Is climate change ruining your SAUVIGNON BLANC? Temperature shifts could be causing wines to become corked


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An abundance of low quality cork trees with thin bark may be ruining the quality of wine corks.

The reasons for the lower quality of trees, which has steadily declined for 20 years, can be attributed to climate change according to a team of researchers.

The bark of the trees might be being chemically changed by increased exposure to ultraviolet light as a result of climate change.

Research led by University of Lisbon says the quality of wine corks is decreasing. They say this is due to thinning bark on the trees that produce wine corks, known as Quercus suber trees (pictured). They have seen a drastic decline in quality in 20 years, and thinner bark means the corks are worse at keeping air out of bottles

Research led by University of Lisbon says the quality of wine corks is decreasing. They say this is due to thinning bark on the trees that produce wine corks, known as Quercus suber trees (pictured). They have seen a drastic decline in quality in 20 years, and thinner bark means the corks are worse at keeping air out of bottles

HOW TO ENJOY THE PERFECT GLASS OF WINE

Enjoying the perfect glass of wine doesn't require you to shell out a lot of money on the most expensive bottle you can find.

Instead, the results of the world's largest multisensory wine experiment reveal that a simple change in colour and sound can affect the taste of wine by nearly 10 per cent.

Listening to supposedly 'sweet' and 'sour' music in a room with red or green lighting can significantly alter the taste of a glass of wine, according to the research

The full findings suggest red light and 'sweet' music is the ideal combination, increasing enjoyment by as much as nine per cent.

Green light and 'sour' music increased freshness and reduced intensity by 14 per cent.

'It's the same as someone moving from being ambivalent about the taste of something to really liking it,' said Professor of Experimental Psychology at Oxford University Charles Spence.

'And, with this experiment, that shift happened in seconds.'

The research, reported by Live Science, indicates are rather more unexpected consequence of climate change.

The genetic study was led by Dr Rita Teixeira of the University of Lisbon and shows how the £1.2 billion ($2 billion) cork industry is at risk.

While cork struggles to maintain its consistency, plastic and metal wine stoppers are on the rise.

 

To produce a good product, cork producers need bark at least one inch (25 millimetres) thick - if the cork is too thin it will let air into the bottle and ruin the wine.

But the trees, called Quercus suber trees, have undergone a drastic decrease in quality to the point where there bark is now as little as 0.1 inches (three millimetres) thick - just 10 per cent the optimum level.

The reason for this dramatic drop in just two decades was unknown but now Dr Teixeira and colleagues think the blame can be pointed at climate change – although she says there could be other culprits.

'There are several factors like climate change, landscape changes and the dry seasons getting longer that could be causing the decline,' Dr Teixeira from the University of Lisbon told Live Science.

'The change in bark quality may be the trees' way of adapting.'

To produce a good cork (stock image shown), producers need bark at least one inch (25 millimetres) thick - if the cork is too thin it will let air into the bottle and ruin the wine. But the trees have undergone a drastic decrease in quality to the point where there bark is now as little as 0.1 inches (three millimetres) thick

To produce a good cork (stock image shown), producers need bark at least one inch (25 millimetres) thick - if the cork is too thin it will let air into the bottle and ruin the wine. But the trees have undergone a drastic decrease in quality to the point where there bark is now as little as 0.1 inches (three millimetres) thick

The trees grow only in southwest Europe and northwest Africa.

In their research the team analysed the genes of five high-quality and five low-quality cork trees in Portugal.

It was found the bad quality trees were much higher in compounds to protect themselves from the additional ultraviolet radiation, at the expense of bark thickness.

This suggests the trees are adapting to the increase in radiation from the environment.

Obviously, however, it is not just wine tasters that should be worried by this research.

It stands to reason that, if these trees are adapting to deal with a changing climate, so too might be others that provide different foods and products.



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