Wine stoppers come in various materials, from cork to glass, and must seal the bottle well to prevent spoilage. Vacuum wine stoppers use a vacuum reservoir to maintain a seal, while designer stoppers make great gifts. Corks remain popular, but some winemakers use plastic screw caps.
Wine stoppers range from undecorated cork to cork with ornaments on the top to stoppers made from other materials such as glass, chrome, wood, ceramic, and stainless steel. All wine stoppers, whether simple or decorative, must seal the wine bottle well to prevent oxidation and spoilage. Good wine stoppers like vacuum-packed varieties can keep open wine and champagne for up to a week or more.
Vacuum wine stoppers work with a vacuum reservoir that maintains a vacuum seal. A vacuum pump is connected to the vacuum tank and the pump reduces the pressure in the vacuum tank to form the seal. A vacuum line and valve connected to a valve head make contact with the cap and bottle. The air is removed from the bottle and the stopper prevents any air from reaching the bottle. Some vacuum wine stoppers let you know when the seal is complete by making clicking sounds, as too much vacuum can actually spoil the wine.
Many types of designer wine stoppers can be found in stores or online and make excellent gifts. For example, Mikasa makes heart-tipped crystal wine stoppers that are perfect for anniversaries, and wine stoppers made from decorated Murano glass are colorful and beautiful. Wine stoppers also come in gift wrapped boxes and many of these are elegant in stainless steel or chrome with or without polished wood accents. The new ceramic wine stoppers include Santa Claus and snowman figurines as well as motifs such as golf balls or roses. Pewter wine stoppers are often shaped like grapes or human and animal figurines.
Some decorative wine stoppers include a chain attached from the top of the stopper to a ring that fits around the neck of the bottle. Other wine stoppers may have tops shaped into animal heads or geometric shapes. Many acrylic wine stopper tops look like frosted glass and are often in colorful shapes like red hearts, blue dolphins, and gold stars. Some wine stoppers are made completely out of metal, while most have cork bases and various materials on the tops.
About 70% of all bottles of wine today use cork stoppers. Corks are considered a good environmental choice as cork oaks, grown mainly in Spain and Portugal, must be harvested to survive. Some winemakers have switched to plastic screw caps to save on importing wine corks.
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