Archive for the 'Corks' Category

After offering wine accessories to customers for over 30 years here at Wine Enthusiast, we’ve seen many things come in and out of popularity. But one product whose excitement has never waned is our fun cork kit.

Amongst all the innovative new products that our team has developed, there is no replacement for the joy of collecting corks and compiling memories into something useful. For years we’ve offered the original Wine Cork Board Kit and received rave reviews. “Great for a Wall Decoration“, “a great gift for anyone“, and “a cute addition to a wine-themed kitchen” are just a few of the positive comments we’ve received.

Then we decided that corks made a great accent to tabletop service and we created the Wine Cork Trivet Kit.  People love protecting their kitchen table from hot pots while artfully displaying corks from their favorite wines. “Love it love it love it, such fun!” Said one customer, while another uses it “at dinner almost every night.” It seemed like people could not get enough of these cork kits!

To satisfy all of the excitement, this year we welcome new cork kit creations in all shapes and sizes, like the  Wine Cork  Lazy Susan, Wine Barrel Hoop Cork Kit, Oval Wine Cork Trivet Kit, Round Wine Cork Board Kit , little Wine Cork Coasters and more!

No matter the type you select, we’ll supply the hardwood frame, some sandpaper for any rough edges, instructions and we even offer extra recycled corks if you need help filling the space.

If you already own a wine cork kit and need some design ideas, consult our Cork Patterns, which provides beautiful demonstrations to get you started.

What do you do with old corks? Have you tried our cork kits?

Stelvin is just a fancy name for a screw cap. It’s a particular brand of screw cap, made of metal, that has become almost universal. The brand name is used generically, much like “Kleenex” or “Xerox”. Screw caps have become a popular cork alternative as of late, as wineries seek to prevent the damages of cork taint. Much of the reason for using cork (aside from the romance) is to allow wine to breathe over time as it ages. Thus, wines that aren’t mean to age are fine under the Stelvin closure.

Cork has been used as a wine bottle closure for centuries. Many people would say they love the romance of pulling the cork from a bottle of wine, and no other closure will suffice. However, cork comes with a problem that has caused many wineries to move to alternative solutions like synthetic corks or screw caps.

A certain type of mold called Trichloroanisole (TCA) can attack the cork and spoil the wine. This is known as “cork taint.” It’s not common (1-3% of wine is infected) but it happens enough to cause wineries and consumers a lot of grief. Imagine paying $60 for a special bottle and opening it, only to find that it smells like a dank basement or wet newspaper! And imagine the frustration of the winemaker, that his/her wine could potentially reach your lips in this spoiled state.

Corks can break and crumble on old wines, or when a clunky corkscrew causes a problem. Unfortunately this often leads people to panic: Oh no! My wine is ruined! It’s corked!

Don’t stress. If the cork breaks in half and the remaining half is stil intact, simply give it another go and see if you can extract the rest. If the cork has completely crumbled, the best thing to do is to push the pieces into the bottle so they don’t block the neck. Most likely, the wine won’t be harmed by the cork. Pour the wine and give it a smell to look for off-aromas.  If the cork is tainted, the wine smells musty, like wet newspaper, or it has no smell. In this case, you’ll have to discard the bottle. If the wine smells fine, just ignore those pesky cork pieces and pull them out as you pour.

Having a great corkscrew and a humidity-controlled wine cellar (to keep the corks moist) are two great defendants against broken corks. We offer a wide assortment of corkscrews, wine cellars, and wine refrigerators, so you never have to deal with broken corks!