Folks used to just pull the cork out to let wine breathe, but studies showed it could take more than 24 hours for this to have an impact.

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Cork producers fought back, finally starting to recover lost market share in the wine market by 2010, according to Apcor, the Portuguese cork association.

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The mating song of the male has been described as beginning with a resonant rattle, continuing with a pop-like a cork being pulled from a wine bottle, followed by the pouring of a liquid out of a narrow-necked bottle and ending with the sound of knife grinding.

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The trial threatens to pop the cork on the dirty secrets of the wine auction world, which like the art market has been stung in recent years by a proliferation of fakes.

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They were joined by American and Australian producers more aware of profit margins than more traditional wine makers and less inclined to accept the idea of cork contamination as an inescapable act of God.

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Adding to cork's "green" image are recycling programs for wine stoppers established by airlines such as American, in its Admirals Club lounges, retailers such as Carrefour and Las Vegas casinos such as Aria.

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The fact of the matter is that demand for wine in bottles (as opposed to wine in bags) is growing faster than the supply of properly prepared cork, so there is actually plenty of room in the market for different types of stopper.

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This wine shop and tasting room has panoramic sea views and thoughtful exhibits on barrel-making and cork production.

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