From Rags to Cork, by Morrie Sinclaire
Oh what a world we live in. The time taken from the first mobile phone built within a car to the creation of the first mobile internet built within a camera built within a music player that is built within a mobile phone the size of a playing card has been less than 50 years. But the wine cork we use today has been relatively unchanged in design for over 100 years with a history associated with wine for more than 2,000 years.
In Roman records, dating around the 2nd century BC, it is written that vessels carrying liquids were sometimes sealed with cork, though the most popular seal of the time was a wooden plug wrapped with a hemp cloth. The cloth was needed to create an air tight seal as the rim of pots, vases and bottles made up to the 17th century were usually handmade and often had imperfections or were chipped.
Cork has always been highly desired as a closure because it is water tight and manageable, but unless the shape of the cork has some compatibility with the neck of the vessel it was inevitably an unreliable seal.
As it happens chance upon chance paved the way for cork to rise to dominance in the wine industry...
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This artcile appears courtesy of Morrie Sinclaire.