Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/299589
4 6 V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T | M a y - J u n e 2 014 w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m the attention. But that's not always the case for products such as the cork, which actually comes in contact with the wine. "Cork tends to be treated like a commodity," said Vance Rose, director of sales and marketing at Amorim, "and wineries often buy cork based upon price alone." PROPRIETARY GRADING W h e n i t c o m e s t o c o m p a r i s o n s h o p p i n g for cork, one of the big- gest challenges wineries face is comparing apples to apples. While an inter- national quality standard or wine, as with most c o n s u m e r g o o d s , p a c k a g i n g i s a n obsession, and rightly so: its role in the commer- cial success of a product is undeniable. Packaging is usually the consumer's first impression of a brand and it contributes greatly to the experience of enjoy- ing wine. We touch a wine bottle repeatedly, often read and record the label in its entirety, gaze at it while we're drinking and we may even save it for posterity. Considering the time, effort and resources that companies devote to wine packaging, labels seem to get the lion's share of + Lack of standard terminol- ogy for cork grades makes it challenging to compari- son shop. + Customized sorting makes it easier for wineries to work from an existing standard. + Almost all natural cork performs the same techni- cally. + Automated, non-destruc- tive individual cork testing will eliminate TCA. AT A GLANCE For Natural Cork, Form Follows Function Grading methods vary for each manufacturer BY DEBORAH PARKER WONG Corks are visually inspected in Portugal for flaws.