FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NBS System from ACI CORK: Rapid Rework Turn-around Time

Leads to Reduced Microbial Count, Significantly Less TCA

Fairfield, CA, USA -- Eliminating the TCA problem in natural cork wine stoppers is one of the highest priorities for cork manufacturer Alvaro Coelho & Irmaos SA, parent company of ACI CORK USA. In their plant in Ponte do Sur, Portugal, ACI has continuously developed its NBS system to address this problem. In the newest development, ACI’s NBS (New Boiling System) uses autoclave technology to bring cork product to a high boiling point of 100 degrees centigrade quickly, and ACI is now able to further reduce microbes that cause TCA formation by reworking product after only a two-day rest instead of the traditional two week rest after its first boiling. TCA (2,4,6-trichloroanisol) causes off-odors in bottled wine.

The NBS innovative boiling process is completely automatic and features continuous extraction of the volatile TCA compounds. Due to the high temperature attained by sealed autoclave boiling, the process water has an enhanced ability as a solvent, making TCA removal more efficient in comparison to the traditional open-container boiling processes used by many cork wine stopper manufacturers.

Further re-working of already boiled cork product can occur as soon as two days. This rapid turn-around time gets product to market quickly, without compromising quality. ACI invests heavily in world class technology and automated QC systems at its billion-cork-a-year manufacturing plant in Portugal. Finished cork product is shipped by ACI from Portugal to ACI CORK USA’s finishing plant in Fairfield, California in sealed food grade containers. ACI is a founding member of the Portuguese Cork Producers Institute and a recipient of the Certified Company Trophy for compliance with the ISO 9002 Quality Assurance System.

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ABOUT OUR COMPANY:

ACI CORK USA, headquartered in Fairfield, California USA, is one of 19 subsidiaries of Portuguese-headquartered Alvaro Coelho & Irmaos, SA. ACI, the world’s largest producer of natural cork wine stoppers, was founded in 1996 by three brothers with over 80 years experience in the cork industry. The company uses world class technology to produce over a billion corks annually, including its market-leading all-natural cork wine stopper, as well as several types of “technical” corks produced via an agglomeration process: One-plus-One, Sparkling Wine corks, and Aglica (produced by agglomeration of microgranular cork components). ACI also produces “bar top” corks used for fortified wines such as Port, distilled spirits, vinegars and oils. After custom finishing each cork to exacting customer specifications in the modern 30,000 sq ft Fairfield CA plant, ACI CORK USA provides corks to more than 300 US and Canadian winemakers.