The humble cork

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Cork is made from the bark of trees, most commonly the Cork Oak. The tree is indigenous to southern Europe and northern Africa, although Spain and Portugal combined account for over half of the commercial production of cork.

Ehen the trees mature their bark can be harvested every 9 years without harm. This series of photographs shows, from havest to finished product, the process of making a cork for a bottle. I expected the process to be automated, but it looks like it is very labor intensive.

I found them at Visboo's post Production of Corks. There are more pictures after the jump, and of course even more at the Visboo link.