Seven Springs Winery: Cork Wine Stoppers

Friday, July 22, 2016

Pop the Cork and See Why It's So Important

There is only one thing standing between you enjoying your glass of wine - the cork. This little contraption that seals your wine into the bottle is vitally important for more reasons than just sealing up the bottle. Do you know the history of this little piece of tree? Or how it all started? Today, we're going to address some of these important questions and maybe help you to appreciate these little pieces of cork and how they impact your favorite wine at the Lake of the Ozarks!

The History of Sealing Wine

While corks have been used for as long as we can remember, they haven't always been made out of the cork material. In ancient times, it was common to seal up the wine with a coating of pitch or gypsum over the opening of a vessel, or a film of olive oil floating on the surface of the wine. During the medieval times, they completely gave up on corks and used twists of cloth or leather to stop the jug or bottle. Sometimes sealing wax was also involved in getting the tops closed off from germs.

At the end of the 16th century, we start to see corks making a come back because of a phrase from Shakespeare's "As You Like It." The glass stoppers started to become very popular around 1676 but were finally abandoned around 1825 because it was hard to get them out without breaking the bottle (what a waste of wine that would be!)

What is the Purpose of Using a Cork

Finally, it was realized that cork was a much better product for sealing wine, not only because it kept oxygen out of the bottle when being transported, but also in storage. Here are a few other reasons that cork has remained to be one of the best ways to seal wine.

Because cork is a light material, it doesn't add much weight to the overall bottle.
Cork is also VERY resistant to moisture penetration.
Did you know that when corks are removed from being compressed in the bottle, they will recover about 85% of its initial volume immediately and more than 98% after 24 hours?
Because the cells in a cork stopper produce a cupping effect, million of cells are opened and function as suction cups in the bottle. This creates a great power for adhesion to wet smooth surface!
Corks can retain their properties at both high and low extremes of temperature and usually last for 20 years without deteriorating!
Cork is also one of the only materials know that can compensate for small imperfections in glass.
Cork is biodegradable.

It just gets better and better! There are so many reasons that cork is the perfect fit for wine bottles. Not to mention, there are some really fun crafts that can be done from used corks.

Drink the Best Wine at the Lake of the Ozarks

If you want to pop a cork and make a toast to a little, but very important part of the winemaking process, we will join you! We love anything that helps us preserve the best Missouri Wine - and corks do just that. Are you ready to indulge in a fabulous glass of vino? Come out to our winery and see for yourself how pleasing to the pallet that it is!

Come for the wine...Stay for the atmosphere...Remember the view!

Seven Springs is the finest Winery at the Lake of the Ozarks with a full-service facility perfect for outdoor weddings, receptions, rehearsal dinners, corporate events and parties. Call us today to make reservations for your special event!

Seven Springs Winery

573.317.0100

846 Winery Hills Estates

Linn Creek, MO 65052

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Friday, May 8, 2015

How is Cork Harvested for Wine Stoppers?

While cork has many different uses, our favorite use is creating stoppers for our wine bottles! How exactly does the cork get from the tree to your favorite bottle of wine at our Lake of the Ozarks winery? Below we explain the process.

Cork Extraction

Contrary to popular belief, cork extraction is one of the most environmentally-friendly harvesting processes in the world. Not a single tree is cut down to get the cork. Since cork comes from the bark and not the trunk of the tree, harvesting cork does not destroy the tree. The vegetable tissue is stripped off the tree in late spring, early summer. In order to protect itself, the tree quickly forms new layers of cork. The tree is valuable for 170 years or more, even though it could have been stripped 16 times, once every 9 years.

How to Harvest Cork

Retrieving cork from trees is a skill handed down from generation to generation. A special hatchet is used to cut cork from the thick rugged oak tree. However, this cannot be done until after the first 20 years of growth. The outer bark is carefully peeled away as to leave the inner bark completely intact. For manufacturing purposes, the cork is then dried, boiled and dried again before use.

Cork for Wine Stoppers

It appears that the Greeks were the first to seal wine jugs with cork. Following them is the Romans, who used cork for fishing floats and shoes as well as wine stoppers. Dom Perignon, who discovered champagne in 1668 was the first to realize the full potential of cork as a bottle stopper. Before cork, wooden plugs were used. We continue to use cork for wine stoppers today, but other materials are also becoming more popular.

There's nothing better than the sound a wine bottle makes when you pop the cork! Come on by the best winery at the Lake of the Ozarks and grab a bottle for yourself. From a nice muscato sparkling to a pinot noir, Seven Springs Winery has something for every oenophile out there!