Origine by Diam launched across Europe

By Caroline Gilby MW, Lisa Riley

Published: 20 March, 2017

Closure company Diam Bouchage has unveiled a new more sustainable version of the Diam closure range in Europe.

Produced using natural raw materials derived from beeswax and castor oil, the new Origine by Diam joins the xisting premium Diam 10 and Diam 30, but offered a higher oxygen permeability, while providing the same structural performance guarantee, said the company.

The range extension had been designed for producers looking for the option of a higher OTR and those demanding "more natural" products, said commercial & marketing director Bruno de Saizieu, adding the new closure would be around 30% to 40% more expensive than the standard Diam range due to the higher cost of raw material.

"Ultimately our goal will be to use the Origine technology in our standard corks, especially sparkling closure Mytik and our top selling Diam 5, once we have some economies of scale," said De Saizieu.

Diam closures are all produced from natural cork bark, ground up to extract the suberin component. Any TCA taint is removed via the patented Diamant process using supercritical CO2 at 100 bars pressure. The cleaned cork granules are then moulded together with a binding agent and microspheres to ensure impermeability and consistent elasticity.

In the new Origine range the binding agent is produced from food-grade castor oil, with the microspheres produced from beeswax.

"Beeswax is the best option as it has proved to be flexible and stable, with no risk of oxidation or cracking, and as the melting point is above 70 degrees Celsius, it will not break down in normal wine storage," said R&D director Christophe Loisel.

In recognition of the role of bees in producing this wax, Diam Bouchage said it was providing financial support to a project (Un Toit Pour Les Abeilles) across France to protect the habitat of bees, in addition to sponsoring beehives in every wine region but Champagne.

Diam claimed global closure market share of 10%, across 10,000 clients in 45 countries. It estimated sales were increasing by over 100 million closures per year.

De Saizieu pointed to the "importance of premium wine clients" such as in Grand Cru Burgundy where an estimated 35% of producers used Diam, he said.

He anticipated natural cork in particular would lose share to Origine by Diam because even with its price premium, it was still "competitive against top quality natural closures".

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