Yes, You Can Reuse Wine Corks!

All these years we’ve been told that we can’t reuse wine corks. Well, that is not entirely true. Sure, we can’t reuse them for their original purpose, as a wine closure, but with a little creativity and the inspiration of a great glass of wine, all things are possible. I was recently inspired while reading an article in Wine Enthusiast Magazine about how microbreweries were using neutral wine barrels for the aging of beer. For example, Vinne Cilurzo in California’s Russian River Valley is using old Chardonnay barrels to age their blonde ale and Pinot Noir barrels for their ambers. Genius!

Taking matters into my own hands, I’ve been creating art (art being a subjective term) and other items with some of my used wine corks. The result, a guitar mural made out of wine corks, several business card holders and the not so creative corkboard. I also use my favorite empty wine bottles as vases to hold single roses from my garden. I’ve heard that sustainability needs to happen as a grass routes movement. Any other ideas of how we can reuse our wine bottles or corks at home?

Comments

[Sandra]

Love the cork guitar! I like to make things out of corks - message boards etc..

Recently I was in a nice restaurant and ordered a medium priced bottle of wine. Much to my suprise, the wine came with a medal screw off top. The restaurant owner said that this is a trend that will happen throughout the wine industry. Is that true?

[Morgen Marshall]

Yes, you will begin to see more of the screw cap wine closure within the industry. Not only is it more cost effective, but it does not create a "corked" bottle, where bacteria from the cork has compromised the wine. The biggest hurdle in this change is overcoming wine tradition and the all important "Pop!" sound of an opened bottle. Tablas Creek Winery is currently experimenting with the screw cap and is reporting their findings on their blog. (The link is listed under Blog Roll)