Industry Veteran Raul Marques Joins ACI CORK USA



Sales Executive brings more than
30 years of experience to
ACI Cork USA

Raul Marques is the latest addition to the sales team at ACI CORK USA. Mr. Marques, a native of Portugal’s cork-growing region, has logged more than three decades in the cork business, occupying a progression of sales and management positions and working with winery customers around the globe.

Headquartered in Fairfield, California, ACI CORK USA provides cork and non-cork closures to producers of wine, distilled spirits, vinegars and oils in the US, Canada, and Mexico.

“Raul’s comprehensive knowledge of the industry is a great asset to our company,” comments Armando Andrade, General Manager of ACI CORK USA. “In addition, he shares our commitment to maintaining a premier position in customer service to the wine industry as our market share continues to grow.”

Since beginning his career on the production floor of a cork manufacturer near his home town, Mr. Marques has had a first-hand view of advances in all facets of the business, from forest management to the adoption of sophisticated processing technologies to the location of finishing plants near winemakers to foster frequent and convenient communication.

 

“Corks nowadays are much more reliable, thanks in large part to the continuous process improvement and rigid quality control practices such as those in place at ACI CORK USA,” he notes. “Today’s wineries enjoy a wide variety of closure options to protect their products and support brand identification initiatives. As a supplier it’s a definite advantage to offer a gamut of cork types, capsules and screw caps, along with the flexibility to meet their unique delivery requirements.

 

“I’m very pleased to serve our customers throughout California in this new capacity,” Mr. Marques concludes.

 

ACI CORK USA, celebrating its 10^th anniversary in the United States, is located at 2870 Cordelia Road, Suite 150, Fairfield CA 94534. Telephone: (707) 426-3566.

 

ACI CORK USA provides cork and non-cork closures to producers of wine, distilled spirits, vinegars and oils in the North American market. Corks are sourced from Portuguese companies that use world class technology to produce all-natural cork wine stoppers; other cork-based products sold by ACI CORK USA are the new innovative Nanocork™, several types of "technical" corks produced via agglomeration processes, closures for sparkling wines, and Bartop™ closures. Screwcaps and capsules, included in the ACI CORK USA product line, provide one-stop shopping for any wine closure need. After custom finishing each product to exacting customer specifications in the modern 30,000 sq ft Fairfield CA plant, ACI CORK USA provides closures to more than 600 winemakers in the USA, Canada and Mexico.

2014 Vintage Report from Nevada County, California: Sierra Starr Vineyards

Anne Starr pours Sierra Starr's
wines in their Grass Valley
downtown tasting room

Jackson Starr of Sierra Starr Vineyards, Vineyard Manager and Assistant Winemaker, sends along this very informative 2014 Vintage Report. Sierra Starr Vineyards is located in Grass Valley, CA, and is part of the growing number of quality vineyards in Nevada County, CA. You can learn more about them on their website (click here)

SPRING

2014 was an exciting and extremely busy vintage here at Sierra Starr Vineyards. The vintage began nicely with warm and dry conditions in month of April. Although we certainly would have liked to see more rain during the rainy season, here in Grass Valley we did see 36+ inches of rain. The cool, wet weather retreated to a warm dry spring and we saw bud break 7 days earlier than normal (what ever normal is anymore) on April 14th with the Sauvignon Blanc being the first variety to push. Diligent canopy management began quickly after bud break to focus energy and promote growth. Soil nutrient tests were conducted on different vineyard blocks, pre bud break, to asses current soil nutrient attributes and deficiencies. From these findings a very specific fertigation and irrigation program was designed and implemented to maximizing vine performance while still adhering to our gentle farming practices. We escaped late spring without any frost incidents (knock, knock), and bloom began first in the Sauvingon Blanc on May 22, again keeping this season’s growing trends about 1 week ahead of average. The Zinfandel followed on May 25th and the Cabernet Franc the week of June 1st.

SUMMER

With verasion beginning the second week of July we knew harvest would certainly be commencing quicker than anticipated. And we were not disappointed.

HARVEST/FALL

Harvest began August 19th with the first of two Sauvignon Blanc picks. Our First Zinfandel pick of the vintage fell on September 9th, which is 2 days ahead of last year and about 3 weeks ahead of the old normal. On September 24th with rain looming, the Starr family, Phil, Jack, and Anne picked 3 ton of Petite Sirah (by themselves) in a 13 hour marathon, but hey, we got it in before the rain! The Cabernet Franc, our last variety to harvest, was picked on October 3rd to immediate accolades by both Phil and Jack due to the intense development of color and flavor.

SUMMARY

The 2014 vintage yielded wines with intensity and freshness. These aspects are emphasized by the balance of sugars and firm acidity achieved in the winery. We feel this is truly a symptom of our very intense farming and our vineyard site, blessed with dry days, lots of warm sun, and cool nights.

NEW VINEYARD

It is also worth noting that our estate vineyards expanded during the 2014 vintage. With the addition of 900+ new vines (about half of our new hillside), we certainly feel the expression of our vineyard site is worth exploring and expanding. In doing so we took on two new varieties including Semillon and Riesling. Also expanding our holdings with varieties that have showed promise for us, Cabernet Franc, Petite Sirah and Alicante Bouchet. 

We at Sierra Starr are extremely excited and proud of the wines produced from the 2014 vintage and wait anxiously for their development in cask and tank before bottling down the road. 


Cheers!




The Starr Family