Cork Dork

Corks have been a part of the wine drinking experience for millennia.

In recent years however, winemakers have begun to shift away from natural cork to plastic, rubber, glass, or screw-tops - leaving us wine drinkers to wonder what the future of cork may be.

Cork comes from the bark of the aptly-named cork tree, and can be harvested once every few years while keeping the tree alive.

Cork has traditionally been an excellent solution for sealing wine bottles. It is flexible but tends to retain its shape, allowing it to be pressed into small bottle openings and then expand to seal them. It is ever-so-slightly porous, keeping liquid in but allowing a trickle of air in and out, so the wine can gently age.

But cork also poses issues. Cork is notoriously sensitive to "TCA" - a condition that can occur when certain bacteria or fungi naturally found on cork become exposed to chlorine, weakening the wine aroma and leaving behind a musty, "wet cardboard" smell. When a wine is "corked," TCA is usually the culprit.

In as recent as 2005, anywhere from 5-10% of wine bottles might have been "corked" to some degree. Recent processing technology and changes to the cork supply chain have dropped this number to 1-2%, but even this sort of spoilage is a burden winemakers would rather not bear. In addition, cork can be expensive, and cork prices fluctuate over time.

Many winemakers are breaking with tradition and using cork alternatives to seal their bottles. Plastic or rubber stoppers can somewhat resemble cork, but no longer run the risk of developing TCA. Screw-tops typically form a tight seal with the bottle, keeping the wine from aging but providing a convenient, inexpensive solution ideal for fresh young white wines not meant to be aged. Even glass stoppers are becoming in-vogue, particularly for roses, as they are elegant and also easily recyclable.

But cork still has its merits. As the "big cork lobby" - a real thing - points out, cork has benefits in addition to allowing wine to age. It is an all-natural product, avoiding the petrochemical compounds found in plastics that may leech into wine if aged for a number of years. It is sustainable, made from trees while allowing them to remain planted. And it just adds to the pleasant overall experience and tradition of opening up a nice bottle of wine.

Ultimately, cork's fate may rest, as all things in business do, on the fickleness of consumer opinion. Do "millennials" care about real cork? Only time will tell.