About Wine Corks
Although the twist top is becoming more and more acceptable in the wine industry, there is nothing quite like the loud pop of a cork as it explodes through the top of a bottle to make a glass of wine an event. The cork has been the traditional way of storing wine inside a bottle for centuries and doesn't appear likely to disappear soon.
History
If you ever have the occasion to enjoy an expensive bottle of Dom Perignon champagne, thank Dom for the invention of the wine cork as well. It was during the 1600s that this Benedictine monk realized that using rags soaked in oil was not the best way to seal bottles of wine since the rags tended to pop out. Dom Perignon became the first person to insert a piece of cork into a bottle of wine to seal in the flavor, and a tradition was born.
Geography
The highest-quality cork comes from Portugal, specifically the bark of the cork oak tree. These trees grow well in the soft sand of the coastline that stretches along the Iberian Peninsula, including Spain, as well as Sardinia and the northern coast of Africa. Almost every cork that goes into a wine bottle sold in the United States comes from the cork oaks of Portugal.
Features
A cork is one of the most porous substances in the world. A 1-inch cube of cork is actually four times lighter than water and is incredibly elastic, able to squeeze back into its original shape no matter how it may be squeezed or pulled. Cork is almost impossible to burn and is exceptionally resilient to changes in temperatures. One of the most useful features of cork for use as a bottle stopper is that it does not rot even under extreme conditions.
Function
The function of a cork is to keep the wine in the bottle fresh and drinkable, but when it comes to actually putting that feature to the test it becomes a matter of removing the cork. Corkscrews have long been the method by which cork is removed from a bottle. These devices were invented in England sometime in the mid-1600s. Even so, most corkscrews were subject to the talent of the individual until 1979 with the invention of the Screwpull. The Screwpull was invented by Herbert Allen and its Teflon coating made it nearly impossible to screw up the uncorking of a bottle.
Misconceptions
The biggest misconception about wine cork is related to what happens when a waiter uncorks a bottle in a restaurant. What are you supposed to do with the cork? Nothing, actually. While a moist cork usually means that the wine is high quality and a dry cork means that it has gone stale, neither is carved in stone. The practice of placing a cork on the table dates to the 18th century when the placement of a cork on the table was a means to prevent sneaky operators from using a quality cork to stuff low-quality wine.
Warning
If the cork breaks apart when you try to pull it out, the best thing to do is to push the cork down into the bottle. Next place a coffee filter or, even better, a piece of cheesecloth over a container and secure it with rubber bands. Then pour the wine bottle directly onto the filter and let that catch the errant pieces of cork that broke off. Just take care to pour slowly and carefully.
Tags: wine bottle, comes from, cork table, cork that, into bottle, means that, quality cork
