Just What is a Wine Cork?
By Kacy Waters

Wine cork is defined as the lightweight elastic outer bark of the cork oak tree used especially for bottle closures, insulation, floats, and crafts. Cork is an amazingly versatile natural material. It is harvested from the Cork Oak tree and is unharmed by the process, thus the cork oak tree can produce for up to 150 years. Corks elasticity makes it suitable for bottle stoppers on wine bottles

The use of cork dates back hundreds of years even being found in Egyptian tombs. It has been used for fishing net floats, bottle stoppers, flooring, roofs, shoes and even clothing.

You may not remember but back in 1892 there was a widely known cap called the bottle cap that had a metal lid lined with cork. It was used on drink bottles up until recently.

The Cork Oak Tree

Most of the commercial cork trees grow in western Mediterranean and the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal produces at least half of the world supplies of cork.

The tree grows to be about 40-60 feet with a trunk circumference of 6-10 feet. The first harvest happens when the tree is about 20 years old and is normally of poor quality. The next harvest is about nine years later and occur every nine years after that. The harvest usually starts when there is two inches of thickness.

Types of wine corks

The type of wine cork that is used in bottling is dependant on many factors, especially the type of wine being bottled and the possible time between bottling and drinking. A few other factors include; bottle size, bottling speed, wine quality, wine color and sparkling or not.

There are seven types of wine corks

Natural Wine Corks

These are natural and high quality and because of that they are expensive. These corks are punched from cork boards. They are then washed, sterilized and sold. There are seven grades of these corks and the quality is precisely checked. They last long and are used on wine that are to be stored for long times.

Ice Wine Natural Corks

Made specifically for this rare wine as the bottle necks are thin and they need to withstand the high sugar content that is in the wine.

Double Disc or Twin Top Corks

Combination of natural and agglomerated corks and are used with a precise consistency and for a wine industry standard. These are pretty technical stoppers and are used because they are consistently the same density, quality, and price

Champagne corks

These corks fit champagne bottles and are designed to be used to make a tight seal that withhold the high pressure of champagne.

Colmated or pore filled natural corks

The air spaces in the natural wine corks are filled with a resin and these are used for volume wines.

Agglomerate Wine Corks:

These stoppers are made from the waste product of natural wine corks. The pieces are glued together and it is a cheaper alternative. They are used mostly on wine that will be stored less than a year.

Synthetic Wine Corks:

This is the modern cork and is used in many wineries. They never dry out or rot and yet there are a few problems; cork screws can be damaged and the biggest concern is that the seal is not long-lasting and thus good wines can be destroyed when air gets in. A benefit is that they come in virtually any color so fancy designs are easier.

As you can see there are many types of corks available for sealing your wine bottle. Make sure to go through the thought process of what type will be best for you before you spend your money and preserve your wine.

For more great tips on Understanding wine cork types Kacy invites you to visit http://www.grapegrowinginfo.com

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