Where do corks come from?
Cork bottle stoppers are made from the bark of cork oaks. The process of cutting the tree down and removing the bark is not done at any one time. This is a highly skilled, labor intensive process involving special tools and complicated logistics. Picture peeling the delicate bark off of a massive tree, cutting it into uniform sheets, and then transporting it to the processing plant without breaking it. This is why cork closures are more expensive, and why there is pressure to move to alternative closures.
Sustainability
Plastic is forever and aluminum takes a ton of energy to make. Cork is by no means a perfect product, but it has stood up very well to synthetic closures in terms of sustainability and environmental impact. 50% of northern Portugal’s economy is based on cork and they have taken a huge hit from the use of synthetic corks and aluminum caps. Centuries old cork forests have been cut down to make room for new industries, which is endangering certain animals and setting the production of cork back decades. Cork trees need to be 25-30 years old before their bark can be harvested.
Know Your Corks:
100% Natural Cork Stoppers
This is what you think of when I say cork. Its one piece, comes in grades (based on surface, water content, porosity, and visual inspection) and is the best choice in most cases. This is the only cork stopper you should trust for aging wine much beyond 5 years or so, because its spongy flexibility keeps its seal viable the longest.
Colmated Corks
Take the cork from above and fill its pores with glue and cork dust. These corks look smoother, glide out of the bottle when you pull them, and are still good for medium aging.
Multi-Piece Corks
Two or more large cork pieces glued together. These are denser than single piece corks, and are a way the cork manufacturers can use up their scraps. These are also the only way to make giant corks for giant bottles (remember, corks come from a sheet of bark, so there is an inherent size limit). They should also not be trusted for prolonged aging.
Agglomerated Corks
The particle board of corks; basically these are a plug made of cork dust and glue. Cheaper, pretty dense, and not to be trusted to seal your wine beyond 1 year or so.
Technical Corks
I call these liar corks! They are agglomerated corks with full cork discs on either end. There are reasons to do this: like with sparkling wine where they want a larger cork diameter to contain the pressure. It is also a way to ensure your cork is uniformly dense throughout while improving the seal made by simple agglomerated corks. It still feels like a sneaky way to make the cork look solid from the outside of the bottle though.
DIY Cork Crafts
These are promoted as a way to recycle corks. I’d just like to point out 100% natural corks will biodegrade, which might be a less ugly proposition. Good for you, though!
By Madeline Puckette, WineFolly