CHOOSING THE CORK: THE LAST OENOLOGICAL ACT

Permeable cork stopper against impermeable screw cap : The eternal debate

Forerunners in the use of the screw cap, Australian and New Zealand winemakers have since been joined by a large number of European producers and even some major Bordeaux labels. According to the opinions of enlightened amateurs and professionals, each option has the qualities of its defects, for an optimization of the best conditions for ageing a wine. As a general rule, it doesn't matter whether the cork or screw cap is used if you plan to drink your bottle within a short period of time, around two years at the most. On the other hand, for ageing red wines and certain complex whites, there is an imperative option for the cork, a natural material whose cells allow a slow transfer of oxygen into the bottle. A process which, when mastered, proves to be of the utmost importance if we consider that a single milligram of oxygen can break or even cancel out the subtle effect of the sulphites added by the winemaker to protect his win from oxidation. The quality of screw caps is clearly improving and further studies will very soon make it possible to determine whether these caps are also suitable for ageing wine. In all likelihood, it could be that in the near future some prestigious wines will be able to use the screw caps without damaging their image and quality.

DIAM, WORLD LEADER IN TECHNOLOGICAL CORKS

With nearly 2.4 billion corks sold each year in 67 countries on 5 continents, Diam Bouchage, Oeneo's dynamic subsidiary, reigns unchallenged in the art of corking. Ultra efficient in its sector, the French company is the world leader in technical cork stoppers with a unique micro agglomerate model, available in three versions depending on the container.

Diam Bouchage, a real concept

Diam Bouchage designs, produces and markets technological cork stoppers for still wine, sparkling wine and spirits. More than a simple stopper, the cork stopper is the last oenological act of the winemaker. It must make it possible to preserve the good evolution of the bottled wine throughout its ageing while respecting the aromatic profile that is desired. This is why Diam Bouchage's teams work every day on the quality of its products in terms of mechanical performance, sensory neutrality and oxygen control.

On the innovation podium

Diam devotes part of its budget to research each year, which allows it to sign brilliant innovations. Its internal research centre works on about ten scientific studies in partnership with internationally nowned universities such as the University of Burgundy or the French Wine Institute for France, but in close collaboration with scientific teams from Spain, Germany, Australia and the USA. Always more eco-responsible, always more perfection, its main focus is on naturalness – bio-sourced with less than 1/100th of inputs as for the "Origine by Diam®" stopper –, and also on gas exchanges, especially oxygen, to improve the wine's ageing. The results are there. Since 2003, the company has invested in a revolutionary and patented process, called the Diamant® process, exploiting the properties of supercritical CO2 to extract volatile compounds from cork and eradicate the molecules likely to give wine a corked taste. In 2015, Diam will achieve a major new technological breakthrough with Origine by Diam®, a cork with an organic and renewable label, which reconciles science and nature, integrating a beeswax emulsion and a binder composed of 100% plant-based polyols. A closure that perfectly meets the new European regulations with a negative carbon balance.