Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/123973
bers accept any cork lot into inventory, samples are sent to ETS Laboratories of St. Helena, Calif., for TCA analysis. To take that rigorous screening process to another level, cork suppliers have taken steps in recent years to build and improve Northern California facilities. NEW FACILITY FOR AMORIM What you deserve You're passionate about winemaking. At M. A. Silva, we honor your hard work and dedication with glass and cork closures of impeccable quality and purity, and back it up with stellar customer support. To us, it's not just what you need. PROCESS G W IN G CO K IN R It's what you deserve. E PA C K A G IN In February, Amorim opened a 50,000-squarefoot cork finishing, sales and distribution facility in Napa. Established in 1870 and based in Portugal, Corticeira Amorim, parent company of Amorim Cork America, is the world's largest supplier of natural cork stoppers through its Amorim & Irmaos business unit, with about 25% of the global market. Chairman and CEO Antonio Amorim told attendees at the Napa facility's opening, "We have come up with improved product performance, and we owe that to the American wine market. The quality assurance that American wineries require is unparalleled, and this has helped us progress in our product improvement and in becoming a better company." Amorim's new facility was designed with QC literally at the forefront. The first thing visitors see upon entering the building is the QC lab through floor-toceiling windows adjacent to the front lobby. Lab equipment includes a MedCork analyzer that tests individual corks for dimensions, density and moisture content. The lab's analytical equipment includes a tool to test cork dimensions and contact points in sample glass bottles, and an insertion force gauge that mechanically inserts a cork into a bottleneck to measure the force of insertion and extraction. The lab performs cork soak tests for TCA and offodors, and invites customers to participate in cork soak sensory trials to select specific cork bales or lots for purchase. Lab Manager Chris Olson said, "We also test cork samples from each coating cycle, and we perform tests above and beyond CQC requirements." The facility's humidification room accommodates batches of printed corks at 80°F and 80% relative humidity, to achieve proper moisture levels for cork elasticity to compress and expand when inserted at bottling. Finished corks are coated with a surface layer of paraffin and silicone by gentle tumbling in coating machines that resemble clothes dryers. Finished corks are packaged in plastic bags, which are vacuumed out before filling. A dose of SO2 is injected into the bag before sealing. Every cork batch is tagged electronically to record and trace each step of the process and the specific machines used. THE PERFECT FIT FOR YOUR WINE GANAU AMERICA Santa Rosa, California 52 | 707.636.2530 V I N E YARD & WINERY MANAGEMENT | | www.masilva.com In 2010 the Ganau Group opened a new 39,000-square-foot facility in Sonoma, which allowed the company to double its cork output in the U.S. File name: MAS_YouDeserve_WBM _halfV Wine Business Monthly 1/2 vertical - 4.625" x 12.375" File 8:37 AM May -modification date: 6-23-11 file please contact June 2013 Problems or questions re: this John Harden at Armstrong Associates john@aadezyn.com | 707.527.8511 w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m