At the Giro d’Italia, the toast is sustainable, with Astoria Prosecco and Nomacorc Pops cap

We have told often that the Giro d’Italia has always, more or less explicitly, been linked to wine and the many territories it passes through, and we will continue to do so. But in the world’s best-loved bicycle race, and as in any other self-respecting race, the highlight is the podium, where you uncork and toast to victory. Podium, which, speaking of wine, at the Pink Race, for years, has been synonymous with Astoria Wines, one of the top Prosecco brands and longtime official toast of the Giro, which, this year, from the podium, will also launch a “green” message, introducing Nomacorc Pops caps, the sustainable closures made from plant-derived plastic derived from sugar cane and with zero carbon footprint, produced by world leader Vinventions, already popular among still wines, and now, therefore, coming to sparkling wines as well.

“The main feature of this cork, born after 5 years of research and testing, is to guarantee the same mechanical properties of a normal cork and the optimal preservation of the carbonic gas dissolved in the bottle, but with complete sensory neutrality and without the risk of Tca (or TriChloroAnisole, the molecule that causes the typical “corky taste” and is usually due to fungi present in the cork). But it is also a further step on the road to sustainable development for the wine world”, explains Antonino La Placa, Vinventions sales director for Italy and Southeast Europe, who adds, “Pops offers the competitive advantage of being the only closure for sparkling wines with a net carbon-neutral footprint and being designed to be recyclable”.

An innovative project that needed an important sparkling wine brand to be put to the test, and it found in Astoria the ideal partner, as Astoria CEO Filippo Polegato recounts: “always attentive to innovation, continuous improvement and a 360° concept of sustainability (which is social, environmental and cultural), we enthusiastically kicked off this collaboration with a benchmark company like Vinventions. After months of testing, we decided to make our debut on a particularly prestigious occasion, the Giro d’Italia cycling race: the bottle of the Giro’s official sparkling wine, uncorked every day on the podium, will have a Nomacorc Pops cap made of plant-derived plastic with zero carbon footprint”. In fact, Astoria has chosen as the first sparkling wine to be bottled with this new stopper the official bottle of the Giro d’Italia (which, for the thirteenth year in a row, speaks Treviso) scheduled from May 4 to 26 on the roads of the Peninsula (departure from Venaria Reale, in Turin, and arrival in Rome, ed.).

“A choice that is also in line with Rrs’ commitment to sustainability, both in the traditional Giro and the Giro-E with electric bike. A path we are taking together”, Polegato concludes. “This partnership marks”, La Placa continues, “a significant step toward sustainability in the wine sector, and we are extremely proud to be the first in Italy involved in this pioneering project. Astoria Wines’ decision to adopt Nomacorc Pops caps is a recognition of the value and innovation we bring to the market. We are confident that this will help redefine sustainability standards in the industry while offering a high-quality solution for sparkling wine storage”.