Press Release: No more corked wine thanks to EU-funded research

'Corked' wines could become a thing of the past following a breakthrough in EU-funded research. A consortium of SMEs from Germany, Portugal and Spain and a German research institute have produced a technique for making corks that do not chemically react with the contents of the bottle. Every year, €500 million worth of wine is ruined because of chemical or microbial contamination from corks. A patented production technique, using microwaves to penetrate the cork, has now succeeded where traditional treatments had failed. The companies have received funding from the European Commission's CRAFT programme to develop this project.