Wineries everywhere choose the Catalan cork stopper: what makes it so special?

In 1905, in the heart of Palafrugell, Joan Miquel y Avellí proudly looked down on his cork stopper factory. He had opened it just five years earlier with the help of two German partners, Enric Vincke and Pau Meyer, and the money of a Hamburg banker. The four shared an excellent business acumen and were convinced that cork could make them gold. They were right. The factory grew at a dizzying pace and, by 1910, was already one of the largest in Spain, employing 1,000 people and producing one million corks daily. However, wars and fierce competition reduced revenue until the plant was shut down. Today, the Modernista-style building houses the Cork Museum, a space that celebrates Catalan cork heritage.

But cork is not a thing of the past. Regions such as Baix Empordà, Gironès, and La Selva preserve a powerful, modern, and innovative cork industrial ecosystem that attracts the attention of international wineries. In total, there are around thirty companies that together employ 500 people and have a turnover of around €130 million each year. 1.2 billion corks are produced on their production lines, and almost 680 million are exported—56.7% of the total, according to one of the latest studies by the Association of Cork Entrepreneurs of Catalonia (AECORK). Most of them travel to Italy and France. But what is it about the Catalan cork that makes it so highly valued internationally?

A pioneering sector

"The first cork stopper factories in the world were founded in Catalonia," Albert Hereu, director of the Institut Català del Suro, told ARA. For him, the sector's long tradition—and the experience it has accumulated—is one of the keys to explaining the positive reception of the Catalan cork abroad. However, there's another factor. "In our region, we need to wait between 14 and 15 years to extract the cork, while in other areas it only takes nine," Hereu adds. This makes the Catalan product more compact and has physical properties highly valued in wines for aging, such as those grown in Burgundy.

In recent years, globalization has pushed the Catalan cork ecosystem toward corporate concentration. "This process has led to the emergence of highly specialized companies that invest in research and are well-suited to adapting to the demands of the wine sector," Hereu points out. AECORK confirms this and adds a note: "In the last ten years, there has been a concentration of companies, but the figures show how production and export volumes have remained stable and even grown," notes Joan J. Puig, president of the Association.

Despite the rising figures, one indicator isn't improving: the number of hectares of cork oaks. Although the country has 120,000 hectares of cork oak forests, only half of them are currently managed. "We have a problem of abandonment and smallholdings," Hereu acknowledges. To try to remedy this, the Catalan Cork Institute is preparing a strategic plan to increase the forest's profitability, among other measures. In fact, it's estimated that it takes 25 years to have bark from which quality corks can be extracted. That wait frightens anyone who wants to dedicate themselves to it.

The challenges of the future

The evolution of the cork sector in Catalonia is closely linked to that of the wine industry. "If the number of bottles to be corked increases, our indicators will rise," Hereu exemplifies. Looking to the future, he detects a pattern that could influence them. "In the world of wine, there is a tendency to produce less, but with higher quality," he summarizes. This is very positive for the Catalan cork sector. "Premium products always end up preferring cork stoppers, because oenologically, it favors the development of wines in bottles, and consumers appreciate it as an element of quality," he points out.

Another factor that inspires optimism in the cork sector is the sustainability factor. "It is a 100% sustainable, recyclable, and biodegradable material that contributes to preserving the biodiversity of cork oak forests and promoting the sustainable management of these natural areas in Catalonia," emphasizes the scientific project GO SensoVI, promoted by a consortium of leading companies and institutions in the sector. Furthermore, consumers associate cork with the landscape, culture, and identity of the region.

In this sense, Catalonia is one of the most internationally recognized cork-producing regions. In fact, the European Cork Confederation (CE Liège) is currently chaired by Joan J. Puig, who also heads AECORK, one of the national associations integrated into the organization. In this context, Barcelona hosted the Confederation's annual meeting in early June, with representatives from France, Spain, Italy, and Portugal. The meeting focused on the future strategy of the European cork sector, with particular emphasis on sustainability, innovation, and communication. The role of the cork stopper as a key element in the fight against climate change was highlighted, and visits were made to Catalan companies and research centers such as the Institut Català del Suro and the StartSud business incubator located in Palafrugell.