SÃO PAIO DE OLEIROS, Portugal — Megan Meharg’s first trip to Europe set a high bar for any future visits to the continent.
A graduate student at Washington State University, Meharg was one of 11 students selected from around the world to visit Portugal this summer through a scholarship program hosted by Cork Supply, a manufacturer of corks for the wine and spirits industry. During the five-day trip, the group tasted the country’s local cuisine, made new wine industry connections, and gained a better understanding of how wine corks are made.
“It was a fantastic, once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said Meharg, who has a bachelor’s degree in viticulture and enology and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in food science. “I was shocked and ecstatic when I found out I had been chosen to go.”
Founded in 1981 and based in Portugal, Cork Supply operates production facilities throughout the world. Committed to sustainability, the company utilizes renewable sources like solar power and manufacturing byproducts such as cork dust to generate energy for its factories. Cork Supply’s inaugural student trip immersed participants in a region known for its cork tree forests, offering them an experiential look at how the closures are made.
“This experience helps students gain a more complete understanding of the entire winemaking process and the impact of certain choices made during that process,” said Greg Hirson, Cork Supply global director of innovation and the trip’s leader. “We want to be a source of knowledge and expertise for students early in their careers so they can be well-informed decisionmakers in their field. This trip is a great chance for them to learn and invest in their futures.”
The group, which included students from the U.S., Portugal, Italy, Spain, Germany, and South Africa, traveled throughout Portugal to observe the cork-making process from start to finish. Their first stop was a corkwood forest, where students saw how the bark is harvested. Replenishing itself every nine years, cork bark can be taken repeatedly from the same tree. It’s a process that remains culturally significant to the people of the Iberian Peninsula.
“Cork is a unique plant, and cork-making is a very renewable process,” Hirson said. “To see it firsthand is special. Our goal is to help students gain an appreciation and understanding of the cork tree and its sustainability as a wine packaging material. Seeing this process helps students gain a greater respect for the tree, the cork’s connection to the land, and the culture in which corks are produced.”
For Meharg, the intricacies of the cork harvesting process came as a surprise.
“I didn’t realize how sustainable cork was until I started learning more about it,” Meharg said. “It’s one of the most renewable resources we have. The tree is kept alive, and the bark is harvested for hundreds of years.”
The students visited three Cork Supply factories: one near Lisbon, where the cork bark is processed, and two near Porto, where natural and technical corks are produced. Their last stop was the Douro Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the oldest winemaking regions in the world. There, the students observed how locals incorporate cork into their products.
“There’s little to no waste in cork production because unused components are constantly moving to the next step,” Meharg said. “Any waste is used for energy or other industries like shoemaking and cork flooring.”
For Meharg, the best part of the trip was undoubtedly the people. She said it provided a unique networking opportunity and a chance to share her research on wine grapes and wildfire smoke exposure.
“We all clicked so well,” she said. “I loved making memories with new friends from around the world. The other students on the trip represent connections to the wine industry in a variety of countries, and that’s really valuable.”
Meharg encourages other WSU students to take a leap of faith and go after future opportunities like this one.
“It’s important to apply and not sell yourself short,” Meharg said. “As students, we need to think outside the box about how we want our futures in the wine industry to look. Part of being in the industry is keeping it alive, and sustainability is important for that future.”
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