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PRESS
RELEASE
January 22, 2007
After four years of research, G3 Enterprises and FILTROX are
proud to unveil TRIEX, an effective new way to remove TCA taint
from wine and other beverages.
TRIEX is a patent-pending compound which removes TCA without
damaging a wine's aroma or flavor. It will be introduced to
the industry at the annual Unified Wine & Grape Symposium in
Sacramento on January 23.
"We've treated more than a million gallons of wine and it removes
TCA to non-detectible levels," said Charles Pierce, General
Manager of G3's Closure Division.
TCA (trichloroanisole) is a serious problem for the wine industry
which is estimated to cost winemakers more than $200 million
annually. TCA can be found in corks, oak barrels, storage tanks
and other wine-making equipment. It has a moldy odor that people
can detect in wine at levels as low as 5 parts per trillion.
Surprisingly, even at levels from one to two parts per trillion,
it can affect a wine's taste and bouquet.
Earlier methods have been developed to try to treat TCA-tainted
wine, but they have proven to be less than ideal. Polyethylene
treatment methods are costly, time-consuming and diminish or
"scalp" the complex aromas that give a wine its rich bouquet
and flavor. Methods employing the addition of milk-products
are sometimes used, but they also reduce the aromas and flavors
of wine and might result in the wine containing residual allergens.
The traditional method of using mustard-seeds as a deodorizer
to mask TCA is also associated with severe taste and aroma distortion
effects.
"TRIEX is more effective than those methods and doesn't change
the flavor of the wine," Pierce said. "It's also a lot easier
to use and less expensive."
G3 Enterprises has partnered with Swiss company FILTROX to produce
wine filters containing TRIEX. Running TCA-tainted wine through
the filter sheets into a clean tank will remove the offending
chemical to one simple step. "We have worked intensively with
the researchers from G-3 to incorporate the TRIEX compound into
the proven FIBRAFIX filter sheet technology, creating an effective
and easy-to-use method of removing TCA from wine and other beverages",
said Dr. Juergen Ebert, Research & Development Manager of the
FILTROX Filter Media department.
John Cunningham, the Research & Development Manager at G3's
Closure Division, discovered TRIEX while experimenting with
ways to deal with TCA contaminated corks.
TRIEX is an inorganic compound that has already received regulatory
approval for treating wine and has been specifically engineered
to remove TCA molecules. TRIEX is also extremely effective in
removing tribromoanisole (TBA) taint. TBA is a chemical contaminant
similar to TCA and has a similar impact to wine. "We have treated
several thousand gallons of wine that were unusable as a result
of being contaminated with TBA. This wine is now being bottled,"
Pierce said.
TRIEX-containing Filter Sheets are currently available for
purchase through FILTROX.
G3 Enterprises, an industry leader in the food and beverage
field, was formed in 2003 when four companies with decades of
individual experience combined to form a single-solution provider
for the beverage industry. G3 produces high-quality labels,
closures and bottle decorating for the beverage industry. It
offers an array of scientific and technical services to producers,
and has a full-service logistics division performing warehousing
and transportation services.
FILTROX, one of the world's leading companies for the filtration
of beverages, was founded in 1938. The company is part of the
FILTROX-Group headquartered in St. Gallen, Switzerland with
sales offices and manufacturing facilities in Switzerland, the
U.K., Spain, Czech Republic, the U.S., France and Germany. FILTROX
manufactures stainless steel filtration equipment as well as
filter media such as filter sheets, filter modules, filter cartridges,
and filter aids.
For more information, contact -Heyes Filters Inc. at 310-212-7777
see TRIEX
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