Man Builds Boat From Wine Corks

Filed in archive Wine News on January 11, 2008

Q: How many wine corks does it take to fulfill one's dream of building a boat?
A: At least 100,000.

That's right, 160,000 corks. Which means 160,000 bottles of wine. Speechwriter John Pollack had always loved boats, and at the age of 6 decided that he wanted to build a boat entirely out of corks (because corks don't sink). Thirty-five years later, he realized that dream and his story will be spotlighted tonight on the news program 20/20. ABC News also has a profile of him, which is really interesting and inspiring.

I collect corks myself, and while I don't have any projects as complicated as a boat in mind, I do keep saving them with the intention of making something with them someday. And this quote from the article summarizes exactly how I feel and why I collect them:

"Every cork has a story to tell," he said. "There's a toast, there's a celebration, there's a moment or just a relaxing drink at the end of a long day. And so every cork has a story to tell."

If you want to learn more about Pollack's story, tune in to 20/20 on ABC tonight at 10PM ET.