USES OF METAL MESH: Containers for wine bottles

Within the wine industry, one of the main concerns is storage, due to the growth of the production sector and the increase in consumption.

A BIT OF HISTORY…

Within the metallurgical sector there are a whole series of companies specialized in covering all those needs presented by wineries dedicated to the production of both wine and cava.

These sectors underwent spectacular and sustained growth over time during the 90’s in Spain. All this occurred due to a growth of the economy and greater purchasing power of the people, advertising campaigns, and marketing actions. A wine culture was created, with activities such as wineries tours, wine tourism and there was an evolution in production with the result of an improvement in the quality of the final product and a greater variety.

For all these reasons, the wineries increased production, not only in young wines, but also in crianza and reserves.

Until the end of the 1980s, wooden containers were used for the aging process. But this type of container was outdated and had certain drawbacks:

• Often the wood, due to humidity, was affected by a mold that later ended up infecting the cork of the bottles.
• Reduced bottle storage capacity.
• Not many containers could be stacked.

THE SOLUTION? METALLIC MESHES!

This situation led producers to think of alternatives, thus arriving at the design of containers using metal mesh as raw material.

The capacity of these containers can range from 300 to 600 bottles, distributed on different levels. In this way, in addition to solving the problem of mold, the metal container, being structurally much stronger, allows more bottles to be stacked, also solving the problem of space, making much better use of the cubic meters of each cellar.

It is possible to stack up to 10 containers, thanks to its rigid structure.

These structures are also foldable, which is very useful in periods when they are not in use, allowing them to be stored without creating space problems.

Another of the virtues of the containers made with metal mesh is when performing the “turning” action, necessary for the correct aging of the stored wines: the mesh constricts the bottlenecks, providing security to the action.

These structures are also used for the storage of cava, in a much lower percentage than wine, due to the difference in production volumes.

Metal containers also allow, as the wine industry grows, that each winery has its own design. As with the labels, the packaging and the type of bottle, the containers can become differential marks of each producer.

This translates into the creation of various types of containers, tailored to your needs, for fairs and exhibitions, increasing the value of the final product.

AND NOWADAYS?

Currently, the industry that consumes the metal mesh for wine containers is WINERY EQUIPMENT, a sector that supplies many wineries. It is concentrated in the area of ​​La Rioja, Navarra and Catalonia, where wine consumption is higher.

The growth of this storage methodology has led the sector to innovate, experimenting with the aging of wine under the sea, which would be impossible using other materials.

The versatility of the meshes, as an essential and main complement, has made it possible to design custom-made metal containers, becoming a vital instrument in making the most of the space in the cellars, being able to cover a whole range of different bottle designs.

These meshes can have characteristics with a certain complexity, such as the use of different thicknesses of rods in the same panel, lateral folds, and above all, the accuracy of the distance between the rods and total lengths of the panels is very important.

At Metalmalla we have the ability to adapt our designs with great precision to each measure required by the client, which represents added value to our products.