News

Nomacorc introduces equipment brand name

Nomacorc, a leading producer of alternative (synthetic) wine closures, has announced a new integrated brand name under which it will market its oxygen management equipment and consulting services to the wine industry – NomaSense.

NomaSense will be managed by Dr Olav Aagaard, Nomacorc's global director of oxygen management business, and will be based in Nomacorc's European headquarters in Thimister, Belgium. Technology support will be provided by Nomacorc's enology team based at Nomacorc's Center of Oxygen Management
Research in Avignon, France.

The NomaSense oxygen measurement system, which Nomacorc customised for the wine industry in collaboration with PreSens Precision Sensing, is highly accurate, portable, non-destructive, and allows for non-invasive analysis of both gaseous and dissolved oxygen in bottled wine. It provides rapid readings of total oxygen content in wine when measuring either high or trace amounts of oxygen and has applicability as a tool for controlling quality at every step in the winemaking process from crushing through post-bottling aging. All of Nomacorc's research partners and several leading wine producers and analytical laboratories have validated the accuracy and value of this system.

Nomacorc was recently awarded France's SITEVI 2009 Gold Medal for Innovation for introducing the oxo-luminescence technology for measuring oxygen in winemaking.

"This non-invasive process, which measures dissolved oxygen incredibly quickly at any stage in the wine-making process, struck us as incredibly effective," said Jean-Bernard Montalescot, member of the panel of judges and Technological Advisor for SITEVI. "It will be of great use to oenologists responsible for making wine both in terms of assessing their processes and in terms of monitoring the quality of their wine."

For post-bottling oxygen measurement, the process begins when sensor dots
attached to a wine bottle are activated by a blue light and transmitted through a fiber optic wand. The sensor dot responds by emitting a red light, which indicates the relative presence of dissolved oxygen in the wine. The analyzer translates the strength of the red light to a specific oxygen concentration level. Placing a sensor dot in the neck of the wine bottle allows the analyzer to measure gaseous oxygen in the bottle headspace. The same process applies when using dipping probes or sight glasses to measure oxygen during earlier phases of wine production.

"The industry's understanding of oxygen management and ability to control
oxygen during the complete winemaking process have been hampered by the lack of accurate, versatile tools that are suited to wine production," says Aagaard. "The NomaSense brand will allow us to more broadly offer state-of-the-art tools and services for precisely measuring oxygen, which will greatly improve the winemaker's ability to accurately measure oxygen and control its impact on wine quality."

The sensor dots and dipping probes are re-usable, have no cross sensitivity
to sulfur dioxide or carbon dioxide, and are designed to withstand stringent
winery cleaning procedures. New NomaSense equipment will be offered in 2010 with advanced capabilities to meet the unique needs of the wine industry.

"The [NomaSense] information is a lot more reliable than the old system that
we used because now we can measure the wine in enclosed spaces," Stephan
Grappe, oenologist and technical director for Wolfberger Winery located in
the Alsace region of France. "Plus, we can take measurements of samples, so
the data can be reproduced and monitored over time."

Nomacorc first partnered with PreSens Precision Sensing, a leader in oxo-luminescence technology used in the medical and beverage industries, in
January 2009 to market the PreSens Fibox 3 LCD analyzer to the wine industry.