Nanocork™, Innovative Cork Wine Closure, offers Winemakers An Alternative;
Newly Introduced to North American Market by ACI Cork USA
Newly Introduced to North American Market by ACI Cork USA
Nanocork™, the newest product in the wine closure market worldwide, offers wine producers the means to retain fresh fruit flavours and a long finish in white, rosé, and non-reductive red wines without concern about TCA contamination. An alternative to synthetic closures and screwcap, ACI Cork USA brings the innovative nanocork to the US market at an attractive price that makes it perfect for use in wines selling at today’s sweet spot of $8 to $15 per bottle.
Nanocork is a natural cork that has a specially developed coating with an oxygen transfer barrier that’s adhered to the cork’s top and tail. This extremely thin barrier film meets all EU and FDA requirements for materials intended to be in contact with food products, and is similar in structure to bag-in-box oxygen barrier materials already in wide use. With the nanocork, “nano” quantities of oxygen are consistently delivered to wines via the barrier coating, thus meeting the requirement for the optimal aging of aromatic, fresh and delicate wines.
Nanocork is perfect for winemakers who want to retain cork wine stoppers as their wine closure of choice but have packaging cost constraints. Nanocork provides an option other than lower grade cork and synthetic or screwcap closure systems. It is ideal for wines that require low oxygen transfer, and wines with a low reduction potential. Nanocork’s O₂ permeability is the same as a high quality cork, about 0.0005 cc’s per day. Once bonded to the cork using a highly moisture-resistant polymer, the barrier material used on nanocork is completely inert. The film material is thermoformable so it molds perfectly to cork ends, thus completely covering the curved cork edge and obviating any irregularities.
The results of several years of rigorous and controlled testing with by the Australian Wine Research Institute of a 2007 Clare Valley Semillon (unoaked, around 11% alcohol, relatively neutral with some fresh citrus, tropical notes, taint and fault free) gives ACI Cork USA complete confidence in nanocork’s performance and reliability for American and Canadian wines. In comparison to three other closures (Reference Two natural cork, Reference Synthetic closure, and Reference Screwcap) over 24 months of storage, The AWRI report notes that nanocork was “found to produce a fresh, intense, fruity wine with long persistence on the palate”. The wines bottled with the alternative closures displayed more honeyed notes and oxidized characteristics.
Shelf life of wines using nanocork is excellent. The AWRI research indicates that, even after 24 months, the 2007 Clare Valley Semillon tested “has further to go before reaching its shelf life” versus the other closures tested on this wine. The wines in the research trial which used other closures did show definite signs of nearing the end of their shelf lives at 24 months. The professional taste panel in Australia agreed that nanocorked wines presented an intense and persistent fresh fruit on the nose and palate.
Other advantages of nanocork are improvement in seal between cork and bottle, elimination of ‘off’ flavors attributed to cork, strengthening of the cork end, and reduction in cork dust. In terms of environmental friendliness, nanocork is a closure that is recyclable, has a low-carbon footprint compared to synthetic closures, and its major component – cork – comes from the completely renewable and sustainable Cork oak. Nanocork is ready for immediate use in bottling after the shipping bag of nanocorks is opened; nanocork requires no further treatment.
Nanocork was developed by UK innovation company Bacchus Wine Closures in partnership with Alvaro Coelho & Irmãos (ACI), the second largest cork producer in the world. ACI has been testing this technology since 2005 both in-house and with customers before commercializing the product in late 2009. The Nanocork technology will also work well on sparkling wine corks and corks for spirits.
The first US customer for nanocork is Big White House Winery and John Evan Cellars, Livermore, CA. They have just bottled their 2008 Roussanne, Ripken Vineyards (Lodi), using this newest closure in the wine industry. Big White House Winery and John Evan Cellars is located at 6800 Greenville Rd., Livermore, CA 94550. Contact John Marion at (925) 449-1976. http://www.bigwhitehouse.com/
USA Company Contact:
Armando Andrade, General Manager
ACI CORK USA
2870 Cordelia Road, Suite 150
Fairfield, CA 94534 USA
Armando Andrade, General Manager
ACI CORK USA
2870 Cordelia Road, Suite 150
Fairfield, CA 94534 USA
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Disclosure: As part of my portfolio of writing and marketing communications skills, I also do press release writing for a few wineries and a few suppliers to the wine industry for pay. This blogpost originated as a press release for this client.
Disclosure: As part of my portfolio of writing and marketing communications skills, I also do press release writing for a few wineries and a few suppliers to the wine industry for pay. This blogpost originated as a press release for this client.
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