The Cork
Following the production of uniform glass bottles, cork has been used to seal wine bottles since about the 1600s.
Cork comes from the Quercus Suber tree, an evergreen oak which is mostly found primarily in Portugal and also in other Mediterranean countries. The cork is the bark of the Quercus Suber tree, a picture of the cross-section is attached. It has ideal characteristics because it is waterproof and can be compressed when being placed into the bottle and will after that return to its standard size, creating that all-important watertight seal.
Wine is also produced using screw caps as well as synthetic corks, with traditional corks being considered the most environmentally friendly. Traditional corks are thought to, in part, contain oxygen and this oxygen is believed to be released into the bottle during the first three years of being sealed, which is considered to aid the ageing process. If a bottle of wine is opened and only partly drunk, it can be resealed using the original cork.
Screw caps are considered to perform equally as well as traditional corks for sealing the wine. However, they are generally associated with the mass-produced cheaper wines consumed shortly after production. Wine can be a la-de-da topic for some.
Synthetic corks are produced from plastic compounds designed to look and pop like a natural cork. Synthetic corks include risk of harmful air entering a bottle after as little as 18 months after production, difficulty in extracting them from the bottle, and difficulty in using the cork to reseal the wine, only a concern if you don’t consume the whole bottle. People are also more concerned with the consumption of liquids that have spent an age in plastic, due to the possibility of plastic particles making their way into the liquid and being digested.
All Vinify wines are produced in a traditional style and use traditional corks. Why not check out your local store for some of the best Portuguese wines.