🍷 Cork (stopper)

A cork, or stopper, is what closes the neck of a wine bottle. It keeps the wine from spilling and keeps excess air out of the bottle. The best known is natural cork from the bark of the cork oak. The main suppliers of this bark are Portugal and Spain.

There are other closures. Agglomerated cork is glued from bark crumbs. Synthetic stoppers are made of plastic. A screw cap is twisted onto the neck and is handy because it avoids cork taint. A glass stopper is an adornment for special wines. For sparkling wine a mushroom-shaped cork is used with a wire cage on top, so pressure does not push it out. A capsule is often placed over the neck for protection and looks.

The type of closure affects how wine develops in the bottle: natural cork lets in very little air, and a cap almost none. Sometimes a cork gives wine an unpleasant damp smell called cork taint. But most often the wine is fine.