Eureka: Why winemakers and Nasa engineers rely on cork - The Entrepreneurs

Episode Overview

Podcast: The Entrepreneurs
Episode: Eureka: Why winemakers and NASA engineers rely on cork
Host: Tom Edwards (Monocle Radio)
Guest: António Amorim, CEO of Amorim (world’s leading cork producer)
Date: October 24, 2025

Main Theme:
This episode explores the journey of cork from its traditional use in wine bottles to innovative applications in fields such as aerospace and construction. António Amorim discusses the enduring appeal and sustainability of cork, highlights the company’s commitment to reforestation and R&D, and reveals why cork remains unmatched in both wine and high-tech industries.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Superiority of Cork in Wine

Performance and Evolution with Wine
- Cork is "the only proven product for all types of wines, all segments of the wines over time or to be consumed very quickly."
- Decades of research and scientific data consistently show cork closures enhance wine quality over time, helping wines age gracefully.
- Quote: “We have a long track record and we have proven our technical superiority to alternative closures in aging... due to the cellular structure of the cork over time.” — António Amorim [02:07]
A Premium Experience
- Cork offers a sensory and cultural experience: the distinct “pop” and tradition enrich the act of opening a bottle.
- Its tactile and aesthetic appeal sets a celebratory tone, distinguishing it from screw caps.
- Quote: “It’s unquestionable: when you open a bottle of wine with a cork… it’s completely different from opening a bottle of wine with a screw cap. Wine is an aspirational product…” — António Amorim [03:22]
Sustainability Credentials
- Cork’s carbon footprint is significantly positive; for each ton of cork produced, 73 tons of CO₂ are captured.
- Using cork closures improves the overall carbon footprint of wine when compared to alternatives like aluminum.
- Quote: “For every single ton of cork produced, it has captured 73 tons of CO₂… making the carbon footprint of the final wine bottle better under cork than under an aluminium screw cap.” — António Amorim [04:00]

Innovations and New Applications

Beyond Bottles: Cork in Industry
- Cork’s unique cellular honeycomb structure makes it invaluable for thermal insulation and lightweight resilience.
- It’s used in:
  - Flooring, underlayment, insulation, shoes, and sports fields
  - Aerospace technology: notably chosen by NASA as a thermal shield, including on the nose of the space shuttle
  - Home construction and other emerging industries
- Quote: “Cork has been the preferred material to be used as a thermal shield for the space launches… was the preferred material by NASA to be used… on the nose of the space shuttle.” — António Amorim [05:21]

Stewardship, Reforestation & the Future

Forest Management and Regeneration
- Cork oaks are harvested, not felled, every nine years; trees live up to 200 years and are protected by law in the Iberian Peninsula.
- Amorim has recently acquired 20,000 acres, planting 250,000–300,000 new trees annually, aiming for 1.5 million trees in five to seven years.
- Emphasis on accelerating maturation through selective breeding, irrigation, and fertilization—hoping for first harvests within 10–15 years instead of 25.
- Quote: “We’re trying to have the initial harvest not at the end of 25, but [at] the end of 10 or 15 [years]… We want absolutely the quality of that cork to be the same as… existing forests.” — António Amorim [07:32]
Climate Resilience and R&D
- Heavy investment in R&D to select cork trees better suited to climate change and disease resistance.
- Cultivating trees that grow faster and yield high quality cork while maintaining biodiversity and local ecosystems.
Carbon Credits and Economic Incentives
- The company envisions selling certified carbon credits from its reforested cork lands as an additional revenue stream.
- Invites others to follow Amorim’s example and participate in sustainable agroforestry.

Family Legacy and Business Philosophy

Family-owned and professionally managed, with a view to responsibly expand the business for future generations.
Quote: “We always have the commitment of trying to transfer it to the next generation in a better shape, in a larger size, and with a greater future.” — António Amorim [08:55]
Growth and awareness are core principles:
- Making cork known to wider audiences and used in various industries globally.
- Quote: “We are absolutely committed to make cork be known to a wider audience… [and] used by a wider range of clients and consumers.” — António Amorim [09:22]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On cork’s historic and future relevance:
“We truly believe that the company that does not grow has no future.” — António Amorim [09:14]
On sustainable management:
“For a species that is protected in the Iberian Peninsula... that tree really contributes for the CO2 balance that we have, at least on this part of the world.” — António Amorim [06:31]
On inspiring copycats:
“Hopefully, we’ll be so successful that other people would like to come along with us… use their own carbon credits from these incremental plantations as an additional source of revenue.” — António Amorim [08:19]

Important Timestamps

[01:20] — António Amorim introduces cork’s superiority in performance and tradition.
[04:00] — Sustainability and the environmental impact of cork production.
[05:21] — Cork’s role in aerospace and industrial applications.
[06:25] — Lifecycle of cork trees and harvesting methods.
[07:11] — Amorim’s large-scale reforestation and R&D efforts.
[08:19] — Carbon credits and agroforestry incentives.
[08:55] — Family business philosophy and legacy.

Summary

In this episode, Tom Edwards and António Amorim expertly navigate cork’s journey from tradition to cutting-edge innovation, making a compelling case for its enduring and growing relevance. Amorim’s vision—rooted in sustainability, stewardship, and technological advancement—positions cork not just as a staple for wine, but as a cornerstone material for a wide variety of industries, from construction to space travel. The conversation blends deep technical insight with a passionate commitment to environmental responsibility and family legacy, offering a fresh perspective on what many may have considered a simple bottle stopper.

Transcript

A (0:00)

Foreign. You're listening to Eureka on Monocle Radio. Brought to you by the team behind the entrepreneurs. The show all about inspiring people, innovative companies and fresh ideas in global business. I'm Tom Edwards. With the wine harvest now coming to an end here in the Northern hemisphere, winemakers are beginning to plan when to bottle their vintages. One key component in the process, cork. Of course. Portuguese company Amarim is the world leader in cork production and its family run business has prided itself on keeping ahead of the competition since its inception all the way back in 1870. Today, the company's CEO Antonio Amorim is looking to plant more cork oak trees, not just because of its proven record in the wine sector, but also because of its impeccable sustain credentials. He's particularly bullish on cork's role beyond wine, investing in research to expand the materials applications in industries ranging from aerospace technology to home construction and more besides. So how do you take cork from the wine bottle to the top table of business innovation? Well, here is Antonio Amarim with more.

B (1:20)

Cork is clearly the preferred closure on three elements. First of all, performance. It's the only proven product for all types of wines, all segments of the wines over time or to be consumed very quickly. Today in cork is something that we have worked for the last 25 years like never before. And I think there is a general consensus giving the acknowledgment that cork industry has revolutionized the performance element of cork, converting it into a closure that matches the demands of the most sophisticated and demanding winemaker. So from a performance point of view, I think that we have a long track record and we have proven our technical superiority to alternative closures in aging in clearly the improvement that you have on the wine with the wine that evolves due to the cellular structure of the cork over time. We have scientific data to prove all that and research work that has been done in many wine research centers. There is a second element which why cork is the preferred closure, which is the premium look that it gives to a bottle of wine. It's unquestionable than when you open a bottle of wine with a cork, when you have that pop, it's completely different from opening a bottle of wine with a screw cap. Wine is an aspirational product that people want to live up to because of the culture, because of the moment, because of the uniqueness of the moment in which you open that bottle of wine. There is a third element which is sustainability. For every single ton of cork produced, heat has captured 73 tons of CO2. That makes all the Cork products with a negative carbon footprint, helping to offset some of the emissions that you have in other packaging or in other parts of the wine industry, making the carbon footprint of the final wine bottle better under cork than under an aluminium screw cap. At the same time, we have developed a bunch of alternative uses to cork that go from for industries like flooring, underlayment, insulation, shoes, sports fields. And cork has been the preferred material to be used as a thermal shield for the space launches, not only on the satellite rocket launchers, but also was the preferred material by NASA to be used on place where there is more. There was more attrition on the space shuttle, which was the nose of the space shuttle. Cork has unique characteristics due to its unique cellular honeycomb structure that converts cork as a material that can have fantastic properties as a thermal shield without losing its mass. So we believe that there are unique features, technical features, for cork to continue to be used globally. And increasingly, looking at all these potential uses for cork, not only on the wine, sparkling and spirits, but also an alternative industries, we thought that combining this with the sustainability credentials of cork, that this is a material of the future. And being a material of the future, we need to think many, many years ahead. For a cork tree to give its first harvest, it takes 25 years, and then you harvest every single cork tree every nine years up to 170, 180, 200 years, means that we don't cut the tree, we just remove every nine years, the bark of the tree. For a species that is protected in the Iberian Peninsula and absolutely illegal to chop it down, because that tree really contributes for the CO2 balance that we have, at least on this part of the world. Looking at the future and at the potential of everything that we are doing, we have decided and we have engaged into some substantial investments and in research and development and in plantations, research and development to make sure that we have the best trees selected to face up to climate change, to face up to some natural disease that might be generated in the forest that can really grow faster and can give better quality of cork than Amarim has bought over the last three years. 20,000 acres of forest land where we are planting between 250 and 300,000 trees every year. So we have a commitment to be planting 1.5 million trees in five, six, seven years on a program that has started already in 2023. And we're doing this with a slight caveat, which is we trying to have the initial harvest not at the end of 25, but the end of 10 or 15. So instead of the cork tree being on hibernation for 6, 7, 8 months in the year, we're trying to have a lower period of hibernation, which means that it will grow faster. And we're trying to do some irrigation to these new saplings as well as some fertilization to make sure that they grow faster until their first harvest. When we harvest the cork tree for the first time, we will be not applying anymore any water or any fertilizers because we want absolutely the quality of that cork to be the same as the quality of the cork that we have from the existing forests. And that's the plan that we have decided to engage in. And that's what we are moving forward to execute over the next five to six years. Hopefully, we'll be so successful that other people would like to come along with us. Do their own plantations use their own carbon credits from these incremental plantations as an additional source of revenue? Somebody will be interested in buying these certified credits that the cork forest will be able to provide. We are clearly a company that is family owned, but I believe professionally managed. Looking it from a family perspective, we're very proud of working with this unique industry and we always have the commitment of trying to transfer it to the next generation in a better shape, in a larger size and with a greater future. We truly believe that the company that does not grow has no future. So we are absolutely committed to make cork be known to a wider audience. Cork to be used by a wider range of clients and consumers.