WINE Cork HISTORY

The enterprising ancient Greeks managed not only to learn how to produce good wine, but also to establish a successful trade in them. The difficulties caused by the inconvenience of transporting open amphorae prompted them to create traffic jams. The main requirement was protection from spilling the precious drink (there was no talk about tightness yet), and the wooden cork did an excellent job with this task. Of course, this “plug” was far from perfect: the use of soft wood as the basis caused the cork to quickly swell inside the vessel, and, as a result, damage to the neck of the amphora and wine oxidation. A little later, they improved the technology, and began to lubricate the cork with clay and seal it with resin. Continue reading →