# Corking and uncorking a bottle of wine

José Miguel Aguilera

► To cite this version:

José Miguel Aguilera. Corking and uncorking a bottle of wine. International Journal of Molecular and Physical Gastronomy, 2025, 11(1) (3), pp.1-4. 10.17180/ijmpg-2025-art03. hal-05104959

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Submitted on 10 Jun 2025

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Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
International Journal
of
Molecular and Physical Gastronomy

Authors

José Miguel Aguilera

**Title of the work**

Corking and uncorking a bottle of wine

Year 2025, Volume 11 (1), Number 3, pp. 1-4.

**Published online:**

15 March 2025

https://icmpg.hub.inrae.fr/international-activities-of-the-international-centre-of-molecular-gastronomy/international-journal-of-molecular-and-physical-gastronomy/2-scientific-part/image-for-thought/corking-and-uncorking-a-bottle-of-wine

Corking and uncorking a bottle of wine © 2025 by José Miguel Aguilera is licensed under [Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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# Corking and uncorking a bottle of wine

José Miguel Aguilera¹

1. Department of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering, Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.

*Correspondence: jimguile@uc.cl

<figure><img src="image_5.png" /><figcaption>Figure 1. Vintage corking apparatus and corkscrews. Left: hand-held bottle corker; right: four types of cork removers including a portable blade or prong cork remover (top center), double twist mechanism corkscrew (center below), simple corkscrew and (right) anthropomorphic handcrafted version of a corkscrew for uncorking beer bottles.</figcaption></figure>
Image for Thought

**Abstract**

The image invites gastronomy scientists to
observe the beauty and simplicity of a wooden
corking device and some antique corkscrews. The
article discusses the physical principles involved.
A friction force predominates as the screw
penetrates the cork. During pulling the cork out, a
force must overcome the static friction holding the
cork in the bottleneck, and the sliding or dynamic
friction as the cork moves out.

**Keywords**

cork, corkscrew, wooden corker, wine bottle,
mechanical forces

**Introduction**

In winemaking, wood is mostly associated with
aging barrels or wine casks. We are possibly
unaware that cork is produced by trees and in
foregone times wood was an important material in
kitchen utensils and tables, known generically as
treen (Levi, 1998). The history of the corkscrew is
stylishly presented by Gendzier (2001), who
suggests that the first mention of a "corkscrue"
dates from 1681. Wooden hand-driven devices to
place corks in the bottleneck and uncork wine
bottles were made by dedicated artisans often
using the finest wood (Figure 1).

Although the image does not represent a scientific
phenomenon, as usual in this section of the
journal, it is an invitation for gastronomy scientists
to observe the beauty of devices used in the
culinary, whose ingenious mechanisms and
involved physical principles are still valid in many
modern metal or plastic, and electrically-driven
devices. From a sustainability viewpoint, the
wooden objects shown in Figure 1 were made
from renewable material (except for the metal
spiral) and operated by human energy.

**Cork as a material**

Cork is the periderm (outer protective tissue) in
the bark of the oak *Quercus suber* L., harvested
every 9 or 10 years. Cork is unique in that it is
formed largely by dead cells whose cell walls are
high in suberin (over 40%), a lipophilic
macromolecule (Azevedo *et al*., 2022).
Structurally, cork is a natural light solid foam
(density 120–180 kg.m⁻³) that shows buoyancy in
most liquids, has a low permeability to liquids
and gases, and deforms on compression without
fracturing (Silva *et al*., 2005; Pereira, 2015;
Dharmadhikari, 2016).

**Here comes the physics**

The corking and uncorking of wine bottles
involves forces acting on the cork. In artisanal
wine production, cellar workers use hand-held
corkers (Figure 1, left). A wooden corker has a
plunger that pushes a humidified cork (5-7%
moisture, for plastic deformation) through a
conical bore (wide opening at the top) hidden at
the bottom of the apparatus in Figure 1 (left). As
the cylindrical cork (24 mm in diameter) passes
through this tapered geometry, it is evenly
compressed from all sides to fit the 18 mm
diameter of the bottleneck. Around 0.8 MPa of
pressure is needed to compress a cork by 25%
in the radial direction (Sergi *et al*., 2021).

Pulling a cork is usually done with a corkscrew
whose mechanism may be simple, mechanical,
or lever, or with a twin-blade remover (Crestin-
Billet, 2001). Uncorking a bottle of wine with a
simple corkscrew is dominated by friction
between the expanded cork and the inner wall of
the bottleneck.

As the screw (usually a spiral) rotates by a force
exerted through the corkscrew handle, the
torque is converted into a vertical force that
drives the screw into the cork. This force must
overcome the friction force between the screw
surface and the cork material that opposes the
motion. Once the screw is inserted, pulling the
cork out requires overcoming the static friction
holding the cork in the bottleneck, and the sliding
or dynamic friction as the cork moves out
International Journal of Molecular and Physical Gastronomy

Image for Thought

(Kasper & Vogt, 2024). Surprisingly, a maximum force of 200 to 400 N (about the force required to lift a 20-40 kg mass) has been reported during the transit of the cork (natural or synthetic) through the bottleneck and then it slowly decreases until the cork is released (Godden et al., 2001; Silva et al., 2003: Giunchi et al., 2008; Kasper & Vogt, 2024).

All this effort may be reduced by using a pivot-
and-lever mechanism as those in corkscrews
used by bartenders (Kasper & Vogt, 2024). In a
twin-blade “cork puller” or “wine cork extractor”
(Figure 1, center), two parallel metal prongs (often
of different lengths) attached to a handle are
inserted between the cork and the bottleneck.
Turning alternate from one prong to the other
while gently pressing downwards, allows removal
of the cork by pulling without it being pierced or
crumbled. The many (some are odd) ways to
open a bottle of wine can be found at
https://www.wikihow.com/Open-a-Wine-Bottle-Without-a-Corkscrew.

**References:**

Azevedo J, Lopes P, Mateus N, de Freitas V.
2022. Cork, a natural choice to wine?, *Foods*,
11(17), 2638.

https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11172638

Crestin-Billet F. 2001. *Collectible Corkscrews*, Flamarion, Paris.

Dharmadhikari M. 2016. Wine Corks, Midwest Grape and Wine Industry Institute. Retrieved from http://www.extension.iastate.edu/wine/corks.

Gendzier SJ. 2001. The corkscrew, Gastronomica, 1(3), 67-71.

Giunchi A. Versari A, Parpinello GP, Galassi S. 2008. Analysis of mechanical properties of cork stoppers and synthetic closures used for wine bottling, *Journal of Food Engineering*, 88(4), 576-580.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2008.03.004

Godden P, Francis L, Field J, Gishen M, Robinson E. 2001. Wine bottle closures: physical characteristics and effect on composition and sensory properties of a Semillon wine 1. Performance up to 20 months post-bottling, *Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research*, 7(2), 64-105. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1755-0238.2001.tb00196.

Kasper L, Vogt P. 2024. *Uncorking the Physics of Wine*, Springer, Berlin.

Levi J. 1998. *Treen for the Table*, Antique Collectors' Club Ltd., Woodbridge, Suffolk.

Pereira H. 2015. The rationale behind cork properties: A review of structure and chemistry, *BioResources*, 10(3), 6207-6229.

https://doi.org/10.15376/biores.10.3.Pereira

Sergi C. Sarasini F, Tirillò J. 2021. The compressive behavior and crashworthiness of cork: A review, *Polymers*, 14(1), 134.

https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14010134

Silva SP, Sabino MA, Fernandes EM, Correlo VM, Boesel LF, Reis RL. 2005. Cork: properties, capabilities and applications, *International Materials Reviews*, 50(6), 345-365.

https://doi.org/10.1179/174328005X41168

Silva A, Lambri M, De Faveri MD. 2003. Evaluation of the performances of synthetic and cork stoppers up to 24 months post-bottling, *European Food Research and Technology*, 216, 529-534.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-003-0687-2

**Edited by:**

Anonymous

**Reviewers:**

1. Anonymous
International Journal of Molecular and Physical Gastronomy

Image for Thought

2. Laurent Gervat, Physical Chemist, collector of corkscrews.

**Received:**

26 January 2025

**Accepted :**

25 February 2025

**Published:**

6 March 2025

**Section:**

This article was published in the “Image for Thought” section of the *International Journal of Molecular and Physical Gastronomy*

**Citation:**

Aguilera José Miguel. 2025. Corking and uncorking a bottle of wine, *International Journal of Molecular and Physical Gastronomy*, 11(1), 3, 1-4. doi: 10.17180/ijmpg-2025-art03