From a local biz journal:
The Cork Supply Group Introduces VINC, a New Line of Micro-Agglomerated Corks
Posted on January 23, 2017
São Paio de Oleiros, Portugal—The Cork Supply Group (CSG) is pleased to introduce VINC, a new line of TCA taint free* micro-agglomerated corks that offers a range of very low oxygen transfer rates.
With an increasing number of the world’s wines now closed by technical corks, Cork Supply Group is proud to help raise quality standards in this important market. While standard practice in the industry is to evaluate TCA levels by bulk soaks, CSG has pushed the standard further in the interest of delivering superior technical corks. Every VINC cork is evaluated for TCA not by lot, but on an individual basis, cork by cork.
VINC is the first new product line to be launched from the company’s dedicated technical cork facility, Cork Supply Portugal 4 (CSP4). The new facility is an integral part of the company’s commitment to high quality standards and environmental stewardship and is managed by a seasoned team of experts with a combined 40 years of experience in the production of technical corks. Executive Director, Antonio Bastos and Production Supervisor, Manuel Antonio Ferreira, now operate one of the world’s most advanced technical cork factories. The new line strengthens Cork Supply’s vision to produce technical cork closures that add value to the marketplace.
“The VINC product line is the result of the work of our focused research and development team,” says Jochen Michalski, CSG’s founder. “We opened CSP4 last year to be able to offer taint free, best-in-class micro-agglomerated corks produced from 100% of our own high quality raw cork materials. As Cork Supply integrates rigorous quality controls during harvesting and production of our natural corks, all remaining cork materials from that production are of very high quality.”
The TCA taint free VINC line of technical corks is a result of the new, improved VAPEX process from the Cork Supply research and development team. VAPEX is a batch cleaning process that reduces TCA on cork granules through effective mass and heat transfer.
The VINC family currently includes three different technical corks, with additional products still in development:
VINC with granules sized 0.5 to 2 mm and an oxygen transfer rate of 0.002 cc/day
VINC + with granules sized 0.5 to 1 mm and an oxygen transfer rate of 0.0017 cc/day
VINC Cuvée for sparkling wines with granules from 0.5 to 2 mm
*releasable TCA less than or equal to 0.5 ng/L
Note: Cork Supply USA will be at UNIFIED January 24-26 at the Sacramento Convention Center, Booth #1110. Samples of the new VINC micro-agglomerated cork will be available.
About Cork Supply
Since its founding in 1981 by Jochen Michalski, the Cork Supply Group has been redefining quality through innovation, superior service, and expertise. The company is an ISO-certified producer of premium closure products for the global wine industry, including natural corks, CS and Cuvée technical corks and Talis bartops. In addition, the Group offers labels from the award-winning Studio Labels, as well as traditional handcrafted, custom-finished French and American oak barrels and Creative Oak alternatives from their state-of-the-art cooperage, Tonnellerie Ô. The Group serves as distributor for products from Nomacorc, Guala Closures, Sparflex, Rivercap and Herti, and operates their own production facilities in all corners of the globe, including Europe, Australia, South Africa, Argentina, China, and the United States, providing services to wineries in more than thirty countries. See more at: http://www.corksupply.com.