It’s time to talk about the element of sparkling wine that holds it all together – the corks. These small but mighty parts of sparkling wine take on more pressure than you can imagine. So whether you’re at a ritzy celebration or a casual get-together, you better be prepared to pop that bubbly!

So, how does it all work? Well, believe it or not, the magical cork starts out large and cylindrical. Once it’s compressed halfway down into the bottle, the cork preserves the internal pressure created from secondary fermentation. Over time, this pressure builds that distinct mushroom shape, recognized by all sparkling fans around the world as a symbol of celebration. 

With all that pressure (up to 120 psi in a warm, shaken bottle), the cork must fit as snugly as possible. Clearly, a lot of force (and special equipment) is needed to get the cork into the bottle. We are sure you have noticed that once you remove a sparkling wine cork, there is no going back. It doesn’t matter how strong or talented you are, the sparkling wine cork will not fit back into the bottle.

So how do we get the cork in the bottle to begin with? We get help! Following disgorgement, our semi-automatic corker has two stations – the first forces the cork into the bottle…

…the second squishes it down and finishes it off with our wire hood. Of course we need this protection – flying corks are dangerous!

And there you have it. Remember the critical cork the next time you’re toasting friends with some bubbles. And if you ever try to downplay the importance of these tiny trinkets, well, you can put a cork in it.