Freshly stripped cork oaks in Catalonia, Spain (@ John Miller/plainpicture/Robert Harding)

Freshly stripped cork oaks in Catalonia, Spain (@ John Miller/plainpicture/Robert Harding)

comments,

• Wow, something strange is happening to these trees.""Shall we uncork this mystery?
• This region is famous both for producing wine stoppers and for a certain fizzy liquid that goes inside bottles.""Cava, the sparkling wine, originated here in 1851
• The process taking place here could give you the perfect excuse to down endless bottles of wine.""Put that booze away and let\s find out exactly what\s going on
• These freshly stripped members of the Quercus suber family can be found in a part of Spain.""But about half the world\s cork supply actually comes from which neighbouring country?