Abstract

Cork taint due to the presence of trichloroanisole and other volatile compounds is responsible for approximately 1000 MEURs annual losses to the wine and cork industry posing a serious survival problem to hundred of SMEs in the EU's less favoured regions, as well as a threat to the continuation of the cultivation of cork oak forests and their complex ecosystems. The problem of cork taint must be overcome to ensure the survival of this almost exclusively European based industry in order to economically compete with the growing threat of the synthetic cork stopper industry, an increasingly non-European based sector.

The workplan for the Step 2 Demonstration project to be assessed under the auspices of this exploratory award aims at the industrial scale implementation of an integrated approach for cork treatment composed of physico-chemical unit operation and their combination thereof to guarantee taint free cork stoppers. The possibility of the implementation of such unit operations will be explored and some preliminary investigations carried out to demonstrate the viability of the proposed unit operations.

Suitable partners for participation in the Step 2 Demonstration project will be identified and detailed project planning and writing of the Step 2.

Contacts

Coordinator

• Armando Jesus COELHO / Alvaro Coelho & Irmaos Lda. PORTUGAL

Participant

• Ioannis VOGIATZIS / VITI-Vinicultural Research Center - Ampelooeniki Ltd GREECE