at the time, apparently believing that only cheap plonk was sealed with a screw cap.

A traditional cork does a very good job of sealing the bottle, and finding a substitute is not easy.

A corking machine compresses a cork to half its circumference for insertion into the bottle. It will immediately return to 85 per cent of its normal volume and to 94 per cent within 24 hours.

It is impervious to water. Thi

Cork is mostly produced in Portugal from the bark of old trees. As it is a cottage industry, quality control is difficult. It's not easy to find other sources of cork because the trees have to be very mature and Portugal is really the only country with the forests.

Natural cork is used as the cork closure since it allows the wine to "live" and mature in the bottle.

Wine corks are "punched" directly from the bark. They are then sorted into seven different qualities, sterilized and finally, their moisture content is checked and regularly.

The mould on a wine cork is caused by a chemical called trichloroanisole which arises from the action of moulds naturally occurring in the tree bark when they combine with chlorine used in the bleach to bleach and sanitise the corks.

The Portuguese are aware of the problem and it is said that they are improving matters - some producers are using hydrogen peroxide instead of chlorine.

A big problem is that the main critics of the Portuguese cork industry and urges to reform it, are 'upstart' winemakers.

When you have bought from a retail shop and encounter a corked wine, pour the wine back into the bottle and take it back for exchange. If the staff will not look after you, ask for a manager and suggest it's time to upgrade staff training!

An obvious solution to the problem is to find an alternative closure to cork. Currently this is where most developments are occurring. In the 1960's Yalumba released a series of premium wines with screw caps, called the Stelvin cap. Today when Yalumba has retrospective tastings, the screw-capped wines are in excellent condition.

However consumers would not accept them at the time, apparently believing that only cheap plonk was sealed with a screw cap.

A traditional cork does a very good job of sealing the bottle, and finding a substitute is not easy.

A corking machine compresses a cork to half its circumference for insertion into the bottle. It will immediately return to 85 per cent of its normal volume and to 94 per cent within 24 hours.

It is impervious to water. This

. They are then sorted into seven different qualities, sterilized and finally, their moisture content is checked and regularly.

The mould on a wine cork is caused by a chemical called trichloroanisole which arises from the action of moulds naturally occurring in the tree bark when they combine with chlorine used in the bleach to bleach and sanitise the corks.

The Portuguese are aware of the problem and it is said that they are improving matters - some producers are using hydrogen peroxide instead of chlorine.

A big problem is that the main critics of the Portuguese cork industry and urges to reform it, are 'upstart' winemakers.

When you have bought from a retail shop and encounter a corked wine, pour the wine back into the bottle and take it back for exchange. If the staff will not look after you, ask for a manager and suggest it's time to upgrade staff training!

An obvious solution to the problem is to find an alternative closure to cork. Currently this is where most developments are occurring. In the 1960's Yalumba released a series of premium wines with screw caps, called the Stelvin cap. Today when Yalumba has retrospective tastings, the screw-capped wines are in excellent condition.

However consumers would not accept them at the time, apparently believing that only cheap plonk was sealed with a screw cap.

A traditional cork does a very good job of sealing the bottle, and finding a substitute is not easy.

A corking machine compresses a cork to half its circumference for insertion into the bottle. It will immediately return to 85 per cent of its normal volume and to 94 per cent within 24 hours.

It is impervious to water. Thi

d that they are improving matters - some producers are using hydrogen peroxide instead of chlorine.

A big problem is that the main critics of the Portuguese cork industry and urges to reform it, are 'upstart' winemakers.

When you have bought from a retail shop and encounter a corked wine, pour the wine back into the bottle and take it back for exchange. If the staff will not look after you, ask for a manager and suggest it's time to upgrade staff training!

An obvious solution to the problem is to find an alternative closure to cork. Currently this is where most developments are occurring. In the 1960's Yalumba released a series of premium wines with screw caps, called the Stelvin cap. Today when Yalumba has retrospective tastings, the screw-capped wines are in excellent condition.

However consumers would not accept them at the time, apparently believing that only cheap plonk was sealed with a screw cap.

A traditional cork does a very good job of sealing the bottle, and finding a substitute is not easy.

A corking machine compresses a cork to half its circumference for insertion into the bottle. It will immediately return to 85 per cent of its normal volume and to 94 per cent within 24 hours.

It is impervious to water. Thi

suggest it's time to upgrade staff training!

An obvious solution to the problem is to find an alternative closure to cork. Currently this is where most developments are occurring. In the 1960's Yalumba released a series of premium wines with screw caps, called the Stelvin cap. Today when Yalumba has retrospective tastings, the screw-capped wines are in excellent condition.

However consumers would not accept them at the time, apparently believing that only cheap plonk was sealed with a screw cap.

A traditional cork does a very good job of sealing the bottle, and finding a substitute is not easy.

A corking machine compresses a cork to half its circumference for insertion into the bottle. It will immediately return to 85 per cent of its normal volume and to 94 per cent within 24 hours.

It is impervious to water. Thi

at the time, apparently believing that only cheap plonk was sealed with a screw cap.

A traditional cork does a very good job of sealing the bottle, and finding a substitute is not easy.

A corking machine compresses a cork to half its circumference for insertion into the bottle. It will immediately return to 85 per cent of its normal volume and to 94 per cent within 24 hours.

It is impervious to water. This elasticity and durability means that it can seal a bottle for a long period - 100 years or more. It can be easily extracted.