54th Annual GRAMMY Awards® to Serve Only Wines Sealed with Natural Cork

54th Annual GRAMMY Awards® to Serve Only Wines Sealed with Natural Cork

Move is Part of The Recording Academy®'s Sustainability Program

On Site Corks Bins will Promote Recycling

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- For the second consecutive year, natural cork will be in the spotlight at the GRAMMY Awards.® Maintaining its commitment to sustainability, the 54th GRAMMY Awards will host two events featuring wines sealed exclusively with natural cork and will recycle the closures. Natural cork is biodegradable, recyclable and sustainable, and its use encourages the stewardship of cork oak forests that offset carbon pollution.

The awards show will take place at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles and will air on CBS at 8/7 p.m. CT on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012. The Recording Academy®, internationally known for the GRAMMY Awards®, continues its ongoing effort to reduce the environmental impact of its annual awards ceremony, telecast, and associated GRAMMY Week events.

Wines sealed with cork will be served at the MusiCares® Person of The Year tribute dinner and concert honoring Paul McCartney two days prior to the awards ceremony and at the official GRAMMY Celebration® following the awards show.

The events will be equipped with recycling bins provided by ReCORK, a cork recycling organization that will collect the stoppers and provide them to SOLE, a company that manufactures shoes and sandals from recycled cork.

"We are honored that The Recording Academy has made natural cork a component of its sustainability program," said Peter Weber, executive director of the Cork Quality Council. "The Academy joins a growing list of organizations, including the Major League Baseball Association and the National Basketball Association, that has recognized the environmental benefits of natural cork."

Natural cork is one of the world's most sustainable products. Biodegradable and recyclable, its use provides an economic incentive to preserve vast cork oak forests in the Mediterranean Basin that trap greenhouse gases, prevent desertification and provide habitat for hundreds of plant and animal species. There is no shortage of cork, and cork oaks are not cut down to make cork. A portion of their bark is removed every nine years during a 250-year lifespan.

About the Cork Quality Council (CQC)

Based in Napa, Calif., the CQC is a non-profit organization that promotes education and quality assurance standards for cork wine closures. Together with the Portuguese Cork Association, the CQC sponsors 100 Percent Cork, a national campaign to raise awareness about the social, technical and environmental benefits of cork.

About ReCORK

ReCORK is a natural wine cork recycling program. ReCORK's goal is to recycle natural corks and be a point of interaction about the crucial role of cork forests. ReCORK is committed to sustainable solutions, partnering with like-minded companies and developing innovative consumer products that use natural cork to replace petroleum based materials. The ReCORK program is sponsored by SOLE, a leading manufacturer of footwear products based in Vancouver, British Columbia. More information can be found at http://recork.org.

SOURCE Cork Quality Council

Cork Quality Council

CONTACT: Chantal Lamers, +1-415-369-8469, +1-310-788-2850, chantal_lamers@sitrick.com

Web Site: http://www.corkqc.com

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