Corks are being used as wine bottle stoppers since many centuries. Today around 60% wine-stoppers are corks. Corks are considered suitable wine-stoppers as they prevent oxygen from entering the wine, while stopping the wine from spilling. The corks easily compress when they are inserted in the bottle and then expand to tightly seal the bottle. But the corks can also be inconsistent as they do have some flaws (like corking the wine) and they also break sometimes. So, synthetic corks and screw caps are increasingly gaining popularity.

Corks are made from Quercus Suber or the Cork Oak tree.The cork tree can live up to 200 years and the older the tree, the more the cork is produced. This tree grows widely in Portugal and Spain. In fact Portugal produces more than 52% of annual cork production in the world.Spain produces 32 % while Italy grows 6%.

A cork informs us a lot of things about the origin and characteristics of itself and the wine. The marks on the cork tell us where the cork was made and also the winery from which the wine came from. The shape of the cork can tell us if the bottle is new or old, like if the cork is very narrow and misshaped it suggests that the cork was in the bottle for a long time.A major drawback of corks is ‘Corking’ of wine. It happens when a ‘real’ cork, is contaminated by TCA (2, 4, 6-Trichloroanisole). This TCA contamination spoils the wine and makes it unsuitable for drinking.

Corkscrews- Corkscrew is a tool used for drawing corks from the wine bottles. For wine enthusiasts, corkscrews are more than just a wine opening tool. The most significant feature of the corkscrew is the screw itself. The best corkscrews are the one which have designs of actual screw and a hollow centre. This specific design grips the cork well making it easy to draw. There are many types of corkscrews available like-

Waiter’s Corkscrew- It is a slim and light corkscrew which can be easily carried in the pocket and thus the name waiter’s corkscrew. After inserting the screw in the cork you have to position the lever against the rim of the bottle’s neck and pull firmly. It is very efficient and user friendly and are also available at very cheap rates, as low as $10.

Lever-style corkscrew- These corkscrews open the corks most smoothly. You just have to dig the screw into the cork and squeeze the levers, to pull the cork. But the price can be on a higher side ranging from $40 to more than $100. They are also called as rabbit wine openers as the 2 levers on the top look like rabbit’s ears.

Winged corkscrew- The corkscrew has two levers on either side of the screw. As you twist the screw, the levers are raised and when you push down the levers, the cork is drawn. The corkscrew is also called butterfly corkscrew. These wine openers are mostly used in households