How are wine corks made? The fascinating process

Not all wine corks are created equal. Their primary purpose is to preserve the wine for long term storage, but which ones are the best to do this? Check out the vid for the lowdown on how the corks are made, the different types and what to use each one for.

The main thing I’ve learnt about corks is: go au natural

Cork is kind. Natural, environmentally friendly material, biodegradable and can be easily recycled without producing any toxic residues. Cork forests – or 'montados' in Portuguese – rank among the top biodiversity hotspots in the Mediterranean and Europe.

TCA concern? The cork industry is waaaaaay stricter than it used to be in terms of sterilisation. Therefore TCA is far less likely to occur in your wine than the old days

Two other stoppers to mention

🔹 The synthetic cork. Here’s some positives and negatives

Yay ✅

o Synthetic corks will last for long periods.

o Wine can be stored standing up, as opposed to being laid down, since they don’t require the moisture from the wine to keep up cork integrity.

o Fixed and predictable oxygen transfer rates o Tight seal, anti-bacterial – very little chance of

TCA Nay ❌

o It ain’t natural man. They’re recyclable but it takes more out of mother-earth than our wholesomely compostable natural cork

o Since most synthetic cork material is comprised of petroleum-based plastic, some argue that it adds a chemical odour and or flavour to the wine being stored.

🔹Screw Caps

Twist off wine screw caps are being utilized more in New World wine regions, rather than old, where tradition is less of an issue. These corks, for the most part, achieve the purpose of storing a bottle of wine for medium to long term aging, as well as up-right. The plastic portion of screw caps is non-recyclable.

What do you think? Have you got a preference?