Guala Closures Group operates in five continents and markets its products in over 100 countries with over 15 billion closures sold each year. The group is recognised as a global benchmark in the production of alcohol safety closures and is a leading manufacturer of aluminium closures for spirits, wines and beverages.
Thanks to the collaboration between Italy’s Guala Closures and the Luxembourg-based software company Compellio, users can now create their virtual cellar based on an online platform that provides them with information on the areas of wine growing, the vineyards, the vine, the tasting notes and expert reviews.
In addition, block chain technology guarantees the unique identification of the bottles, allowing the consumer the opportunity to verify the certification of authenticity of the product.
The historic winemaker, Vigneti Massa vineyard, located in the Tortonesi Hills in Piedmont, recently announced the launch of the first bottles in Europe with connected closures equipped with N?stgate NFC (near field communication) technology.
Walter Massa, joint-owner of the fifth-generation family-run vineyard and well-known as a pioneer of Timorasso, chose to apply Guala’s connected wine closure to wines from the 2018 vintage. The renowned Derthona, of the 2010 vintage, is also available on the market with screw caps.
Protecting data
For the first time, three of its most prestigious cru – Derthona Costa del Vento, Derthona Montecitorio and Derthona Sterpi – have also been fitted with the closures.
In this way, Vigneti Massa is able to offer rich online interaction with its customers. It also allows the vineyard to protect sensitive data and monitor data in real-time, providing effective support for the traceability of bottles along the supply chain.
“This is a revolution in the European wine industry, which we have already applied to other markets in the USA, such as the spirits one,” states Piero Cavigliasso, Guala Closures’ Group Innovation Technology Director.
The oenologist Walter Massa is the first wine producer in Europe to adopt wine screw caps equipped with integrated NFC system, the second in the world after the Californian Böen, part of Copper Cane Wines & Provisions.
“Nowadays, growing vines is as great a privilege as drinking the wine. I’d like that the attention and the respect that I apply to managing the vineyard with the least possible environmental impact and the care taken in the cellar during the winemaking, ageing and bottling processes, are enhanced in the glass, without natural or manufacturing pollution,” says Massa.
“The bouquet should not be polluted by abnormal odours and the wholesomeness of the wine must not undergo any alteration. The aluminium closure, completely neutral, guarantees perfect protection and conservation over time,” he adds.
Cap on counterfeits
One phenomenon that is not talked about much is the counterfeiting of great wines. The NFC system guarantees the fight against counterfeiting and the “black market” for these pearls of nature, assuring their authenticity and traceability.
The bottles with NFC caps have already been presented to the commercial representatives in Italy, Switzerland, Austria, France, Great Britain, Scandinavia, the US, Russia, Japan, Korea and Singapore, and are being sold since April 2020.
Guala Closures Group has always employed cutting-edge technologies and N?stgate, its range of connected closures for wine, spirits and olive oil, creates a direct relationship between producers and their customers.
The connected closure for wine, e-WAK, part of the range of connected closures, raises the bar in terms of what a wine closure can potentially provide, placing itself as an excellent alternative for companies that use traditional caps.
By virtue of the advantages that it offers consumers and the excellent marketing opportunities it gives to wine producers, in 2019, e-WAK received three prestigious national and international awards: the Alufoil Trophy, the SIMEI Innovation Challenge and the WorldStar Award.
Find out more on www.gualaclosures.com or www.nestgate-gualaclosures.com.
2020 design award
Guala Closures has been awarded the Alufoil Trophy 2020 for its Savin Prestige range of screw caps, in the marketing and design category. The design improves the penetration of screw caps into the higher wine and spirits segments, moving the acceptability beyond enhanced printing.
Guala’s new concept makes it possible to embellish an aluminium-shell cap with an insert made of a different material, such as wood (several varieties and colours), fabric (satin, Alcantara, lamé, etc.) or resins with natural effects (marble, stone, mother of pearl, etc.)
Guala Closures’ innovation and design have been rewarded by Alufoil Trophies several times over, with the first product in the Savin range winning a Trophy as early as in 2014.
