"Then and Now": Grape Crushing and Port Wine.

Port wine is a fortified wine produced in the Douro Valley in Portugal. Here is a little photo journal showing how the grapes for port wine were crushed a century ago and how they are crushed today. There is nothing like enjoying a glass of Port - especially on a cool winters evening.


THEN ...

A century and more ago, grape crushing was done by foot stomping. It was a joyous time not only celebrating the crushing of the grapes but the economical returns the harvest of that year would bring to the community. As the image depicts, music and song accompanied the long hours of work.













Wines were kept in large demijohns insulated by weaved wicker or grass. These containers were plugged with natural corks hand cut directly from the bark of cork oak trees.



















.... and NOW

Today the crush stompers of the past are replaced by metal robotic "feet", operated by turning on a power switch. It is certainly an easier and more controlled operation but has lost the romanticism of earlier generations. Nevertheless the end of the harvest season today is still celebrated with music and song in most wine regions of the world.













Natural cork stoppers, whether as straight wine corks or corks with plastic tops attached to them as shown in this image, remain the choice of most wineries. An estimated 14 billion straight natural wine corks are used annually today.

Jelinek Cork annual convention in beautiful Portugal

This year's annual Jelinek Cork Group convention was held in Northern Portugal. What a beautiful place! We were rewarded with some magnificent sites and experiences. Here are just a few images:












Grapevines form intriguing patterns along the Douro River in Portugal.














Cork oak trees and grape vines share the Portuguese countryside. As the saying goes, "Cork is to wine as the earth is to the vine". An obvious lifelong affair... cork and wine. Foreground in this image is a cork tree overlooking the fall colors of the Douro Valley vineyards.














Barrels of aging port wine stoppered with natural corks. Port wine has been produced for more than 400 years in the north of Portugal along the rocky mountainsides of the Douro River. Despite the adventurous driving experience (one can take the calmer river boat route) the excursion is well worth it.

Sonny Jelinek at the Cork House Decorating BIG with GlamaMama

Looking for design ideas for your home? Check out "Decorating Big with GlamaMama" as she tours the Cork House and shows how beautiful cork is in a home.

The Cork House - your one stop shop to eco-friendly home design

Jelinek Cork's unique showroom in Oakville, Ontario has recently been redecorated. The walls have been painted with C2's low-VOC paint, the kitchen has a beautiful new back splash made of Jelinek cork mosaic, American Clay has been applied to accent walls, plus the cork floors look fabulous. All these products and many, many more are available at the Cork House and most can be custom designed to meet your needs.
Cork upholstered furniture - the cork can be stained to
match any decor.












Cork upholstered head board and duvet cover. In the background
the chairs are made with cork upholstery as well.











From Icestone recycled glass & concrete countertops, to Jelinek cork wall & ceiling coverings, from unique gift items made of cork to one-of-a-kind pieces of art created by local artisans, if you're looking to decorate, the Cork House has it all - its the one stop shop for eco-friendly home design.

For hours and directions to the Cork House visit: http://corkhouse.com/

Business as usual at Jelinek Cork despite fire at one location.

Jelinek Cork Group experienced a major fire at one of our three Ontario facilities. Our other two locations have immediately been activated to handle the overload from the damaged premises until such time that repairs will be completed. Although there may be some short delays of supply and services over the next week, business in the most part will continue as usual at Jelinek Cork.

Suberite - The cork-based paint

Cork with all its amazing natural qualities works great inside the home as flooring, wall & ceiling coverings, even furniture but have you ever thought of it on the outside of your home? If not, you should. In fact, think of it for any surface in your home - inside and outside walls, ceilings, roofs, deck, patios, etc. If you think about it cork has all the natural properties of that perfect outer layer. Its the bark, or skin, of the tree protecting the valuable inside while allowing it to breath. It protects, insulates and seals and is very resistant. Cork is fire resistant, does not release any toxic gases. It insulates against temperature - both hot and cold. It seals better than any other man-made or natural product - hence the champagne bottles sealed in the 1780s that were discovered under the sea recently - the champagne was still bubbly and tasty and the bottle was sealed with a natural cork. It is these characteristics that make cork the ideal material for builders.

I'd like to introduce you to Suberite. If you've never heard of it, you soon will. Its basically a skin for your home. Its paint that is cork and water resin based - 80% of it being cork. It is applied to the outside or inside of homes and buildings creating a breathable, waterproof and thermic layer. It is resistant to seat salt, fungi and UV rays. Regardless of the outside temperature, Suberite maintains a constant inside temperature. Put it on paths, walk ways and patios - it is antislip!

In the above image, the walls and the pathway are both Suberite.

The pathway to this office building is Suberite.










Installing Suberite inside a home.












If you have any questions about this fantastic product, Suberite, please contact us: cork@jelinek.com -- 1-800-959-0995

Fishing with ... cork?

We're well into the long, lazy, hazy days of summer and what better way to spend the day than on the water fishing for that perfect fish. So how does cork play a part of this you may ask? Follow the pictures below for a few of the ways:

Heading out fishing? Don't forget your lure. Keep it safe and inside its container using a natural tapered cork stopper. Its cork - it can get 'stabbed' without any damage.












As you're packing your tackle, don't forget your floats. Cork fishing floats come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors:












How about a cork 'bug'. Walt's poppers are hand-made using a carefully selected cork body.









Cork fishing rod handles:
The light weight and durability of cork combined with custom shaping make cork grips the top choice for fishing rods.



















More interested in making your own cork fishing rod handle. Use natural cork rings.









Have you ever dropped your keys in the water or worried about dropping them in the water? You can give yourself piece of mind with a cork key chain - created with the boater in mind, these cork key chains float (made of solid cork).








Happy Fishing!

Relaxing in a cork beanbag chair

Cork upholstery fabric not only looks amazing but it also lasts. Its a natural product yet made for durability. This beanbag chair is a prime example. Its climbed over, jumped on, napped on, dragged around and its still in perfect condition.

Cork fabric, also known as cork leather or cork skin, is a natural, eco-friendly product. Thin sheets of natural cork obtained directly from the bark of the cork oak tree are adhered to a fabric support backing.

The durability of the cork fabric is remarkable. To prevent staining, the cork fabric is protected with a fabric protection spray. In terms of durability, cork fabric wears similarly to leather which is another reason this cork fabric is often called Cork Leather. The main difference between cork leather and regular leather is cork leather can get wet - actually it can be washed using hot water in a washing machine.

Cork fabric is environmentally friendly, hypoallergenic, water resistant and stain resistant.

Cork fabric can be purchased online at the corkstore.com

You open a bottle of wine, you drink the bottle of wine. Now you have an empty glass bottle and (hopefully) a natural wine cork. The glass bottle can be recycled or returned for a deposit (depending where you live) but what will you do with the wine cork? All natural wine corks can be recycled and repurposed into something else (ie. cork flooring, bulletin boards, cork wall panels). You can contact us as we'll gladly accept them or bring them to a Whole Foods market. You could also be creative and reuse those wine corks. Save them in a jar or vase for a decorative look and then, when you're ready, get busy!

Its amazing what people come up with:

From crafts such as this beautiful cork wreath:


















To displays/bulletin boards (in this case a restaurant menu board):



















To whole homes covered in wine corks:















The Calgary Zoo in Canada even uses a wine cork in their piranha aquarium:













If you'd like to share your use for natural wine corks, please let us know.

A little history about Jelinek Cork and fishing floats

During the 1970s, cork fishing floats represented a good portion of Jelinek Cork sales. The interesting thing was these floats were not new and they were not used for fishing. Rather, they were used floats and they were hung as decorations in many seafood restaurants and bars across North America.

Henry Jelinek tells us the story:
"We obtained these floats by travelling to fishing villages and towns surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. We purchased the floats used on fish nets directly from the fishermen. They were happy to sell them to us because they could use the money to buy new floats. I often think they thought we were a bit crazy buying old floats from them ... especially since they could buy new floats and still have some money left over. In most cases, the new floats were purchased from us as well .... so it was a good deal all around."

Restaurants and cork

I ate in my fair share of restaurants this holiday season - from upscale restaurants to cafes and order at the bar greasy spoons. In my restaurant hopping, I saw various types of decor.

Yes - the main reason we go to restaurants is to eat and drink however who doesn't love a restaurant with great decor? Cork with all its unique characteristics is a great fit for the decor of a restaurant - from cork flooring to cork wall panels, from cork ceilings to cork chairs.

The accessories in a restaurant also help set the mood. Beautiful cork menus (made of either cork fabric or cork wallpaper) and wine cork menu boards (made by reusing wine corks) are creative ways of displaying menus and also make interesting conversation pieces.