Wine Corks Key Terms

Learn the differences between the six major types of wine corks

If you've just started to look for wine corks for your business, you may want some help with key terms. Sure, it's relatively easy to figure out the difference between natural wine corks and synthetic wine corks. But what about colmated wine corks, agglomerate wine corks and twin top wine corks? How will each of these corks impact your product's branding, sales and quality? Wine corks key terms can help you figure out the answers.

 

Natural wine corks

Natural wine corks are the most popular type of wine cork, because they will let the wine mature in the bottle over a long period of time. Natural corks are cut from specially selected corkwood, then washed sterilized, inspected and branded.
Try: To view pictures of natural wine corks and to read much more about the process used to create them, visit Stonehaus Winery.

Ice wine natural corks

Ice wine natural corks are specialty corks made from natural corkwood. They are smaller than regular corks, so they can fit the narrow neck of ice wine bottles. Also, the treatment on them allows them to withstand the high sugar content of ice wine.
Try: To see a picture of an ice wine natural cork and to get more information, check out Jelinek Group and scroll down to the "Ice Wine Natural Corks" heading.

Colmated wine corks

In colmated wine corks, manufacturers fill the pores of natural corkwood with a combination of fine cork grains and resins. This helps reduce the cost of the cork. You may hear colmated corks called pore-filled wine corks.
Try: To view examples of colmated wine corks and to learn more about them, visit The Widget Manufacturing Company.

Agglomerate wine corks

Agglomerate wine corks use a composition of clean waste product from natural wine cork production. Cork grain is the name for this composition. Agglomerate wine corks are popular for their low cost.
Try: To learn more about the technical uses of agglomerate wine corks, and to see a picture of one, check out Mountain Homebrew.

Twin-top wine corks

Twin-top wine corks, sometimes called double-disc corks, are a combination of agglomerated cork and natural cork. The agglomerated cork is in the center of the wine cork and the natural cork is on the ends. This combination helps give twin-top corks a consistent density.
Try: If you would like to read more about twin-top wine corks, visit Portocork America.

Synthetic wine corks

Manufacturers use modern synthetic materials to create synthetic wine corks. These corks seal well and don't harbor bacteria. Additionally, you can find them in a wide variety of colors.
Try: Avalon Wine has an article about the rise of the synthetic cork trend.

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