[LUM#1] Innovation in the cork
Innovation in the world of wine! Cork manufacturers are introducing small innovations to continually improve the quality of the nectar of the gods… It’s a beverage with a history stretching back thousands of years, and yet it’s constantly reinventing itself.
“Wine has a very traditional image, but it’s an industry where there’s a lot of innovation,” explains the director of the Montpellier Center for Oenology Training and Research. Even the humble cork is at the forefront of innovation. Cédric Saucier brought together the industry’s leading experts at the University of Montpellier to showcase the latest innovations.
Summit Meeting on Traffic Jams
The undisputed star of bottle stoppers is cork.“It’s airtight, elastic, a natural and renewable material, and can last up to 70 years , ” explains Cédric Saucier. It has adorned the bottles of the finest wines since its invention 150 years ago“by tradition but also by necessity; it is a material that has proven itself for wines meant for aging.” Cork allows the wine to “breathe,” letting through the tiny amount of oxygen needed to prevent defects from developing in the wine.
The only problem with cork: it can give the wine the infamous “corked” taste.“3 to 7% of corks are to blame, which represents a large number of bottles,” explains Cédric Saucier. Responsible for this unpleasant phenomenon: trichloroanisole, or TCA for short, a molecule produced by fungi nestled within the cork.
While this defect does not deter French consumers—three-quarters of bottles sold in France have cork stoppers—it is a major deal-breaker in many countries that have opted for other materials: plastic, glass, or metal.“The metal screw cap adorns one in four bottles worldwide and has captured 80% of the Australian market: zero risk of contamination, no need for a corkscrew, and a resealable bottle ,” explains the specialist.
Sniffing out the corks
Is the cork stopper at risk of being replaced by metal, a victim of its own “cork taint”? Cédric Saucier thinks that’s unlikely.“Especially since this defect may soon be a thing of the past: industry professionals are currently testing a prototype that would detect contaminated corks by ‘sniffing’ them one by one— a revolution in the making! ” says the specialist, who expects this technology to hit the market within the next 1 to 2 years.“If we eliminate the risk of cork taint, cork has no flaws left!”
No flaws… but you still need to have a corkscrew on hand to enjoy the beverage.“Not necessarily! Here too, cork makers are innovating; one of them has developed a cork stopper that can be unscrewed and screwed back on by hand.” A small piece of cork that bridges tradition and innovation.
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