Nice!
Just reminded me of the cork boat story (http://www.corkboat.com/), a great read and potentially good future post.

It isn't quite that simple. I don't quite understand what 'reducing pressure on the limited number of cork trees' means. They are cropped every 9 years and can't be done more frequently. Most cork comes from Portugal. Cork growers are having problems because wine is increasingly using plastic corks. While it is fine to recycle corks, you should be concerned about plastic corks because they are a) made from plastic and b) a substantial reduction in cork sales could mean a massive change to the Portuguese countryside and possibly also to endangered species like the lynx.

Peter, it is precisely because cork is only harvested every 9 years that there is pressure on the cork trees. They only grow in locales like Portugal and Spain, so their inability to supply an ever increasing wine market has caused the beverage industry to look elsewhere, firstly to plastic corks and more recently to metal twist tops. It is, however, highly unlikely that demand for real cork will drop due to this move, but if you are aware of news to this effect, please share with us.

Also of interest - plastic corks (at least all those I've come across) are made from recycled plastic and can be recycled after use. Not to say that makes them friendly to the Earth, rather, it makes the debate between plastic & cork that much more interesting.
A friend of mine runs a winery and I've had the pleasure of discussing plastic vs. cork with him on several occasions. I was fascinated to learn that many wineries would prefer to make the switch to plastic as it ensures their product won't spoil, but popular perception of plastic corks is that they're only used for cheap wines.
As a result, some wineries are using "hybreds" - plastic corks with real cork on both ends, so that they maintain the classic cork "aesthetic".

I work in a winery, and here are my two cents worth....
There is anywhere from 2-10% of wine that gets "corked" (smells like a wet dog and tastes awful) using natural cork depending on who you ask, the move to synthetics or screwcaps is a way to ensure less wine waste, better reputation, quality and consistency in the wine product. Screw caps are more expensive that real, composite or plastic corks. The composite corks which are made by glueing finely minced cork scraps often leave an unpleasant whiff of the glue in the wine when first opened. Plastic ones are pretty much odor inert, even if they do seem cheap to people, they are really pretty good, and also provide that romantic "pop" when opened, which you dont get with screwcaps! Screwwcaps are in fact more expensive, and leave more space in the bottle, require special glass design, and thus special bottling line needs, and the jury is still out on whether a 20 year old screwcap bottle keeps the wine in good shape, as tests are ongoing.
Its sad that society associates plastic with inferior quality, especially as the wine, label, and glass bottle which makes up most of the product are so much more important aesthetically and taste wise!. Most people look at the label, unless they have tasted many wines to reach a buying decision, not the type of cork, which is usually hidden under the capsule anyway.
I vote for cork-colored plastic or Nucork (the ones with the foamy interior and smooth sides) and they are also recyclable. ( but I wish the makers would mark them as recyclable more clearly) www.corkwatch.com for opinions and thoughts.

with some 22 million corks used per year and less than 10% synthetic, the portugese trees are safe, and with romantically inclined traditionalist winemakers using natural corks, hopefully a balance of both will be found.