Alentejo: Portugal’s Magical Cork Country

The Alentejo is a mystical place of gliding plains, sudden mountains, and the largest cork forests in the world. The Alentejo’s Cork Country is a lightly populated region with open horizons where the rhythm of life follows the rhythm of regional songs. This fertile land where more than half of the world's total cork supply is produced.

An Introduction to Cork Country
During the summer, the green stands of cork oaks turn the flowing plains of the Alentejo into a romantic and enchanting place of sun and shadows. These ancient forests, which have produced cork for millennia, are occasionally interrupted by wine estates, olive groves, or a white and blue house on a hill. When the bark is harvested, the trees turn from tranquil green to a warm, red hue, the characteristic color of the only tree that has a renewable bark.

The Portuguese often refer to the Alentejo, with its own dialect, strong Moorish flavor, white washed towns and unique songs as its own nation. Most towns seem to float on hilltops above the plains, often surrounded by an ancient castle. Gothic towers and red tiles rise from the venerable walls. The songs of the Alentejo, with a flavor of coriander and garlic, greet the visitor.

The Alentejo is bound by the sea to the west, and Spain to the east, extending from the southern bank of the great river Tejo to the mountains of the northern Algarve. Its name means “Beyond the Tejo,” and it occupies more than one fifth of Portugal, yet only houses a small fraction of the national population.

Its endless landscapes are rich in reminders of it past. From prehistory there are countless Dolmens, Mehnirs, and burial mounds. Impressive Roman relics are everywhere, from the still-standing temple at Évora to a mostly intact Roman villa at São Cucufate. While the Alentejo flourished under centuries of Roman rule, it thrived in the 400 years it was held by the Moors. They left behind cultural and architectural ties, a Mosque at Mértola, and many legends.

By 1249, a young Portuguese nation had incorporated the Alentejo and strong castles arose to guard the plains. With mild winter weather, abundant soil and a hospitable landscape, the Alentejo flourished in the Middle Ages and the Age of Discovery. Cork, wine and wheat would become the treasures this land would offer the world.

Today, the Alentejo remains rural and natural with thousands of miles of cork forest that supports a variety of wildlife. Its large towns are living museums, still in their ancient walls, with a sense of timelessness that is increasingly difficult to find elsewhere. From the monumental charm of the regional capital of Évora, to the impossibly high castle tower at Beja in the south, history, tradition, and grandeur are everywhere. It is a place where amid a harmony between nature and humanity we can remember so much of what we have forgotten. These lands of cork once gave the world the likes of explorer Vasco da Gama. Today, the world is invited back to discover the Alentejo.

The Land
This picturesque region may seem like another world, yet it’s just an hour's drive from Lisbon. The northeast of Cork Country is famed for its villages along the Castle Route, featuring ancient fortresses such as Nisa, Castelo de Vide, Marvão, Portalegre and Alter do Chão. Further south, the landscape becomes warmer and flatter. Around Évora, one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, one finds the enchanting walled towns of Monsaraz, Vila Viçosa, Estremoz, and Arraiolos, renowned for its handmade tapestries and rugs.

To the south, the rolling plains are even less inhabited and often the only shade is provided by olive and cork oak trees. A trip to the museum-towns of Alvito, Beja, Serpa and Mértola will offer many memories.

To the west, the Alentejo’s coastline offers magnificent Atlantic beaches, sea cliffs, and umbrella-like pine trees.

Cork Country has distinct seasons, with a green spring rich in wild flowers. In the early summer, storks build their nests on rooftops in whitewashed villages and the heat turns the plains to gold. During the mild winters, the open fields become bright yellow-green and local shepherds can be seen herding their flocks in long capes to stay warm.

What is Cork?

Cork is a unique substance and the perfect closure for wine. A totally natural product, cork is environmentally friendly, renewable, recyclable, and biodegradable. There is enough cork today in the forests of Portugal to last more than 100 years. Under a reforestation program, Portugal’s cork forests are now growing by four percent a year on average.

From Bark to Bottle
To produce cork, a cork oak (Quercus Suber, or Sobreiro in Portuguese) must be at least 25 years old. To harvest the cork, the outer bark is stripped from a cork oak once every nine years. The tree is protected by an inner bark, which is always left on the tree. The harvested bark is boiled and purified and the corks are then punched. A cork oak can live as long as two centuries.

The cork industry is environmentally friendly and truly sustainable. In Portugal, the protection of cork through environmental law has encouraged the planting and protection of thousands of acres of forests. In return, these forests protect hundreds of species of birds, animals, and plants. The cork industry also sustains more than 15,000 employees in remote areas.

The wine cork is one of the most natural products used in modern consumer society. Made entirely from the bark of the cork oak, wine cork is completely biodegradable.

A Tradition
Portuguese cork has been used for thousands of years and has brought the world all of its greatest wines. Using cork as a wine closure is the material’s most widespread application. The practice began in the 17th century when Dom Perignon chose the bark of the cork oak as the perfect sealant for his champagne and quickly it became popular with the spread of mass-produced glass bottles.

Cork’s Living Forests

According to a recent study by The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the use of natural corks by the world’s wine industry sustains a variety of rare wildlife in the cork forests of Southern Europe.

These cork oak woodlands, known as “montados” in Portugal, have been used to produce cork and graze livestock for centuries, making them a haven for wildlife. Forty-two bird species depend on them, including the endangered Spanish imperial eagle, with a global population of about 130 pairs. These forests also are home to rare species such as the black vulture and black stork. Smaller birds, such as robins, finches and song thrushes, migrate to the Iberian Peninsula’s cork forests from northern Europe, along with blackcaps from the United Kingdom. In spring and summer, the cork forests are home to a rich variety of butterflies and plants, with more than 60 plant species recorded in just one square meter. In more remote parts of these protected lands, the rare Iberian lynx can still be found.

The cork oak is the only tree that regenerates its bark. One particular tree, known as the “Whistler Tree” because of the many singing birds attracted to it, is said to be 212 years old. It is estimated that this tree alone had produced 1,000,000 corks by the year 2000.

Was this helpful? 0 0 Comments

You're reading Alentejo: Portugal’s Magical Cork Country.