http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/Ma...7,2048,00.html

This is worth reading just to see Gallo's reaction to their TCA problem
Bill

There is new cure for TCA.
Here is the Ahlstroms press release about the subject.

It's kinda funny that the cure is descovered by finnish company, because we
dont have asingle vineyard here...

_____

Printed: Feb 20, 2004

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Dec 2, 2003


Ahlstrom's innovative filtration media eliminates cork taste in wine


Ahlstrom Corporation, a leader in high performance fiber-based
materials, has developed a filtration media that effectively prevents the
cork taste in wines developing during the pre-bottling phase. Ahlstrom,
together with its French partner, was awarded a silver medal for its
filtration media in an innovation contest held by the wine industry. The
award gala was held in Montpellier, France at the end of November 2003.

Corked wine - which results in a bitter, musty smell and taste
in wine - can occur in two ways: low-quality natural corks or air pollution
in the wine cellar. To solve the problem of corked wine related to polluted
air in a wine cellar Ahlstrom has developed a unique air conditioning
solution with its French partner CIAT, one of the biggest air conditioning
equipment manufacturers in Europe.

The air in wine cellars is sometimes polluted by chloroanisols
and chlorophenols. In addition, they may have a musty smell. Previously,
elimination of these compounds in the air has been a demanding task to
perform. The use of synthetic corks in bottling, replacing wood with tiles
as a cellar construction medium, regular painting, and even the total
demolition and re-building of the cellar have been earlier solutions.

With Vineo air conditioner, the elimination of chloroanisols and
chlorophenol is easy and efficient. In addition, the wine producer can
retain all traditional materials both in cellar construction and corks used.
Vineo also removes the musty smell from the air. At the heart of the air
conditioning system is a filtration media developed and patented by
Ahlstrom. It consists of a composite nonwoven that contains activated carbon
and which is coated with titanium dioxide. The composite nonwoven is
manufactured in Finland, in the Tampere plant of the FiberComposites
division. Along with the filtration media, Vineo air conditioners also
includes an UV light and an air ventilating system.

Promising market outlook

The Vineo innovation has been tested in 2001 and 2002 in
cooperation with two independent research institutes (École centrale de Lyon
and Inter Rhône Laboratory). Along with the laboratory research, tests were
also conducted with two French wine producers. In 2001, the customers of the
producer A complained about 12 000 bottles because of their corked taste.
This amount covered approximately 10 per cent of the whole production volume
of that cellar.

The Senior Vice President for Innovations, Christer Pihl from
Ahlstrom Corporation commented on the results:

"Producer A began to use our system in July, 2001. The results
were excellent. In 2002, the producer received no complaints at all for
reasons of cork taste. Findings are very promising regarding the other pilot
producer as well."


The innovation has a significant economical impact. According to
the Association of French Wine Producers, it is estimated that, annually,
500 million bottles (ten per cent of all wines produced in France) are
spoiled because of polluted air in wine cellars. Annual worldwide production
of wine amounts to 25 billion bottles.

The product development began in 2001. The major part of actual
test work was finished during 2002 and finalized products will enter the
market before the end of this year. Vineo air conditioner is targeted for
all wine producers throughout the world.

Silver medal in the international innovation contest

The biennial SITEVI in Montpellier, France is an international
exhibition for wine industry professionals. In association with SITEVI there
is an innovation contest, and the winners receive their awards in a ceremony
held at the exhibition. The basis for the selection is to reward innovations
that truly develop the business and fulfill the requirements of modern
consumers.

In 2003, the jury selected, from among hundreds of candidates,
26 nominees from different areas of the wine industry. The joint venture of
Ahlstrom and CIAT, Vineo air conditioner, received the silver medal. Four
companies won gold medals, eight were awarded silver medals and the rest
received citations.

Christer Pihl considers the silver medal award as a great
achievement and says:

"According to the Chairman of the jury, even the basis of our
innovation is genuinely new. It's quite common that companies try to
eliminate the corked taste of wine by concentrating only on the features of
the cork itself. We moved instead a few steps backwards in the production
chain and focused on the cleaning of the cellar air."

Contacts:

Christer Pihl, Senior Vice President, Innovations, Ahlstrom
Corporation, tel. +358 10 888 4265,
Pierrick Girard, Business Development Manager, Technical
Nonwovens, FiberComposites division, Ahlstrom Corporation, tel. +33 4 7645
3020, email:


See also
www.ciat.fr


Ahlstrom in brief
Ahlstrom is a leader in high performance fiber-based materials
serving niche markets worldwide. Our fiber solutions are used in a large
variety of everyday products for the environment, health care, transport,
packaging and home & office. The company, whose heritage spans more than 150
years, is headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, employs approximately 6600
people and serves customers with sales networks and production facilities in
more than 20 countries on five continents. Today, annual net sales of
Ahlstrom's fiber solutions business are more than EUR 1.8 billion. The
company website is www.ahlstrom.com.


Legal Notice © Ahlstrom Corporation

"Bill" > kirjoitti viestissä
...
>
>
http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/Ma...7,2048,00.html
>
> This is worth reading just to see Gallo's reaction to their TCA problem
> Bill
>

"Jukka" > wrote:

> There is new cure for TCA.
> [...]

No there is not.

This relates *only* to wine that was TCA infected prior to
bottling, an issue that - although it may be bitter to the
affected winery - is abvsolutely a non-issue compared to the 10
percent TCA taint rate that comes from corks.

M.

Interesting read, Bill. I find Gallo's attitude very disturbing.
While it's true that most US consumers cannnot reliably identify cork
taint, is it any better for them to think that you're making musty, dull
wine? In the end, it's an issue of quality control -- and Gallo's
attitude smacks of the arrogance and condescension that I've come to
expect from that organization.

Just my corked $0.02,
Mark Lipton