Do Wine Corks Breathe?

Not only those who enjoy home winemaking, but even commercial wineries often debate the pros and cons of a variety of closures for wine bottles. Of course, cork has been traditionally used but today, there are a wide variety of closures available including synthetic, screw cap and now even ones made from glass by Vino-Lok. What’s the argument against cork? Mostly it’s been because of wines ruined by something called “cork taint,” usually referred to as the presence of TCA. Many believe that cork closures and how they are made and processed are a major contributor to TCA in wine.

But of course, there is even debate on this.

One of the arguments against non-cork closures is the belief that cork breathes while screw caps, synthetics, and of course glass, do not. The very slow transfer of small amounts of air through the cork closure is often cited as one of the ways wine ages – and why over time, SO2 levels decrease in bottled wine.

But does cork actually breathe? Dr. Richard Grant Petersen, Ph.D has written a two part article which appeared in Appellation America. Dr. Petersen postulates that it is virtually impossible for cork closures to breathe due to the fact that cork cells are 14 sided, and points out that sparkling wines that contain high pressure inside due to carbon dioxide don’t lose carbon dioxide through the cork – so how could air at much lower pressure pass through a cork closure (properly sealed of course) into the wine bottle?

It makes for an interesting article that home winemakers might want to have a look at.

Part 1 – “Please Stop Telling People That Corks Breathe

Part 2 – “Corks Do NOT Breathe”

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