# Wine Bottle Cork Bits Unhealthy?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wine-bottle-cork-bits-unhealthy/672822>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [November 1, 2013, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wine-bottle-cork-bits-unhealthy/672822 "2013-11-01T05:33:02Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 8\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\
**Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wine-bottle-cork-bits-unhealthy/672822/1 "2013-11-01T05:33:02Z")

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Sometimes bits of the cork are left in the wine while removing the cork. Is it unhealthy to consume these small pieces of cork (ignoring the health factor of consuming the wine itself)?

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**Author:** ![Fish\_Cheer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fish_cheer/32/17179_2.png) [@Fish\_Cheer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish_Cheer)\
**Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wine-bottle-cork-bits-unhealthy/672822/2 "2013-11-01T07:25:43Z")

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No. They taste kinda gross, though.

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**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\
**Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wine-bottle-cork-bits-unhealthy/672822/3 "2013-11-01T11:11:04Z")

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That’s where you get all the health benefits of fiber.

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**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\
**Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wine-bottle-cork-bits-unhealthy/672822/4 "2013-11-01T12:33:07Z")

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It’s just tree bark.

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**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\
**Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wine-bottle-cork-bits-unhealthy/672822/5 "2013-11-01T12:58:31Z")

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Can’t you just pick the pieces out of your glass, or decant it, or pour it through an unbleached coffee filter or something?

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**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\
**Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wine-bottle-cork-bits-unhealthy/672822/6 "2013-11-01T13:32:51Z")

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Cork is pretty harmless - I guess you could gag on a bit and choke, or something.

However, bits of cork in the wine may indicate that the bottle has been improperly stored (or that the cork itself was defective from the start - and this might mean the wine isn’t worth drinking anyway.

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**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\
**Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wine-bottle-cork-bits-unhealthy/672822/7 "2013-11-01T14:47:32Z")

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Everybody needs more roughage.

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**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\
**Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wine-bottle-cork-bits-unhealthy/672822/8 "2013-11-01T22:53:06Z")

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Right - especially if it’s floating in a nice bath of, say, Chateau Pétrus.  
(It would be a bit late in the game to be discovering that cork was harmful.)