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The cork of a wine is the term used to define the stopper in the bottle neck. It originated because all stoppers used to come from the Cork Oak tree. As the availability of usable Cork Oak dwindles and the price of cork rises, wine producers have started using synthetic substitutes made from plastic. Despite their non-cork make-up, these stoppers are still referred to as corks.
Cork was used as the original wine stopper because it is both flexible and nearly non-penetrable. Thus it fits easily and snug into the bottle neck and prevents significant inflow of air, both of which help to preserve the wine.
The cheaper plastic substitutes, despite being an eyesore to some, actually do an exceptional job at maintaining the freshness of wine, since they are nonporous, malleable, and do not dry out and crumble. However, the plastic corks are only superior when used in wines meant to be drank young. For quality wines that need to develop over time, a natural cork allows the slow oxidation process to age the wine, while a plastic cork will prevent the process because it is completely nonporous.
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