Cork Supply USA adds Torey Arvik, Ph.D., as technical services & operations director

Cork Supply USA is pleased to announce the addition of Torey Arvik, Ph.D., as technical services and operations director. Reporting directly to James Herwatt, CEO of Cork Supply USA, Dr. Arvik will be responsible for managing the Cork Supply laboratory operations, providing incoming/outgoing quality assurance and overseeing product testing and production. In addition, Dr. Arvik will provide technical support services to the company’s Tonnellerie Ô® and Creative Oak business units.

According to Herwatt, “Torey is an excellent addition to our management team and will be an asset to the company. He’s extremely bright, passionate about his business, has exceptional management abilities and is quality driven. He possesses a unique combination of technical expertise and personal charisma which will make him a great leader, manager, co-worker and partner with our customers.”

Arvik has worked in the Northern California wine industry for nearly ten years, beginning in 2002 as development scientist for ETS Laboratories in St. Helena, Calif. Reporting directly to the CEO, technical director and quality manager, Arvik planned and implemented new diagnostic tools for the alcoholic beverage testing industry, selecting targets, designing and validating tools, and ensuring the successful operation of the advanced microbiology facility.

In 2007, Arvik joined Jackson Family Wines in Santa Rosa, Calif., as director of technical services. For the past four years, he was responsible for realigning multiple enterprise winery laboratories with core methods and equipment, supporting the development of quality inspection guidelines and updating methods, reinforcing and developing new and existing standards for packaging materials and production activities, and representing family wine company initiatives in technical arenas.

"As a customer for many years while at Jackson Family Wines, I’ve been impressed by Cork Supply USA’s commitment to product quality and innovation, as well as their dedication to customer service and sustainability,” says Arvik. “Their FSC certification and world-class positioning are important to customers committed to using sustainable, quality products. I look forward to driving the quality component of their top-of-bottle business and providing practicable support to other departments and business units.”

Arvik is a member of the Gold Standard Group, an informal group of scientists and technicians from wine companies throughout Northern California who analyze issues and share findings in order to develop practical solutions to lingering problems in the wine industry. Prior to entering the wine industry, he held positions at Swiss Federal Research Station as a visiting scientist, Food Safety & Technology Laboratories at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and Applied Biosystems, Food & Environmental Group in Foster City, Calif.

Arvik earned his Ph.D. in wine microbiology / entrepreneurship and personal enterprise at Cornell University, 2003. He is an international speaker at wine industry conferences and symposia, a published author of numerous technical articles in the field of microbiology, a member and reviewer of the American Society for Enology and Viticulture since 1999, and member of the American Society of Brewing Chemists (ASBC) since 2000.

As the wine industry’s “Top-of -the-Bottle Experts,” Cork Supply specializes in natural, technical and sparkling corks, Nomacorc® synthetics, Newpak™ screw caps and Rivercap® capsules. California’s newest cooperage, Tonnellerie Ô®, locally handcrafts exceptionally fine French oak barrels.

With companies spanning the globe, Cork Supply Group specializes in the production and distribution of premium quality winemaking and wine packaging products. Among the forested products Cork Supply Group manufactures and/or distributes are: natural, technical and sparkling corks, French and American oak barrels and alternatives, and award-winning designer wine labels. As one of the first companies to be awarded FSC certification for their global cork production facilities in Portugal and a founding member of the WWF-GFTN (Global Forest Trade Network) Iberia, Cork Supply is committed to sustainable forest stewardship and responsible purchasing of forest products.