Located in the heart of Penedès, home to some of the best sparkling wines in the world, lies the Recaredo winery, a family business with a long tradition of craftsmanship improved generation after generation.
Here, the descendants of Recaredo Mata Figueres have long been producing superb quality designation of origin sparkling wines that are recognized worldwide.
Today, we’re talking to Magda Anton, quality manager at the winery, where she started working in 1997.
Why is natural cork so important in your production?
Firstly, this material has been used constantly since this tradition began, and it is an essential ingredient in creating a high quality product that seeks to convey to the consumer the landscape and flavors of the Mediterranean from which it originates.
At Recaredo, we only use agglomerate body stoppers with two natural cork discs. This is the type of stopper selected by the best sparkling wine producers in the world because of several important advantages over other models.
Primarily, it is a natural product that fully meets our environmental responsibility standards. At our winery, we are very conscious of the impact of the industry on the environment, so organic and natural compounds such as cork fit perfectly with our product and manufacturing method.
The cork industry also has a negative carbon footprint, which helps to combat climate change and global warming. By using stoppers with cork discs rather than micro-agglomerated corks, we know we are also helping to preserve this industry, which is an ally in our endeavor to protect our planet.
We must not forget that cork is a “regenerative” industry, and not harmful to the trees from which it is extracted. This has a dual positive effect; it means that huge swathes of forest are preserved and require human activity throughout the year, creating a strong industry in rural areas that greatly helps the area to develop, generating employment and conserving nature.
And another huge benefit that only cork can give us, is its excellent oxygenation capacity for our wines. At Recaredo, we have long aging processes that require a natural system to offer the best possible oxygenation to our wines with the least possible “intrusion”. Recent studies have finally demonstrated how natural cork behaves thanks to the “chemiluminescence” test. This test shows a high initial oxygenation, perfect for enhancing the fermentation stage, which gradually decreases during the process to avoid “oxidizing” the flavor. As a result, in the later stages of aging, a sparkling wine sealed with a stopper with natural cork discs will contain less oxygen than one sealed with a metal top or even one aged with a microgranulate cork stopper, and so helping to bring out the full potential of our product.
Finally, something else about cork we also find very interesting and valuable is the natural notes it adds to our wines, which are highly regarded by judges and consumers, and which we do not find in stoppers made from micro-agglomerate or other materials.
Natural cork has a rich influence of the aromas, structure, and even final color of the wine. At Recaredo, we highly value the natural essences that are added thanks to the cork, because they enhance and enrich the nuances and complexity of the flavor, which offers the consumer an experience that immerses them in the Mediterranean landscape where our product is born.
What is the final result?
Well, that depends. At Recaredo, we have a wide variety of sparkling wines and aged wines, and each one offers a unique dialogue with the consumer. But generally speaking, our sparkling corpinnats are mature, complex, elegant, and deep, with a creamy and smooth bubble that melds perfectly. And true to tradition, to some extent, this is down to the natural contributions of the cork.
Magda Anton has a BSc in chemistry from the University of Barcelona and a master’s degree in enology from the University of Rovira i Virgili. In 1997, she began working at the Recaredo winery, where she currently works as the quality manager.
If you would like more information, please get in touch with us. We would be delighted to help you.
