"The stopper would make me a little nervous though for fear of food matter getting caught in the cork and over time brewing up something nasty."

Actually, cork has natural antibacterial and antifungal properties. Like wooden cutting boards that people thought MUST be soaked with Salmonella after cutting meat on it, research has determined that the wooden cutting boards deal with bacteria on their own. It is the plastic cutting boards that need to be disinfected.

Who would have thought all those old-timers could figure this out on their own simply by observation??? <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Sue