The truth is the cork oak tree is not endangered. And because wine vintners prefer screw caps for various reasons, that's actually led to a decrease in demand for cork wine stoppers.

Auctions for wine corks sell in lots as small as 20 and as large as 500. The wine bottles usually sell for about 50 cents per bottle, but fancier bottles can fetch near $5.00 each (hint: Cobalt blue bottles!). Wine corks, however, generally sell for about 10 cents each.

The year 1680 has been stated as when the Benedictine monk first used cork for sealing wine. Previously stoppers had generally been made of wood wrapped in hemp soaked in olive oil. Cork was probably first used to seal wine in the sixth century BC (BCE) in Toscana (Tuscany).

This ensures that the corks get enough moisture to lubricate their passage through the corker, but not so wet that the corks will crumble apart.