It seems that the corks used for sparkling wines and Champagnes are made with 2 types of cork that are laminated together. Why is this?
Answer From Expert Roger Bohmrich MW
The typical cork used for Champagne and other premium, full pressure sparkling wines is a usually a combination of an upper agglomerated cork section to which two or three discs of high quality natural cork are bonded. It is this lower part that is in contact with the Champagne, thus limiting the incidence of taint. Cost is a major reason for the composition, since the corks employed for sparkling wines are large (and straight-sided) before they are compressed by about 40% to be inserted into the bottle.
