Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/62409
P A CKA GING "We're waiting for the next trend." —Niels Udsen, Castoro Bottling Co. with six spouts. In the past two years, Criveller said, the company has sold 15 of these to wineries across the continent, starting at $55,000. At Castoro Bottling Co. in Paso Robles, Calif., owner Niels Udsen acquired a new three-head screwcapper from Stone- Bottling of France, which manufactures equipment specifically for mobile bottlers. It works with all brands of screwcap. "We are familiar with their equipment, and it's made to last," said Udsen, who also owns 70,000-case Castoro Cellars in San Miguel, Calif. What's coming next along the bottling line? Mobile bottlers will be among the first to incorporate the best new technology. "We're waiting for the next trend," Udsen said. The Krones/Kosme counter pressure filler carousel is equipped with 24 filling valves. Shift to screwcapping Suppliers also noted the increasing popularity of screwcapping equipment. Davide Criveller, whose father Bruno Criveller owns the Criveller California Corp. and its Ontario affiliate, sup- plies bottling equipment from basic to top-of-the-line. The most recognizable trend in bottling that he's observed is the gradual shift to screwcapping in the past three years. "It's big right now: either stand-alone screwcappers or con- vertible equipment," he said. Even winery clients that remain loyal to cork-and-capsule are looking forward when updating their bottling lines. "Maybe they're planning to go to screwcaps in the future—or use it for a different brand," Criveller said. Just as with closures themselves, options abound for applying them. Criveller's top-of-the-line closure equipment incorporates both corker and screwcap turrets: The smallest of these, manufactured in Italy by Fimer, with nine turrets, retails at $130,000. For smaller wineries that are producing less than 10,000 cases (in November, WinesVinesDATA listed 6,628 of these in North America) and want to set up their own bottling line, Criveller designed a microbloc unit that handles the process from empty bottles to labeling in 1,000-2,000-case runs. Introduced five years ago with nine- spouts, they are now more compact, Wines & Vines JAnUARY 2012 47 KRONES aG