Portuguese Cork Assn. Turns to Pedicabs to Expand Promotion

The Portuguese Cork Association (APCOR) expands its U.S. educational campaign, “Drink Responsibly. Choose a Bottle with a Natural Cork” by providing New York’s top wine events with complimentary cork-branded pedicab rides. A new activation, the experiential promotion encourages consumers to associate mindful consumption with natural cork, elevating their wine and spirits choices through sustainability, quality, and a culture of drinking better. 

Redefining a phrase long associated with alcohol consumption, this campaign broadens the definition of responsibility to encompass quality, sustainability, and thoughtful closure selection. Because natural cork is renewable, recyclable, and essential to a zero-waste approach, it represents a truly responsible packaging choice for producers, retailers, and consumers alike.

The “Drink Responsibly. Choose a Bottle with a Natural Cork” experiential pedicab campaign officially launches in New York City on Sunday, October 18 at City Winery’s Pier 57 location during the Wine on Wheels Grand Tasting. Founded by renowned sommelier and disability advocate Yannick Benjamin, the event brings together over 75 top sommeliers, 150 world-class wines, and offerings from 40 leading NYC restaurants. Throughout the event, attendees can take complimentary rides on APCOR pedicabs, prominently featuring the campaign slogan, to reach local transit hubs, including the 14th Street and 8th Avenue MTA subway station.

The pedicab tour will continue at Vinitaly.USA, the country’s leading wine tasting event dedicated to Italian wines, on Monday, October 26 and Tuesday, October 27 at Pier 36 in New York City. The Italian wine trade event’s New York City debut will see over 300 exhibitors and an anticipated 1,000+ trade professionals engaging with the “Drink Responsibly. Choose a Bottle with a Natural Cork” experiential pedicab campaign fleet on site to provide complimentary transit throughout the two-day event.

Following each October event, APCOR’s pedicabs will pop up around New York City at select Cork Collective partner restaurants, offering complimentary transit rides to local subway stations for patrons who choose to purchase wines sealed with natural cork from select wine lists.

Further supporting the campaign’s message of choosing products that support quality, sustainability, and the culture of drinking better, APCOR has partnered with the hospitality-driven Cork Collective, to host an onsite recycling program at wine events featuring the “Drink Responsibly. Choose a Bottle with a Natural Cork” pedicabs to reinforce the sustainability and circularity of natural cork. This year, Cork Collective made national headlines for repurposing natural corks collected from top New York City restaurants and turning them into social good community projects, including a 7,200-square-foot recycled cork pathway at Brooklyn’s Marlboro Houses.