Wines & Vines

CLOSURES corks with the same uniform structure and consistent oxygen transfer rates (OTR) as synthetic corks. The patented system, she said, will "harness, qualify and categorically sort the variety Mother Nature already makes available." She said a second-generation prototype should be operating this year, and a working system should be in place by 2014. Cork Supply will offer more details about how the technology will be implemented in the near future. One application is that the company could pinpoint which type of cork would fit a specific wine. "When we are ready, we can suggest for this wine style you can use this category of cork, and for this wine style another cork," she said. Cork Supply is aiming toward combining the two systems into what it's calling DSX100. Mesquita said such technology didn't exist 10 years ago, but Cork Supply has been proactive in applying it to its production process. "As the computing and technology advances tremendously, it is our task to 'tailor-make' the new technologies to the cork industry," she said. Mesquita has been studying cork production since 1998. She said it's an exciting time to be in the industry, when new technology could dramatically improve how corks are produced. "It's very exciting and very stressful at the same time, because no one has tried to do this individual analysis, and we produce hundreds of millions of corks a year," she said. "We are working on state-of-the-art technology for the sensory, for the visual and for the structural analysis." Like Cork Supply's DS100, Portocork offers a one-by-one cork-inspection process that employs sensory staff, but the process is constrained by sensory fatigue. Mowe said Portocork uses a minimum of three sensory panelists but limits them to evaluating 200 corks in the morning, another 200 before lunch, 200 after lunch and 200 before the end of the day. It's a thorough process, but it's laborious and expensive. Mowe said the cost of the sensory screening makes it an option for only the top tier of wine producers, and it's a burden on the company's sensory staff. He said he thinks the biggest order ever put through the process was around 14,000 corks. Cork taint and honeybees Samples undergo GC analysis, providing a reference for Cork Supply's non-destructive DS100 and the new DS100+ processes. Mowe said the company's research and development team in Portugal has been working for years to improve cork quality and prevent sensory faults. This research spawned some creative thinking that included reviewing the use of bees, which can be trained to alert to the presence of certain smells just like dogs. Mowe said the bees could identify TCA-contaminated materials, but once they smelled it they ADVANCED WINEMAKING SOLUTIONS, NOW AVAILABLE ALL IN ONE PLACE. Claristar® - a natural solution for Tartrate Stability (KHT). Available exclusively from Scott Laboratories. the fine art of closures mala-usa.com (415) 302-3123 G@mala-usa.com www.scottlab.com • info@scottlab.com Win es & Vin es AU GU ST 20 13 57

• Cover