Catalonian cork producer Parramon announces starting January 2017 100% of Parramon corks sold in the North American wine market will be guaranteed free of TCA
Girona, Catalonia and Napa Valley, California, January 2017 — “We are the first and only cork company to incorporate the TCA testing of every cork we produce as a standard procedure, not an added option for an added fee,” company owner Francesc Parramon.
“By working with key industry consultants, we have developed a unique electronic detection device that tests continuously as the corks are formed. The new device is validated by outside testing as accurate in production processing below 0.5 ng/L,” Parramon explains.
Only after testing do corks proceed in production. “Why waste time and money processing corks you will reject later?” asks Parramon.
Parramon is a vertically integrated cork producer and makes all its own corks. Its years of research and development had achieved excellent results in the corks they supply. The new additional testing will insure zero TCA corks will ship to customers.
“All our efforts together we call ‘Protocol Zero,’ Francesc Parramon adds.
Focusing on only premium natural corks, Parramon works at a slower, more meticulous pace than the larger industrial producers. This slower pace allows for continuous in line screening of all corks rather than batch by batch selection.
“Parramon maintains both artisanal and technological practices which insure that our clients will always receive consistent corks that are 100% TCA-free,” Parramon adds. “Our systems are fully automated, yet we operate as modern craftspeople,” he says.
Once cleared, corks proceed to production at the end of which all corks are packaged in hermetically sealed bags for air delivery around the world. Because of this there is no possibility of downstream environmental contamination that can occur in sea freight and domestic storage.
This new advancement reinforces Parramon’s position as the industry leader in technological sophistication. Parramon was the first to implement 100% laser printing and the first to use only LED “digital eye-laser probe” smart sorters to differentiate qualities.
Founded in 1956 in Girona, 62 miles northeast of Barcelona, Parramon sells to more than 800 customers in 13 countries.
