Supply & Natural Resource
All cork lots shipped to our customers meet the quality control standards set by the Quality Control Department of Lafitte, which maintains constant supervision of each cork lot, defined by type and size of cork, quality and wash.
A Quality Control Report for every cork lot approved by Lafitte Portugal, including SPME analysis, is sent to Lafitte California where the report is reviewed and potential lots are approved for shipment.
Approved cork lots are bagged and sealed in carefully inspected cargo containers by Lafitte Portugal and transported to Lafitte California in Napa to undergo further testing prior to treating, branding, and final delivery to our customers.
Incoming
All incoming cork is strictly tested by Lafitte California’s quality assurance procedures and graded in accordance with Cork Quality Control (CQC) guidelines to ensure quality received complies with quality ordered.
Lafitte California subjects all incoming cork to visual and olfactory inspection, while individual lots are sampled and undergo chemical analysis.
During sampling procedures, an Incoming Quality Control Report records grade, moisture level, dimension, visual quality, residual oxidants, hygiene control, potential degradation, density, sensory effect on wine, and external TCA analysis.
Lots are stored for processing and final surface treatment by Lafitte California upon purchase order.
Processing
Bales of punched and washed cork are stored for processing in a clean, dry, well-ventilated warehouse arranged by size and grade.
Cork is branded by request with text or a logotype to allow you to personalize the product and ensure its traceability. Daily visual inspection ensures correct color and quality of branding.
Our innovative Moisture Room, combines the newest ozone technology for moisturizing and preventing microbiological contamination to ensure cork moisture remains at an optimal 5-6%, as recommended by the CQC, to ensure a proper seal when bottling.
Outgoing
Final surface treatment of the corks is determined by the type of wine and bottling equipment used by the customer. To determine the quality of the final treatment, samples are inspected for dust levels, sealing behaviour, force of extraction, and absorption.
All results are recorded in an Outgoing Quality Control Report prior to bagging and shipping to ensure quality standards match customer requirements.
Treated and tested corks are packaged to preserve cork in ideal condition by injecting the packed bags with SO2 prior to sealing.
Ongoing testing of air samples are extracted to ensure the bags contain the proper SO2 level for a wine sterile environment.
Routinely, cork samples are aseptically removed after packaging and sent to an outside laboratory for analysis to ensure no bacteria, yeast or mold contamination is present.
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