Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/101495
PACKAGING speed���is a daunting task. New methods help improve tolerance ranges and reduce the reliance on the mechanical,��� he said. Stop in the name of pop ���While cork remains the closure of choice for sparkling products, G3 is constantly reviewing the market to determine customer needs,��� said Krittaya Boonma, assistant marketing manager at the Modesto, Calif., supplier. ���A focus on women consumers has prompted our innovation team to begin looking at closure technologies for sparkling products that are easy to open and reseal.��� G3 now sells a polyethylene stopper with a protective aluminum screw-on hood called ���Twist and Pop.��� It���s resealable, provides pressure release and allows more controlled opening than conventional cork stoppers, according to Boonma, while continuing to provide the festive ���pop��� associated with traditional corks. For producers and consumers still wedded to traditional cork, G3 provides Mytik Diam (left), guaranteed to protect from TCA taint ���below quantifiable detection��� via a patented CO2 process that ensures clean natural cork and removes more than 150 other compounds that might lead to off flavors, Boonma said. The natural cork in Diam���s Mytik closure undergoes a cleaning process. Other suppliers of natural and technical corks agreed that care is essential when choosing these closures. Scott Labs offers twodisk traditional-style corks from Relvas Corti��as, in stock and custom as needed, Alex Scott said. ���Relvas���controls all aspects of production itself. Control over raw material is paramount. SPME (solid phase micro extraction) testing is done on every lot of raw material.��� ���Cork processing has undergone a huge revitalization across the board for all natural and technical corks,��� observed Graham Wilson at A.O. Wilson, Canadian agent for Amorim Cork. ���Washing/treatment/quality control procedures have vastly improved the quality of cork, and this is generally carried out by the majority of producers,��� he said. Although the cork itself may not have changed significantly ���for hundreds of years,��� according to Dixon at Waterloo Container, ���what has changed is the control of quality���and the methods of harvest, which most countries now regulate to sustain the cork tree forests.��� MA Silva manufactures the corks Waterloo distributes. Cork bark is no longer the sole closure for sparkling wines, however. As the segment evolves, so does acceptance of novel materials and styles, especially east of the Rockies. Plastic stoppers, for example, are ���the standard closure.��� Like cork, they are retained by a wire hood to restrain the stopper and provide tamper evidence,��� Dixon said. With the growing popularity of sparkling ciders and lightly carbonated grape wines (notably the explosive recent re-emergence of Muscat wines), screwcaps also are appearing on bubbly. ���These 30x60mm caps are the same��� as those on still wines, Wilson said. ���The difference is the liner, which is meant for pressure. Wat e r m a r k L a be l s A DIVISION OF LUSTRE-CAL CORPORATION Building on Four Decades of Innovative Packaging and Label Solutions CA: Ken DEIS TONNELLERIE MERCIER Tel. (707) 567 5711 mercierbarrels@gmail.com OR, WA BC: Bruce FELIX PACIFIC WINEMAKING LLC Tel. (503) 419 7942 info@pacificwinemaking.com BP 52 - 16300 Barbezieux Tel. +33 545 781 470 Fax +33 545 780 440 tonnellerie.mercier@wanadoo.fr WWW.TONNELLERIE-MERCIER.COM SEE US AT UNIFIED, BOOTH #919 ��� Unsurpassed Quality and Superior Value ��� Innovative Materials and Short Lead Times ��� Customer Focused 715 S. Guild Ave., Lodi, CA 95240 ��� 209.370.1616 info@watermarklabels.com ��� www.watermarklabels.com SEE US AT UNIFIED, BOOTH #1921 Win es & Vin es JA N UA RY 20 13 75