Botani Cork Mystery – Solved!

28 07 2011

OK, yes I said I was going on vacation, and I am, but I had to post this quickly before I left. I reviewed the 2010 Jorge Ordonez Botani white from Christopher Stewart Wine & Spirits Imports a couple weeks ago and was a huge fan, but I couldn’t figure out the elaborate graphics on the cork. Here’s what I saw and the Cork Rating I doled out:

Cork Rating: 6.5/10 (I'm a huge fan of cork graphics, but what is this? A cruise ship and some mountain-castles? I don't get it.)

I had almost forgotten about my confusion over what this cork art represented until this morning, when a comment showed up under my Botani post…from Victoria Ordonez, Jorge Ordonez’s sister and official blogger of Jorge Ordonez & Co.! Victoria wrote a great piece on the Jorge Ordonez site clarifying what the actual image is on the JO corks (it’s a three-masted ship, not a no-masted ship with mountains behind it, as I myopically guessed) and, more importantly, what it represents of the history of wine-making in Malaga, Spain…check it out here:

http://jorge-ordonez.es/blog/2011/07/28/ship-in-a-bottle/

As a result of this response, I have booked an eye exam and have also retroactively bumped the Botani Cork Rating up to a stellar 8.5/10 — anytime a cork can combine substantial graphics with historical significance, it’s an absolute winner. If only every producer put this kind of thought and effort into its bottle closures…the world would be a better place.

Officially on vacation now…see you next week!