Cork has been used for thousands of years as a stopper in bottles. It has even been found in the tombs dating back to ancient Egypt. Ancient Greeks and Romans also made good use of it, and it was found use as floats for fishing nets, sandals, wine bottle stoppers and even personal flotation devices for fishermen.

What is cork made of? Cork consists of suberin cells in the shape of tiny pentagonal or hexagonal honeycombs, a complex fatty acid and filled with an air-like gas, which makes up 90% of its volume. It possesses an average density of around 200 kg/m3 and low thermal conductivity.

They look like wood, but their spongy feel makes them seem a little different than wood. The fact is that natural corks are produced from the bark of the cork oak, Quercus suber. And this bark is stripped right off the live tree, in fact several times during the life of the tree.

Cork's elasticity combined with its near-impermeability makes it suitable as a material for bottle stoppers, especially for wine bottles. Cork stoppers represent about 60% of all cork based production.