Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/573907
10 WINES&VINES October 2015 10 WINES&VINES October 2015 C Cork Supply Group 531 Stone Road Benicia, CA 94510 (800) 961-2000 corksupply.com SPONSORED CONTENT 100% Inspection, 100% Confi dence a second time by ETS Laboratories—a third-party test mandated by the Cork Quality Council (CQC). For DS100 customers, the goal is to remove all corks contaminated with TCA at levels as low as 1 part per trillion. "After routine visual-grade optical sorting by size and quality, each and every cork is isolated in a glass jar with several drops of ultra-pure water, then sealed and left to humidify for 24 hours," Herwatt explains. "When our trained lab technicians open and sniff each jar, TCA—if present—can be reliably detected." Herwatt adds that the lab inspectors also test for any non-TCA-derived aromas or taints during the DS100 process. Only the corks that pass the DS100 process go on to printing, moisture adjustment, treatment with paraffin and silicone (for ease of removal from the bottle) to customer specifications, and the final visual inspection before customer orders are bagged for delivery. DS100—The Sniff Test Yes, technicians really do sniff each and every cork. The DS100 program, which began in 2010, is one of the most inten- sive cork-testing programs in the world. The program has experienced rapid growth, and in 2014 the company pro- cessed 2.5 million corks with 100% in- spection using the DS100 method. During the hiring process for the DS100 program, prospective sniffers undergo a series of tests and analyses designed to indicate whether their noses Cork producers are becoming increas- ingly sophisticated in their long-running dedication to eliminating TCA (2,4,6- trichloroanisole) for winery customers. At Cork Supply Group, the Portuguese and U.S. offices work in tandem to deliver clean orders to customers. This year, they have taken their DS100 program company wide. "It's true, TCA has been an issue," says James Herwatt, CEO of Cork Supply USA, "and it's one we've worked very hard to eliminate for our winery customers. In 2010, we began develop- ing the first-ever dry-soak program, a non-destructive natural cork-inspection process we call DS100, with the 'DS' standing for 'dry soak.'" Corks are inspected and tested before they leave Portugal, and only corks that pass strict quality require- ments are shipped to the United States. When they arrive at the Cork Supply USA headquarters in Benicia, Calif., the inspection process starts anew. Cork Supply's in-house lab inspects the shipping container and all cork lots inside for contamination by both TCA and TBA (2, 4, 6-tribromoanisole), another haloanisole compound that was found in 2004 to contribute to wine taint. The cork lots are tested for TCA John Boyd, Quality Control Manager, oversees the DS100 inspection program. Main Points • Trained sensory technicians evaluate every cork in the DS100 program. • Bottles sealed with a DS100 cork are guaranteed TCA free under the Bottle Buy Back guarantee. • Testing eliminates corks with TCA levels as low as 1 part per trillion.