Bouchon

French · cork

Bouchon is the cork. A Champagne cork has an agglomerated cork body with natural cork discs at the base; it is 31 mm in diameter, at most 48 mm long, and compressed to about 17 mm in the neck.1

The body is the manche, and the natural discs in contact with the wine are the miroir.1 The Champagne specification requires a cork bearing the appellation name, held by a wire cage, the muselet.2,3

The cork replaces the crown cap after dégorgement and dosage. After corking the bottle is shaken to mix wine and liqueur.3 See corking, cork and opening.

See also

Cork and wire cageMethodsThe flight of the corkScienceMuseletGlossaryMiroirGlossaryOpening a bottleServing

Sources

  1. Union des Maisons de Champagne. Corking and muselage
  2. Cahier des charges de l'AOP « Champagne » - modifications approved by the INAO national committee on 11 September 2024 (national opposition procedure text) (2024-09-11)
  3. Comité Champagne (champagne.fr). Corking, shaking and final inspection

Facts checked on 2026-10-19