Ever wonder about all those corks piling up in your kitchen, den, drawer, wherever? Where did they come from?

The illustrious cork has seen many permutations and uses over the millennia. One of the earliest discovered uses of the cork was in none other than a clay cask of wine in the 4^th century BC in Italy. At that time cork also started “popping” up in literature.

We have the monk Dom Perignon in the 18^th century to thank for the modern usage of a cork in glass bottles, as he started using it to replace wood stoppers for his now famous champagne.

Cork is a fantastic product, being resistant to rot, buoyant, nearly air impermeable , easily cut, and for a tree product, very sustainable. You see, the trees are not cut down. The above image is actually a piece of the bark of the Cork Oak tree that is pealed back (leaving the tree alive and ready for harvest every 10 or so years). Cork Oak trees can actually live to upwards of 300 years. The bark is then boiled to sanitize it and make it more pliable. Then the corks are cut straight from the piece of bark by hand leaving holes like our sample. The remaining bark as can be seen in the image is often ground up into bits and used in flooring, composite corks, sandals and other products. (Great illustrated guide to the process here)

So take those used corks, make a bulletin board or some other DIY out of them (30 great ideas for all your corks!) or take them to your local store or winery that can recycle them so they can happily seal another wonderful bottle of vino.

We understand that each and every wine tastes different and has a unique aroma, mouth feel, texture and expression. We understand the role that the soil, climate, vintage and élevage all have on this elixir…. Yet, we have never had a concrete visual expression of wine.

Our winemaker, Charles Hendricks passion for the science of the wine industry lead him to Sondra Barrett, a Bay Area artist, who explores the molecular expression of vitamins, minerals and even wine! Sondra has used a microscope with a prism to capture the molecular expression of our 2008 hope & grace Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir and our new 2008 hope & grace Cuvee Amor…

Sondra Barrett, PhD, a biochemist, first used the microscope to photograph human cells while developing diagnostic tools for human leukemias when on the faculty at UCSF Medical School. However, an exhibit of brain chemicals photographed with a microscope enticed her to explore the artistic beauty of molecules. Soon she began photographing chemicals of life – vitamins, minerals, and hormones – to teach science with art and give “inner space” slide shows to children with cancer.

Applying for Sterling Vineyards’ artist-in-residence program, she photographed her first wine – a 1978 Sterling merlot.  When the winemaker said the ‘picture looked like the wine tasted’ she became intrigued with the many possibilities of the inner world of wine. Working with winemakers and looking at Napa Valley wines she began documenting winemaking from the inside out uncovering distinct shapes and patterns that wine maestro Andre Tchelistcheff called ‘the jewels in wine.’

She has photographed thousands of wines, worked as a harvest intern and released her first book Wine’s Hidden Beauty. Sondra’s compelling photographic portraits visually capture moments in time of the personality, character and expression of a wine’s exciting life stor

(The pictures above are more of her amazing photographs of our Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon)

Please visit us at the hope & grace tasting salon at 6540 Washington St, Yountville, Napa Valley to see the exhibit and explore this new world….