Corks

A cork stopper for a wine bottle

Champagne corks

Varnished cork tiles can be used for flooring, as a substitute for linoleum or tiles.

Simple cork

Cork material is a subset of generic cork tissue, harvested for commercial use primarily from the Cork Oak tree, Quercus suber, with Portugal producing 50% of cork worldwide.^[1] Cork consists mostly of suberin. Cork's elasticity combined with its near-impermeability makes it suitable as a material for bottle stoppers, especially for wine bottles. Cork stoppers represent about 60% of all cork based production. Cork's low density makes it a suitable material for fishing floats and buoys, as well as handles for fishing rods (as an alternative to neoprene). Cork is used in musical instruments, particularly woodwind instruments, where it is used to fasten together segments of the instrument, making the seams airtight. Sheets of cork, often the by-product of more lucrative stopper production, are used to make floor tiles and bulletin boards. Granules of cork can also be mixed into concrete. The composites made by mixing cork granules and cement have low thermal conductivity, low density and good energy absorption. Some of the property ranges of the composites are density (400–1500 kg/m³), compressive strength (1–26 MPa) and flexural strength (0.5–4.0 MPa).^[2] Look up cork in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 794 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1632 × 1232 pixels, file size: 579 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) A picture, of corks. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 794 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1632 × 1232 pixels, file size: 579 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) A picture, of corks. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 643 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1725 × 1608 pixels, file size: 318 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) A cork stopper of a wine bottle; says bottled in France Un bouchon de liège pour bouteille de vin Copyright © 2007 David Monniaux File... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 643 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1725 × 1608 pixels, file size: 318 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) A cork stopper of a wine bottle; says bottled in France Un bouchon de liège pour bouteille de vin Copyright © 2007 David Monniaux File... A stopper is a truncated conical piece of rubber or cork used to close off a glass tube, piece of laboratory glassware, a wine bottle or barrel and other containers with orifices. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (800x624, 131 KB) Summary Description: 6 Champagne Corks. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (800x624, 131 KB) Summary Description: 6 Champagne Corks. ... Champagne is often consumed as part of a celebration Champagne is a sparkling wine produced by inducing the in-bottle secondary fermentation of wine to effect carbonation. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2130x1615, 990 KB) Summary This image shows some varnished cork bathroom tiles. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2130x1615, 990 KB) Summary This image shows some varnished cork bathroom tiles. ... An example of a flooring job Flooring is the general term for a permanent covering of a floor. ... A linoleum kitchen floor Linoleum is a floor covering made from solidified linseed oil (linoxyn) in combination with wood flour or cork dust over a burlap or canvas backing. ... Mission, or barrel, roof tiles A tile is a small, manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as clay or stone used for covering roofs, floors, and walls, or other objects such as tabletops. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixelsFull resolution (3456 × 2304 pixel, file size: 572 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixelsFull resolution (3456 × 2304 pixel, file size: 572 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Cork is a tissue found in some plants, which consists tightly packed dead cells. ... Binomial name L. The Cork Oak (Quercus suber) is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section Quercus sect. ... This article is about oaks (Quercus desert-oak is unrelated, and instead belongs to the genus Allocasuarina. ... Suberin is a waxy substance found in higher plants. ... In solid mechanics, elasticity is the property of materials which undergo reversible deformations under applied loads. ... Composite body, painted, and glazed bottle. ... A stopper is a truncated conical piece of rubber or cork used to close off a glass tube, piece of laboratory glassware, a wine bottle or barrel and other containers with orifices. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see Density (disambiguation). ... Fishing is the activity of hunting for fish by hooking, trapping, or gathering. ... Different types of fishing floats. ... A fiberglass spinning rod and reel circa 1997. ... Neoprene is the DuPont Chemical trade name for a family of synthetic rubbers based on polychloroprene. ... A woodwind instrument is an instrument in which sound is produced by blowing against an edge or by a vibrating with air a thin piece of wood known as a reed. ... An example of a flooring job Flooring is the general term for a permanent covering of a floor. ... Look up bulletin board, notice board in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is about the construction material. ...

The cork industry is generally regarded as environmentally friendly. The sustainability of production and the easy recycling of cork products and by-products are two of its most distinctive aspects. However, only one leading company, Oeneo Bouchage of France has conducted and released its complete carbon footprint study, the first in the industry. The Earth Day flag includes a NASA photo. ... The international recycling symbol. ...

Cork demand has increased due to more wine being sealed with cork rather than being sold in bulk. Since a tree's bark can only be harvested six to nine years hence, supply is highly inelastic. Top quality corks are expensive, and no matter what the cost, have the risk of containing TCA (Cork Taint) and are susceptible to random oxydation due to their mechanical variablility. Many cheaper brands have switched to lower quality cork, synthetic plastic stoppers, screwcaps, or other closures. Because synthetic stoppers do not dry out and shrink, wine bottles with synthetic corks do not have to be stored on their sides to prevent oxidizing However, plastic "cork" can create other wine problems, notably what is called scalping where flavors are actually absorbed into the plastic making the wine less flavorful. Cork contamination with harmless but foul-smelling trichloroanisole (TCA) is one of the primary causes of cork taint in wine. For other uses, see Wine (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Bark (disambiguation). ... In economics, elasticity is the ratio of the proportional change in one variable with respect to proportional change in another variable. ... For other uses, see Plastic (disambiguation). ... A screwcap is a type of closure that is gaining increasing support as an alternative to cork for sealing wine bottles. ... The most fundamental reactions in chemistry are the redox processes. ... Cork taint is a broad term referring to a set of undesirable smells or tastes found in a bottle of wine, especially spoilage that can only be detected after bottling, aging and opening. ... 2,4,6-trichloroanisole Cork taint is a broad term referring to a set of undesirable smells or tastes found in a bottle of wine, especially spoilage that can only be detected after bottling, aging and opening. ...

As late as the mid 1600s, French vintners did not use cork stoppers, using oil-soaked rags stuffed into the necks of bottles instead.^[3]

Cork has been used in rocket technology due to its fire resistance. Cork can be used as bricks for the outer walls of houses, as in Portugal's pavilion at Expo 2000. EXPO 2000 Hannover Germany Logo The Netherlands Pavilion at EXPO 2000 The Venezuela Pavilion Hungary Pavilion EXPO Mascot Matthijs Expo 2000 was a Worlds Fair held in Hanover, Germany from June 1 to October 31, 2000. ...

The Cork Oak is unrelated to the "cork trees" (Phellodendron), which have corky bark but are not used for cork production. Species About 10 species, including: Phellodendron amurense Phellodendron chinense Phellodendron japonicum Phellodendron lavallei Phellodendron sachalinense Phellodendron wilsonii Phellodendron or Cork-tree, is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Rutaceae, native to east and northeast Asia. ...

Cork was used by Robert Hooke as he discovered and named the cell. Robert Hooke, FRS (July 18, 1635 – March 3, 1703) was an English polymath who played an important role in the scientific revolution, through both experimental and theoretical work. ...

See also

• Alternative wine closures
• APCOR, Portuguese Cork Association
• Cork cambium
• Cork borer
• Corkscrew
• Cork Boat (vessel)

Vinova synthetic wine closure Another type of wine closure Alternative wine closures are substitutes used in the wine industry for sealing wine bottles in place of traditional cork closures. ... Associação Portuguesa da Cortiça is the Portuguese Cork Association, a consortium of cork growers and manufacturers. ... Cork cambium is a tissue found in woody plants as part of the periderm. ... Set of cork borers. ... A basic corkscrew A waiters corkscrew A corkscrew is a tool for drawing stopping corks from bottles. ... An image depicting the process of making the Cork Boat Cork Boat is a vessel designed and built by American speech writer John Pollack and his partner Garth Goldstein. ...

Sources

• Cork Information
• Cork production
• Instituto de Promoción del Corcho, Extremadura (Spain)

References

1. ^ http://www.pressedforwine.com/equipment/corks.shtml
2. ^ Karade SR. 2003. An Investigation of Cork Cement Composites. PhD Thesis. BCUC. Brunel University, UK.
3. ^ Prlewe, J. Wine From Grape to Glass. New York: Abbeville Press, 1999, p. 110.