Glass Wine Corks?? Yes.....and I believe they are going to soon be the preeminent method of bottle preservation

Wait?! What? Cork is not the end all, be all of wine bottle closure? Well, to many it still is and to many it always will be. But, about 10 years ago, the Glass Wine Cork started coming out of the European market and some US wine regions, like Oregon, are starting to take notice as well. It's not just better for the life of the wine in the bottle, but it is also reusable.

Have you ever heard of cork taint or when a wine is "corked?" Cork is a product from a living tree and can get quite spongy. In 5-10% of the bottles of wine bottled with cork, the phenols (carbolic acid) present in the cork can react to the wine, causing cork taint. Basically, mold forms and contaminates the wine. Sometimes the wine can smell or taste like mildew, but other times, the wine just might taste a little. “off.” 

Cork is an equal opportunity product and may choose to taint any bottle of wine - those that cost $10 or those that cost $2,000. In my opinion, that is a scary gamble. Think about those wines that are held onto by collectors for 20 years, only to open them and potentially experience "corked" wine.

Since the glass wine cork is made of smooth glass, there is no chance of its interacting with the wine in any way. The seal part of the cork is achieved with a small O-ring under the lip of the stopper.  This creates an air-tight seal. Another plus is that it is reusable - both for the bottle and for the winery or recycling.  If for some reason you don’t finish your bottle of wine, just reinsert the stopper into the bottle.  This again creates the seal, and you can finish your bottle the next day. Secondly, some wineries in Oregon allow you to bring back your glass corks and they sterilize them and re-use them or you can recycle them the old-fashioned way.

Now, I know many of you are sad that you may no longer be able to create all of your cute wine cork wreaths and placements but, never fear, I doubt that corks are on their way out. I just believe we may see much more of our glass wine cork friend in the next 5-10 years.

Cheers!