For the first time, new industrial applications for cork were used, such as simple or white agglomerate for flooring discovered by the Americans. In the last years of the century, in Reims, France, the first two piece glued natural cork stoppers began to be manufactured. In the next century, the cork industry in the different cork-producing countries began to invest more in innovation and development, launching various new products onto the market.
In , cork stoppers with natural cork discs and a body of agglomerate first appeared. Some years later, patents were registered for the use of cork in transmission belts and tires and during the Second World War, this material was used in many pieces of military equipment. In the s, an American company produced the first agglomerated cork tiles with a vinyl film covering. Formed by cork federations from various countries, this organization presented in the International Code of Cork Stopper Manufacturing Practice, a key document for quality control in the production of cork stoppers.
This document describes and regulates the corresponding manufacturing processes and is still being permanently revised and updated in accordance with increasingly demanding levels of quality. Only two years earlier, another initiative, the Quercus Programme, had been set up with the support of the European Commission and C. Finally, all the signs are that in the 21st century, cork will again enjoy the respect and admiration that the Greeks and Romans afforded it as a noble and adaptable material.
Not only has the reputation of natural cork stoppers as the quintessential seal remained untouched, but in this century in which environmental concerns have became a constant, the use of a ecological, recyclable and biodegradable material such as cork has increased, particularly in innovative areas such as Design for Sustainability and Eco-Design.
Regardless of who created the wine cork, the invention would go on to become wildly successful: For the past years, cork has been the preferred material for wine closures. The idea caught on because it was a good one—cork resists moisture and rotting, it helps wine age, and it provides an effective leak-proof seal. The primary cause of cork taint is the presence of the chemical compound 2,4,6-trichloroanisole TCA.
This means that other factors, including the storage of wine in wooden barrels, can contribute to wine spoilage. But because cork and wine have long been so inseparable, and because cork is a known source for TCA, the phenomenon of wine spoilage was named for the ubiquitous cork stopper. It was a nightmare for the cork industry.
How common was it? Seven percent of the bottles were contaminated. For consumers, it seemed the chances of buying spoiled wine were relatively low. As a result, many vintners began abandoning cork in favor of alternative closures, like aluminum screw caps and plastic plugs, which also had the added benefit of lower cost. Importing cork from the Mediterranean can be expensive, especially for wineries in New Zealand and Australia; by , most wineries in those countries had switched to screw-cap closures, which were also gaining prominence across the world.
While this kept the bubbles from leaking out, the resulting build-up of pressure in champagne bottles made excursions to the champagne storage dangerous. Champagne workers reportedly had to wear facemasks to protect themselves against exploding glass bottles. Marketing the Pop! Throughout the eighteenth century, champagne increased in popularity, becoming the drink of royalty across Europe, largely because of the marketing efforts of the great champagne houses such as Ruinart established , Taittinger , Moet and Veuve Cliquot In , Adolphe Jacquesson invented the muselet, or champagne cage, which held the cork onto the bottle securely with steel wire.
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