The LiOX by Diam closure has been awarded the Innovation Prize at the VITeff 2025 trade fair in the “Technological Innovation – Process, Products and Consumables” category. This award recognizes a high-precision enological solution designed to meet the contemporary challenges of ageing sparkling wines.
An innovation emerging from consultation with the Champagne industry
LiOX by Diam embodies a collaborative and scientific approach to innovation that has been developed following extensive consultation, not only with cellar masters and independent winegrowers, but also with the Champagne Committee on the enological requirements for closures. This dialogue with industry stakeholders has resulted in the design of a closure that meets the specific enological requirements of sparkling wines, while incorporating the latest advances in oxygen management.
“Oxygen control has become a key parameter in modern winemaking management in order to create consistent wines with a precise aromatic profile. The LiOX by Diam solution has been designed to meet these requirements, particularly in the case of sparkling wines, where excess oxygen can compromise the aromatic stability and freshness of wines."
Alain Schmitt, Regional Director for Eastern France and Champagne, Diam Bouchage
An unprecedented performance: 50% OIR reduction
Thanks to an optimized desorption process, the LiOX closure releases half as much oxygen during the critical Oxygen Initial Release (OIR) phase as conventional Mytik Diam stoppers. This upstream control limits the initial oxidative shock associated with the closure and counteracts the risk of premature oxidation, while maintaining the recognized mechanical performance of the range. LiOX by Diam is the ideal solution for anyone who wants to prioritize the aromatic freshness of their wines.
In a context of global warming and reduced inputs, controlling oxygen has become essential to guarantee the natural stability wines. This new closure solution is also perfectly suited to wines that are sensitive to oxidation: sparkling rosés, half bottles, and wines with low sulfite content.
What is closure permeability?
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Release of the oxygen contained in cork cells into the bottle.
OIR = Oxygen Initial Release -
Transfer of oxygen through the closure.
OTR = Oxygen Transfer Rate -
Interface – Oxygen passing between the closure and the glass. This phenomenon intensifies as the closure weakens.
OTI = Oxygen Transfer Interface
An enological tool of precision
Mytik Diam LiOX closures offer the same guarantees of security, consistency, and adaptability that have built Diam Bouchage's reputation. They enrich the range of enological tools offered by the closures manufacturer, providing winemakers with a new level of permeability to refine the aromatic profile of the ir wines.
"The first organoleptic tests, carried out after six months of aging, reveal a distinct sensory evolution with LiOX, confirming its potential as a tool for differentiation."
Nicolas Galy, R&D Project Manager, Diam Bouchage
Recognition that is part of the company’s history of innovation
This award echoes the initial 2005 seal of approval when Diam Bouchage received the same prize for its DIAMANT® process involving revolutionary technology for treating cork with supercritical CO2 at differentiated pressures, guaranteeing closures free of any cork taint.
For more than twenty years, Diam Bouchage has been supporting wine professionals by developing closure solutions that guarantee controlled aging and optimal preservation of aromas. Following the launch of Mytik Diam 10 in 2021 and Mytik Diam Tirage in 2024, with LiOX the company is taking a new step forward in its commitment to precision winemaking that is sustainable and adapted to climate challenges.
About Diam Bouchage
Diam Bouchage, a French company located in the Pyrénées Orientales region (Roussillon), produces and sells nearly 2 billion closures every year to more than 80 countries. It offers a range of closures that are capable of meeting the market’s various needs in terms of oxygen input for optimal aging of still wines, sparkling wines, and spirits. In Champagne, the company has long been based in Cumières in order to offer a local service to the Champagne market and today protects nearly one in three bottles of Champagne with its Mytik Diam range.
Guillaume Desport, explains how Diam's new LiOX closure offers a new enological tool for winemakers by releasing half as much oxygen during the critical Oxygen Initial Release (OIR) phase as conventional Mytik Diam stoppers. This limits the initial oxidative shock associated with the closure and counteracts the risk of premature oxidation, while maintaining the recognized mechanical performance of the range.
New Closure Solutions Unveiled at 2025 Unified Wine and Grape Symposium
Napa, 01/23/25 – Diam Bouchage, the leading manufacturer of technical cork closures for still wines, sparkling wines and spirits, is proud to announce the launch of its latest innovations at the 2025 Unified Wine and Grape Symposium. With a 20-year legacy rooted in the revolutionary DIAMANT® process, Diam Bouchage has consistently prioritized research and development, transforming the cork closure market with a focus on oxygen management, natural raw materials, and closure aesthetics.
In 2017, Diam Bouchage introduced the Origine by Diam range, an innovative solution combining a beeswax emulsion and a 100% plant-based polyol binding agent with cork granulates. This range offers a natural closure solution while maintaining the reliability of Diam® closures in terms of organoleptic security, consistency, and controlled permeability. Today, the French cork closure manufacturer announces its bio-based range expansion from Diam Origine 30, 10, 5 to introduce Diam Origine 3. The Diam 3 Origine, an affordable option available now, offers a 3-year mechanical guarantee —or a 6-year guarantee when stored at 58°F – and features a slightly higher oxygen input, making it suitable for both long-aging and faster-moving wines.
Collection by Diam: Crafting a Unique Closure Without Compromising DIAM Performance
Building on its commitment to innovation, Diam Bouchage is excited to present the Diam Collection closure. This unique product features a core of Diam technical cork, elegantly clad with a thin sheet of carefully selected cork, which is then treated with the DIAM cleaning process using Supercritical CO2. The high-precision cladding technique, developed exclusively by Diam, ensures each closure meets the technical and aesthetic expectations of winemakers. The Diam Collection is free of TCA, the compound responsible for cork taint.
Christophe Loisel, R&D Director at Diam Bouchage, states, “The Diam Collection addresses the challenge of assessing the true quality of traditional closures. Our meticulous manufacturing process guarantees consistent mechanical performance and oxygen transfer, empowering winemakers to control the aging of their wines.”
The Diam Collection closure will be available at the end of 2025, initially in a DIAM 30 49 mm size.
G3 Enterprise is the exclusive distributor of Diam for North America, ensuring that these innovative products are accessible to winemakers across the region. Attendees of the 2025 Unified Wine and Grape Symposium are invited to visit the Diam booth 508 and G3 booth 600 to learn more about these groundbreaking products and view samples.
Supercritical CO2 with Differentiated Pressure, the Cleaning Process for Corks
The wine industry is the only segment in the food and beverage industry that accepts that the closure might affect the product. Through a comparative tasting, DIAM and G3 will demonstrate the importance of cleaning corks. Supercritical CO2 with differentiated pressure is currently the only and safest technology to consistently ensure the removal of 150 molecules from the corks. With over 20 billion bottles corked using DIAM over the last 20 years; DIAM has been providing the most neutral corks to the market.
Register for a free trade show floor pass with the promo code: DIA215 and attend the trial at the WIN Expo on December 5 at 11:30am
Diam Bouchage is committed to providing customers with sustainable cork closures made from renewable materials. They understand the importance of preserving the environment and the future of the wine industry and strive to offer eco-friendly solutions to wineries worldwide. That is why we are excited to invite you to immerse yourself in a live cork harvest in the heart of a Spanish cork oak forest through Diam’s 360° Cork Harvest Video. This immersive virtual reality experience takes you right into the heart of a Spanish cork oak forest, where you will gain insight into the history and art of cork harvesting, and how Diam’s innovative cork closures are made sustainably.
Diam aims to offer the most technically advanced products from an environmentally responsible supplier. To learn more about Diam’s cork harvesting, the cork manufacturing process, and their commitment to environmental stewardship, contact Diam’s sole distributor in the United States, G3 Enterprises.
Diam Bouchage, the leading manufacturer of technical cork closures for still wines, sparkling wines, and spirits, introduced new permeability options for their popular Diam 10 and Diam 30 corks at the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium.
“Our closure solution is a winemaking solution,” said Dominique Tourneix, CEO Diam Bouchage, speaking at the Symposium. These new cork options allow winemakers to bottle the same wines, on the same day, with different DIAM corks depending on the objectives of aging and maturity characteristics of the wine.
“Diam is a recipe with different ingredients,” explains Tourneix. “By playing with the recipe, and the proportion of the different ingredients, we can adjust the oxygen transfer through the cork structure. Sometimes you may wish to have a quicker wine evolution, and other times you may want to keep it for 30 years. Until recently, the Diam 10 and 30 range had a very tight closure, but we have developed a new recipe with a much more open permeability level."
Diam already offers multiple oxygen ingress rates (OIR) and oxygen transfer rates (OTR) in their Diam 2, 3, and 5 cork ranges. The new permeability options give winemakers the flexibility to use a cork that guarantees a long lifespan while also aging faster for earlier consumption.
Diam is unique among cork suppliers for their work on recipes in micro-agglomerated cork. They continue to grow in high-end wines globally because of the demonstrated consistency of micro-agglomerated cork that guarantees there will be no variances between one Diam cork and another.
“We are the first in the cork industry to work on permeability,” says Tourneix. “We work with different winemaking institutes and universities to help winemakers understand what permeability level they need for their wine. We are committed to expanding the oenological tools available to winemakers, so they can choose the permeability they want. Permeability is the future, and in the next ten years, everybody will want to do it.”
G3 Enterprises, a leading packaging and logistics company for wine and spirits, is the sole distributor of Diam products in the United States. G3 has increased its capacity and production output at its Modesto and Napa facilities to support Diam’s continued growth. To learn more or request samples of the new permeability corks, contact G3 Enterprises www.g3enterprises.com/diam-corks.
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