lot of patience. RESPECT +

[tamaraharris]

That's really amazing, i like to see how there's still people out there taking care of trees and nature.