Fruit growing
and viticulture of South Russia

Annotation

To date, the domestic market of cork means is very diverse and capacious. However, not every cork is suitable for corking the wine products. The quality of this cork up is subject to a number of requirements in terms of appearance, physical and chemical characteristics, mechanical properties and safety indicators, because of direct contact with food products occurs. The main cork means in winemaking are cork from natural wood, synthetic corks from various materials (glass, metal, plastic, etc.), as well as a new generation of �hybrid� corks obtained from a mix of natural and synthetic components of raw materials. Recent studies on cork means Indicate a constant aggravation in the quality of cork plugs entering in the Russian market and as a result, there is a systematic filling of this niche by the plugs made of synthetic materials. The paper describes the various types of cork means used for cork up the wines, their positive and negative sides are indicated. The data on the study of the main qualitative characteristics are presented. It has been established that the use of natural corks often leads to a violation of the organoleptic and microbiological indicators of wines due to the transfer of foreign particles and microorganisms located both on the surface and inside the natural corks. Cork up by synthetic corks does not allow a long aging of wines and lead often to the formation of synthetic tones unusual for wine production in taste and aroma. New types of corks are proposed, made from combined raw materials using the unique technologies, the manufacturers of these corks guarantee their stable quality.