Rutherford Wine Co. Joins 100% Cork Campaign

ST. HELENA, Calif., Sept. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Rutherford Wine Company, a leading purveyor of sustainably grown wines, today became the first winery to endorse a rapidly growing movement to educate wine drinkers about the societal, technical and environmental advantages of real cork wine stoppers, 100% Cork announced.

The Napa Valley-based company crafts quality white and red varietal wines under the Rutherford Ranch, Round Hill, Scott Family Estate, Lander Jenkins and Predator labels.  All are finished with real cork – a sustainable, renewable, recyclable and biodegradable resource that combats global warming.  Rutherford Ranch Winery in St. Helena is a California Certified Organic Farmer.

"We tried synthetic closures but came back to cork," said Steve Rued, Rutherford's Director of Winemaking.  "As a sustainable winery, cork is the natural choice for Rutherford.  And from a technical perspective, there is nothing that protects and ages wine better than real cork."

As an endorser of 100% Cork, Rutherford's logo will be featured on the campaign's web site (www.100percentcork.org) and its labels will be listed in a database of wines that use all cork on the campaign's Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/100PercentCork).  The Facebook site has attracted more than 22,000 fans in three months, and many of them want to know where to find wines finished with real cork.  100% Cork will also feature Rutherford wines at various special events.

No Shortage of Cork

Cork is harvested from the bark of cork oak trees grown in the Mediterranean Basin.  Contrary to popular belief, cork oaks are not cut down or harmed during the harvest.  Cork oaks can live for hundreds of years, and there is no shortage of corks or cork oak trees.  Demand for cork provides an incentive to plant and maintain the Mediterranean's vast oak forests, which every year offset the carbon produced by 2.5 million cars.

Each tree is harvested every nine years in a centuries-old process that makes the trees healthier and creates habitat for hundreds of wildlife species.

The Threat to Cork and the Environment

The use of metal and plastic wine closures has undermined demand for real cork.  If this trend continues, the cork oaks will be replaced by quick cash crops that provide none of the environmental advantages of cork oaks.

The World Wildlife Federation has called the use of plastic and metal substitutes a "major threat" to Mediterranean cork oak forests.

Take the 100% Cork Pledge

Wine consumers are being urged to take the 100% Cork Pledge at www.100PercentCork.org.  Pledge names will be added to petitions to be sent to major wine retailers and wineries urging them to increase their use of cork stoppers because:

1. Metal screw caps and plastic stoppers produce 10-24 times more greenhouse gases and consume as much as five times more non-renewable energy than real cork over their life-cycles, according to a peer-reviewed study by PricewaterhouseCoopers; and
2. Real cork is recyclable, biodegradable and creates a powerful incentive for sustainable stewardship of cork oak forests while providing one of the world's richest ecosystems.

About Rutherford Wine Co.

Rutherford Wine Company is family owned and managed with a portfolio of wines representing the rich diversity of California's outstanding appellations.  Uncompromising and ecologically far-sighted viticulture is an ethical imperative for the company.  Though more labor intensive than prevalent commercial winegrowing methods, our efforts are rewarded with fruit rich in flavor and character. And great fruit is a prerequisite for making great wine.  Rutherford Ranch Winery is located in Napa Valley's Rutherford District – one of the region's most renowned sub-appellations.  The winery and estate vineyards are 100% Certified Organic.

About 100% Cork

100% Cork is a campaign to educate U.S. wine consumers about the benefits of choosing wine with real cork stoppers because of cork's environmental, technical and societal advantages.  The campaign seeks to recruit and organize wine consumers to request that winemakers and retailers choose natural cork over artificial stoppers.  The campaign is funded by the Portuguese Cork Association and the Cork Quality Council.

SOURCE 100PercentCork.org