Cork goes Broadway

Amorim Cork America has supplied 5000 corks for the world’s first wine tasting musical, the off-Broadway production ‘Wine Lovers – The Musical’.

“At first we thought the request was very strange,” said general manager Daryl Eklund. “When it was explained that the corks would be integral to the set design and part of the theme of wine and romance, how could we say no.”

‘Wine Lovers – The Musical’ is a unique interactive experience that allows audiences to taste six wines while learning about the joy of wine and love. The play revolves around two mismatched students and their journey of discovery at a wine class.

“Using natural cork as a background added greatly to the play,” said Julian Brizzi, the show’s general manager. “When you think of romance, history, and the ritual of wine, natural cork is one of the first things that comes to mind.”

Amorim supplied 5000 corks for the set of ‘Wine Lovers – The Musical’.

Certification for Italy

Amorim Cork Italy has been certified by the British Retail Consortium/Institute of Packaging (BRC/IOP), making it the first wine closure company in Italy to receive the demanding food packaging certification.

General manager Carlos Santos said the certification was important for customers who are exporting wines to countries where the BRC/IOP quality standard is requested — particularly the United Kingdom.

“The BRC/IOP audit process has encouraged us to review and improve our quality procedures and the performance of our staff in relation to sanitary, environmental and safety standards,” he said.

The BRC/IOP Standard is a guideline for manufacturers of food packaging. It addresses both hygiene management and quality control in line with HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) principles. Amorim Cork Italy received HACCP certification in 2004.

German retailer promotes cork

Leading German supermarket chain, Kaufland, has initiated an in-store ‘wine and cork promotion’ to communicate its positive environmental practices.

The promotion provided consumers with information on cork stoppers and gave them a chance to win a trip to the cork forests of Portugal.

“The purpose of the event was to provide our customers with an environmental perspective on natural cork wine closures and how the choices they make do indeed count,” said Pasquale Rizzo, sales director for Kaufland.

“We also want our customers to understand our commitment to the environmental movement and sustainable business practices.”

Kaufland has been collecting used natural wine corks for more than 15 years in support of a charity that helps members of the community with epilepsy. The recycled corks are processed into insulation material.

The Kaufland promotion was co-sponsored by the German Cork Association (DKV) and Portuguese Cork Association (APCOR).

Fairhills submits best photo

Fairhills, a popular wine brand in South Africa’s Origin Wine range, has won the International Amorim Photographic Competition.

The photographs were taken at the Fairhills craft project and crèche in Rawsonville where the company is involved in various community projects.

“This annual competition is open to our clients in all countries,” said Corticeira Amorim executive director Nuno Barroca.

“The level of community involvement demonstrated by Fairhills aptly illustrates the goodwill South African producers plough back into their industry."

As the prize, Amorim will build a playground at the craft project’s coffee shop.

“Being part of the Fairtrade initiative, we are committed to investment in the welfare of the communities where our wines are produced,” said Origin Wine CEO Bernard Fontannaz.

Another reason to smile — Fairhills won the Amorim photo competition.

Building market share in China.

Strong position in China

Amorim continues to build market share in China with its Beijing office actively promoting the benefits of Amorim’s global leadership in the cork industry.

In an industry landmark initiative, an advertisement in the Mandarin language featuring leading winemakers from seven major wine-producing countries will soon appear in Chinese publications.

Amorim Cork Beijing sales manager Ricardo Duarte says Amorim has been supplying corks to Chinese winemakers for more than 40 years.

“China is potentially a huge market for Amorim with wine production and consumption in the world’s most populated country increasing significantly each year,” he said.

International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) statistics show that in 2004 China was the world’s seventh largest producer of wine, while the nation’s annual vintage has a growth rate exceeding 10 per cent.

Academy prize awarded

Alexandre Pons, a 33-year-old student at the University of Bordeaux, has won the 2007 Amorim Academy Grand Prix for his work titled ‘Research on premature ageing of dry white wines’.

Pons identified a precursor of sotolon, a volatile flavour compound that is typical of oxidised white wines. His work also showed that closures that limit oxygen permeability prevent premature ageing of white wine.

Previous studies at the University of Bordeaux have suggested that natural cork closures are the most suitable for post bottling wine development due to their intermediate levels of oxygen ingress.