(TDB) - Natural cork producers are ramping up their efforts to stay ahead of alternative closure suppliers with the development of new technology that promises to eliminate TCA cork taint.

While the percentage of natural cork closures affected by TCA has declined dramatically in the past decade, it continues to impact a very small percentage of global cork production. Presently, most natural cork suppliers carry out sensory testing on corks which involves a human nose testing individual corks for traces of TCA. This is not only time consuming and expensive, but invites the possibility for human error.

Now, cork producers are taking the next steps to becoming entirely TCA-free, using technology that claims to offer a 100% success rate in detecting and eradicating TCA. Both MaSilva Portugal and Cork Supply have invested in machines that check each individual cork for traces of TCA using cutting edge gas spectroscopy technology.

Moving toward a TCA-free future

MASILVA Portugal launched its One by One service for ultra-premium wines in January, offering suppliers the assurance of 100% TCA-free corks.
Each cork is individually tested for TCA to “un-detectable” levels of 0.5ng/l, eliminating bad corks from the supply chain using gas spectroscopy. The technology was launched earlier this year after three years of research.

Speaking to the drinks business at the London Wine Fair yesterday, Miguel Cardozo, MASILVA’s global business director, described the technology as “revolutionary”, and vital in its efforts to level the playing field with alternative closures that have entered the market in the past decade.

“For many years we had a lot of competitors saying ‘we don’t have TCA like the cork guys’,” said Cardozo. “This is the first step to correcting this marketing by our competitors, which was a reality. Now we test every single cork with this solution. There are other suppliers that individually test for TCA, but this is based on people doing sensory tests. With this technology have eliminated the human error”.

Cork Supply has also upped its technological capabilities and will launch its DS100+ “dry soak” detection system for TCA in natural cork in July after three years of research. With this system, Cork Supply says it is able to guarantee 100% TCA-free corks.

“DS100+ is the result of our sustained efforts to offer our customers the very best in quality assurance,” said Cork Supply founder Jochen Michalski. “This new process will eliminate the risk of TCA in natural cork at levels as low as 1 part per trillion, a level far below sensory threshold – all at higher production volume and lower cost, providing customers with the finest quality cork at an unprecedented value.”

DS100+ will be fully operational by July 2016 and will initially be aimed at high-end wines. Cork Supply expects to examine more than 20 million corks in its first year and plans to eventually offer the service at all wine quality levels, as production costs are reduced, tripling its capacity to 60 million corks tested by 2017.