A TOUCH OF GLASS - The Transparent World of Arc International

Wherefore to Dover?

We were off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of glass, at the world’s largest glass factory (all genuflect) located in the town of Arques, near Calais.

Arc the herald angels clink
Glory to the new-born drink

Over the years ARC international has developed a great knowledge in the field of wine. A demi-john, a glass amphora that was originally used to transport wine – was the company’s first success. Out of several million grains of moulded and treated sand doth an empire spring. A series of emblematic glasses has followed since then, each one designed to add to the experience of wine tasting and consumption.

The original family enterprise was established in the early 19th century, but the company became a world leader after the second world war when the factory was automated. Paternalistic vision has created a unified industry combined with a desire to stay at the top of the market through constant innovation, and reinvention by encouraging research and development. The Durand family has owned the company for four generations and oenology has always been their primary focus. In 2004, Philippe Durand created and implemented a project using a high-tech material dedicated to wine tasting, namely Kwarx. One of the three research priorities for the group is materials. In February 2005, Kwarx products were released on the market. Free of heavy metals and considerably more price competitive than crystal, it nevertheless has the main qualities of transparency and lightness, combined with greater mechanical strength and chemical resistance.

The Group’s researches, production and marketing teams took two years to perfect it. A line of glasses in Kwarx®, known as Open Up, has been commercialized since 2006. The advantages of Kwarx are numerous. The glasses are completely transparent (it has a T index of 0 i.e. achromatic)) owing to the fact they are colourless.  That’s a good thing by the way. They are resistant to industrial washing agents and thereby retain their lustre for a much longer period than the average glass. Moreover, the glasses are very strong: even trained opera singers need not apply. Solidity is obtained by an invisible but very strong bond between the bases, stems and bowls, which results in a smooth, unified surface which does not have any obvious weak points. Needless to say the formula is a closely guarded secret.

But I am getting ahead of myself… What is glass? I’m glad you asked.

Glass is formed by the fusion at more than 1,300° C of a mixture of sand, soda ash, limestone and cullet (broken glass). Sand is the basic raw material that goes into glass making. To give an example, the French production site of Arc International consumes an average of 1,000 tonnes of sand – which is shipped in from Holland - per day. No wonder it is sinking.

There are three technical processes in glass manufacturing: pressing, blowing and centrifuging.

Pressed glass manufacturing is suitable for items with thick edges such as stemware or beer mugs. The glass drop is deposited in a mould which shapes the outer form of the product before a central plunger stamps out its inner volume. The item is then cooled in air, removed from the mould and burnt to get rid of small defects and make the glass smooth and shiny.

Blown Glass Before being placed in the mould the drop of glass is stamped by the central plunger. The blank shape is put into the finishing mould and then blown to give it its final appearance. This process is particularly suitable for delicate items with thin walls and curved stems.

Centrifuged glass is used for making dishes or plates. The drop of melting glass falls into a mould which is then rotated rapidly to spread it uniformly in the mould.

In order to make a glass perfectly solid, it undergoes a final manufacturing stage known as annealing. The glass is then heated then cooled slowly in a homogenous way. This process avoids tension between the inside and the edge of the item.

In order to ensure quality products, each item is checked by comparing it with reference models for commercial brands. The products are sorted after each stage of the manufacturing process.
Sorting is done by a luminous control station which reveals defects by using mirrors.

The factory at Arques comprises no fewer than thirty furnaces all cranking it on 24/7, each housed in giant warehouses. It is an amiable vision of hell with the overarching muscularity of the machines, the furious flashes of fire, eructating gas jets and the sheer incessant metallic din.I particularly enjoyed watching the production lines snaking around the warehouses and the quality control practiced by machine and man alike as each glass was measured (against near perfection) and the maculate runts of the litter with their bumps or flaws were weeded out for recycling. From such sturm and drang comes reinforced finesse; the aesthetic of design and strength.

Doctor Johnson used the example of glassmaking to describe the transmutation of raw material into something quite splendid:

Glassmaking; Technology
“...it might contribute to dispose us to a kinder regard for the labours of one another, if we were to consider from what unpromising beginnings the most useful productions of art have probably arisen. Who, when he saw the first sand or ashes, by a casual intenseness of heat, melted into a metalline form, rugged with excrescences, and clouded with impurities, would have imagined, that in this shapeless lump lay concealed so many conveniences of life, as would in time constitute a great part of the happiness of the world? Yet by some such fortuitous liquefaction was mankind taught to procure a body at once in a high degree solid and transparent, which might admit the light of the sun, and exclude the violence of the wind; which might extend the sight of the philosopher to new ranges of existence, and charm him at one time with the unbounded extent of the material creation, and at another with the endless subordination of animal life; and, what is yet of more importance, might supply the decays of nature, and succour old age with subsidiary sight. Thus was the first artificer in glass employed, though without his own knowledge or expectation. He was facilitating and prolonging the enjoyment of light, enlarging the avenues of science, and conferring the highest and most lasting pleasures; he was enabling the student to contemplate nature, and the beauty to behold herself.”
Johnson: Rambler #9 (April 17, 1750)

We are stocking three out of the four current ranges of the Chef and Sommelier glasses: Select, Open Up and Oenologue.

The advantage of the Open Up is that it is both contemporary in design and practical in application. Its dynamic angular shape allows the wine to oxygenate perfectly and rapidly; the aromas develop in the angle and are concentrated towards the top. It is ideal for young wines. Aesthetically, this glass might not please the traditionalist; as a vehicle for tasting it is superb.

There are eight glasses in the Open Up range. Tannic has a wide bowl and tapered top to enhance the qualities of powerful tannic wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon. Soft is a 47cl glass with a distinctive shape that particularly accentuates aromas of “red berries and enhances the wines of delicate, refined and fleshy grapes such as Pinot Noir and Zinfandel (WHAT?). This allows the subtlety of the silky tannins to emerge and guides the wine to the front third of the tongue while promoting the fruit flavours”. Hmm – I think that Zin should have a dedicated glass called Loud. Universal Tasting (40 cl) offers diversity as it complements a variety of wines, such as red with not too much tannin or acidity, as well as white such as Sauvignon. Its elongated bowl and slightly tapered rim ensures a perfect equilibrium as it concentrates aromas and brings the wine into the middle of the tongue. The steeply angled walls of the Round (37cl) allow the aroma of fresh butter often found in this grape to emerge as well as guide the liquid to the centre and sides of the tongue promoting a fine balance of acidity and fruit. Other glasses include the Pro Tasting, Effervescent (for champagne and sparkling wines), Sweet (for aromatically rich wines) and Blind Test (an opaque glass which allows you to play practical taste jokes on your friends).

The Select range is very competitively priced and the design is more classic. This is sturdy glassware also using the Quarx technology.

The Oenologue range was created by oenologist Danny Rolland and has a unique, harmoniously curved shape. Initially made of crystal it is now Quarx and although very slender it is remarkably tough.

Well, you know what Browning wrote in Abt Vogler?

On earth the broken arcs; in the heaven, a perfect round. In Arques, in terms of divine glassware, maybe heaven is a place on earth.