Why is cork commonly used as a stopper for wine bottles?

Thanks to its elasticity, cork expands within a bottleneck to seal liquid in and keep oxygen out. Its tiny pores, however, allow minuscule amounts of air to interact with the wine, which can transform the aroma and flavor over time. This makes cork the top choice for producers of ageworthy wines.

What does the cork stopper do?

The cork stoppers fulfil the requirements for a sealant of wine bottles: they have mechanical properties that allow insertion into the bottle and compression against its neck; they seal adequately the bottle to the passage of wine; Mouldy taints in bottled wine are an important problem for the wine industry.

When did they stop using corks in bottles?

Today, corked wine is taken for granted as something that has always been. Corks for wine bottles were not used until the 18th century. In fact, corked wine could not become what we know and love today until glassblowers could shape the finish of the bottle narrowly enough for to be airtight.

Are wine corks worth anything?

Auctions for wine corks sell in lots as small as 20 and as large as 500. The wine bottles usually sell for about 50 cents per bottle, but fancier bottles can fetch near $5.00 each (hint: Cobalt blue bottles!). Wine corks, however, generally sell for about 10 cents each.

How do wine corks work?

Corks are known for their elasticity, and can compress to about half their width without losing any flexibility, which is one of the reasons they’re considered good closures for wine. Corks are cut larger than the opening they are going into, and then compressed before being inserted into the neck of the bottle.

When were wine corks first used?

In the 18th century, while in England the physician Robert Hooke obtained the first microscopic images of cork using a microscope that he himself had designed, in France, the monk Dom Pierre Pérignon, treasurer of the Hautvillers Abbey, began to use cork to seal bottles of his famous Dom Pérignon champagne.

Who created cork?

Cork began as a monastic settlement, founded by St Finbar in the sixth century. However the ancestor of the modern city was founded between 915 and 922, when Viking settlers established a trading community.

Who invented corks?

The inventor of cork-based wine stoppers is unknown. Colloquial stories attribute the Benedictine monk Dom Pérignon. The stoppers date to about the 1600s. In the early 21st century, the problem of cork taint became prevalent, leading many producers to stop using corks in favor of alternatives.