🍷 Synthetic cork
A plastic stopper with no risk of cork taint.
A synthetic cork is a stopper for a wine bottle made from plastic. It replaces the natural cork made from oak bark. It looks similar, but the material is different.
The main reason it appeared is cork taint. Natural cork carries a small risk that a compound such as trichloroanisole gives the wine a smell of damp and cardboard. A synthetic cork contains no bark, so it does not cause that smell. It belongs to the wider group of closures: synthetic cork sits among corks in general, next to natural cork and the screw cap.
It is made from polymers, often by extrusion or moulding. Such stoppers suit young wines drunk within a year or two. For long ageing many producers still choose natural cork. Drawbacks are that synthetic corks can be hard to pull, and they are not seen as eco-friendly, since plastic does not decompose.
How it connects to Wine
🍷 Synthetic cork → kind of → 🍷 Cork (stopper) ← association ← 🍷 Wine
Links
- What it affects
- 🍷 Cork taint
- Part of
- 🍷 Cork (stopper)
Frequently asked questions
What is a synthetic cork?
It is a plastic wine stopper that replaces a cork made from oak bark.
Does a synthetic cork cause cork taint?
No, it has no bark, so wines under it do not get a corky smell.
Is a synthetic cork good for long ageing?
It is more often used for wines to drink soon; for long ageing many producers prefer natural cork.
Similar
🍷 Screw cap · 🍷 Glass stopper · 🍷 Agglomerated cork · 🍷 Sparkling wine cork · 🍷 Wine capsule (foil) · 🍷 Natural cork