2009 Closure Report: Wineries Vary Their Use of Closures

2009 Closure Report: Wineries Vary Their Use of Closures

More wineries are using multiple types of closures.

by Cathy Fisher

This year's WBM Closure Report takes a look at the shifting trends related to the perception and usage of the wine industry's four most popular closure types: natural corks, technical corks, synthetic closures and screw caps.

Survey results suggest that the closure market has further matured as winemakers open up to using a range of closures matched to their particular production niches. This maturation is driven in part by wineries' better understanding of how wine-buying decisions are made by their customers.

This year's survey results show that technical corks and synthetic closures appear to be swapping market share. Twenty percent of wineries were using technical corks in 2004, and 30 percent are using them today, while the inverse is true with synthetic closures: they started out in 2004 being used by 30 percent of wineries and are now used by 20 percent of wineries, mostly by larger wineries. This shift may be due in part to advancements in technical cork technology. However, synthetics are viewed favorably by mid- and large-sized wineries at high-volume price-points.

Additionally, screw caps seem to have found their widest acceptance yet by the industry and consumers after many years of increasing use and familiarity as well as improvement and advances in screw cap technology. In 2004 screw caps were being used by just 5 percent of wineries, but today they are used by 26 percent of wineries and are increasingly found atop high-end whites and reds.

Closure Perceptions

As wineries strive to put the most appropriate packaging together, including which closure to use, they are increasingly conscious of the perceptions that consumers bring with them when making purchasing decisions. According to a consumer perceptions study conducted by Nelson Barber of Texas Tech University and Chris Taylor of Eastern New Mexico University (to appear in the September issue of WBM), when it comes to closures 71 percent of people prefer natural cork (men slightly more than women), and men prefer synthetic closures and screw caps more than women. Natural cork was also the first choice for gifting wine and when eating out. Closure decisions are also being tailored more to consumer gender, age, income and wine knowledge.

When we look at the "overall" perception of all four closures, we find that natural cork remains the highest rated (4.0 on a 5 point scale; see Chart 1). This rating is driven by natural cork's consumer acceptance (4.5), performance on the bottling line (4.0) and product performance (3.8); see corresponding charts 2-6. Because natural cork is typically more costly than the other four closure types, its only low rating is for price (3.1); however, since 2004 the perception of price has been shifting more toward the positive.

James Devitt, owner and winemaker for Devitt Winery & Vineyards in Jacksonville, Oregon (2,500 cases), uses natural cork on the majority of his wines, along with some technical cork. "I've never used screw caps, and I used synthetics once and didn't like them because they were hard to remove," he said. "I don't mess with tradition; if it's not broke, don't fix it."

The second-highest "overall" perception rating goes to screw caps, with a rating of 3.2 (out of 5). Screw caps have maintained a high perception rating since 2004, dipping only slightly since the last time they were rated in 2007 (see Chart 1). Screw caps appear to have settled in among the most commonly used closures.

One change in perception that we see with screw caps is related to bottling line performance; it has consistently improved since 2004, only declining slightly since 2007 (see corresponding charts 2-6).



Nicolas Quille, general manager and winemaker for Pacific Rim Winemakers in West Richland, Washington (130,000 cases), has been very pleased with how screw caps perform on the bottling line. "Rejects are very few, and the screw caps are pretty consistent as long as the torque on the cap is right," he said. "To me, bottling with screw caps is much simpler than with natural cork, and they're faster to apply."

Perceptions about consumer acceptance have also improved over the years, likely as consumers and winemakers become more familiar with and educated about the screw cap's performance as a closure. Perceptions of price, product performance and ease of removal have all been fairly consistent since 2004.

Technical cork earns 3.0 in "overall" perception, a rating which has remained virtually unchanged since 2004 (see Chart 1). Technical corks hold their own, receiving the highest ratings after natural cork for bottling line performance (3.4) and consumer acceptance (3.2); see corresponding charts 2-6). Technical cork has less favorable perceptions compared to natural cork and screw caps, however, when it comes to product performance (3.0) and ease of removal (3.3). Regarding technical cork's price perception ranking of 3.4, it is comparable to those of synthetic closures and screw caps.



Andrew Quady of Quady Winery in Madera, California (55,000 cases) has seen a positive change in the quality of technical corks in recent years. "I really like technical corks now and have had good luck with them since their formulation has improved," he said. Quady predominantly uses technical corks and screw caps. "Because we make some effervescent wines, we found that the technical corks were being pushed up a little; but using screw caps has remedied this."

Synthetic closures have continued to decline in "overall" perception since 2004 (see Chart 1). While synthetic closures still rate well in price (3.2), this rating has declined over the last several years. Synthetics are well regarded in terms of bottling line performance, but they fall behind other closure types when it comes to product performance, consumer acceptance and ease of removal, with all three ratings having steadily decreased since 2004 (see corresponding charts 2-6).



Tom Mackey, director of winemaking for St. Francis Winery in Santa Rosa, California (250,000 cases), has been using synthetic closures since 1993 with their Sonoma County wine program (from $12 to $25 per bottle). "We use synthetics because there is zero taint, and they hold their seal on wines that won't be opened for five to eight years," he said. "It makes life easier when you do not have to constantly check the wine." Mackey said that he uses natural corks, however, with their artisan wines that will age longer (over 10 years) and retail above $25 per bottle.



Dave Guffy, director of winemaking at The Hess Collection in Napa Valley (500,000 cases), said that wines with a short shelf life (less than five years) are a perfect match for synthetic closures, which offer a neutral seal. "All wine will stay as it was bottled with synthetics," he said. "They are great for Chardonnay." However, Guffy noted that not all synthetics are created equal and that he prefers extruded closures to molded as air flow is more controlled and consistent.



Jerry D. Murray, winemaker and vineyard manager for Patton Valley Vineyards in Gaston, Oregon (4,000 cases), said that although he uses screw caps for all his wines currently, he has used synthetics in the past, which didn't leave him with the best impression. "There were a series of quality control issues with them at the time, but some of these have since been addressed," said Murray, "but I still feel that with synthetic closures you're not really putting your best foot forward; screw caps are a better technology."

In looking at the "overall" perception of the various closures according to winery size, we see some clear differences. For example, large wineries (500,000 cases and more) have the highest overall perception of screw caps, likely because they offer a low-cost, solid product-performance option for value brands; and very small wineries (less than 10,000 cases) have the highest overall perception of natural corks, likely to maintain a perceived image of tradition and quality, and to allow for more creativity during winemaking and aging (see Chart 7). Interestingly, very small (10,000 to 49,000 cases), small (10,000 to 49,000 cases) and mid-size wineries (50,000 to 499,000 cases) all rate technical corks higher than synthetic closures while large wineries rate technical corks and synthetic closures equally (2.5).



Murray of Patton Valley Vineyards has used screw caps on his wines exclusively since 2007 (barring extra large bottles) after tiring of taint issues and has had no complaints. "The market took to them very well," he said. "We're now using screw caps on our most expensive reserve wines ($70 per bottle), and we're fairly confident there will be no push back from this." The winery uses a combination of screw caps: for the Pinot Noir, a cap with a Sarinex liner, a cellulose material that allows a small amount of air into the wine; and for Rosés, a cap with a regular tin liner with zero permeability.

New to this year's survey, we asked about each of the four closures' perceived environmental impact. Again, natural cork rates highest (3.9 out of 5), most likely for its perceived low impact in regard to production, being a natural product where trees are not destroyed (see Chart 8). The perception of natural cork's environmental impact related to transportation/shipping from Europe probably keeps its rating in the more moderate range. Synthetic closures and screw caps earn much lower ratings than natural corks and even technical corks, likely for reasons related to recycling (synthetics are not generally recycled) and energy (to manufacture screw caps).



Murray gave both screw caps and natural corks a "positive" rating of 4 for their environmental impacts. However, he uses only screw caps on his wines for a couple reasons. "While I do like the renewable aspect of cork, wine can be wasted through cork taint whereas with screw caps the wine stays sound," he said, "Also, wines with natural corks are typically accompanied by capsules and foils, which can be made of toxic materials; screw caps are made from aluminum, which is not toxic and can be recycled."

Closure Usage

Natural cork has consistently remained the most used closure on 750 ml wine bottles (see Chart 9). As was shown in the previous charts, wineries' opinions of natural corks have improved in recent years, at least in part due to improved procedures for reducing TCA, which may have been driven by improvements in their competition (screw caps and synthetics).



Technical corks have gained popularity since 2004 (with 21 percent of wineries using them), but their usage has leveled off over the past three years, with 31 percent of wineries saying they use them today. We find a similar pattern with screw caps, which started out being used by only 5 percent of wineries in 2004; but since 2006, there has been an obvious leveling off of their usage.

Synthetic closures seem to have an opposite pattern as technical corks, having started out with about 30 percent usage back in 2004 and steadily declining in usage since then--today only 20 percent of wineries surveyed say they are using synthetic closures. However, this reflects the number of wineries using synthetics, not the volume, as results will show later. A few wineries (3 percent) also note experimenting with alternative closures, such as Vino-Seal and Zork.

As a winemaker who started out using only natural cork but now currently uses all four main closure types, Andrew Quady said that always considering who will be using the end product, and how, lends itself to a variety of closures. Additionally, said Quady, "I think a lot of winemakers now feel that consumers are sufficiently comfortable with most of the different closure types so that makes it easier to experiment and be innovative."

In the course of trying different closures, Quady said he now opts for fewer synthetic closures. "I was using technical and synthetic evenly, and then discovered that the synthetics weren't sealing as well as I had hoped; but I still use them in certain instances, such as with our vermouth," he said.

As Quady indicates, wineries are increasingly more comfortable with the four main closure types and are willing to use different closures for different wine programs. Large wineries use the most types, having steadily increased the different closures they have used since 2003 when they were using an average of about two different closures, and today they are using an average of three different closures (see Chart 10). This may reflect the fact that using multiple closures is easier for large wineries because they have a greater array of dedicated bottling lines.



Small wineries have continued to use an average of one type of closure although there has been an increase in this since 2004. Mid-size wineries, interestingly, have cut back slightly in the average number of different closure types they use. Issues related to bottling lines may also be attributable to small and mid-size wineries as it is not inexpensive or easy to make shifts on the bottling line for different closure types.

Closures for White Wines

Closure usage also varies according to whether it tops a red or white wine. When broken down by winery size, we find that very small (under 10,000 cases) and small wineries (under 50,000 cases) overwhelmingly prefer technical over synthetic for their whites under $14 while mid-size and large wineries seem to prefer synthetic slightly to technical in this same price range (see Chart 11). The large wineries (over 500,000 cases), however, prefer screw caps over both synthetic and technical for white wines under $14. Synthetics continue to be viewed favorably by mid- to large-sized wineries in their high-volume price-points for both red and white wines.



Natural cork is still the predominant choice for whites above $25; however, 33 percent of large wineries are now using screw caps in this price range (compared to mid-size/17 percent; small/9 percent, and very small/7 percent).



Quille of Pacific Rim, whose winery specializes in aromatic white wines up to $35 per bottle, noted that these wines are very sensitive to oxygen, so he only uses screw caps. "Screw caps are a no-brainer," he said. "Our wines are very varietal-focused, so we don't want any distractions that a cork might bring with it, good or bad." Quille added that in his experience, due to screw caps' wide acceptance, he sees more than 50 percent of white wines in their same category also under screw cap.



Clearly, very small wineries prefer using natural cork and technical cork overall on their whites, with very few relying too heavily on synthetic and screw caps. All other winery sizes use a more mixed bag of closures overall. Very small and small wineries are also the only size wineries using "other" types of closures on their whites (such as Zork and Vino-Seal).



Devitt uses natural cork on all of his higher quality and reserve wines (anything over $14 per bottle), and technical cork for the less expensive wines ($8-$14 per bottle), and feels technical corks have made strides: "I have to admit that some of the technical corks now are very good."

Closures for Red Wines

With red wines, natural cork also dominates at higher prices, with about 90 percent of all wineries using natural cork in their red wines selling for over $25 per bottle (see Chart 12). Large wineries (20 percent) are also using screw caps in this price range for reds, much more often than any other size wineries.



Few very small wineries use screw caps on any of their red wines (15 percent being the highest, in the $7 to $10 range). The fact that large wineries use more screw caps than any other size winery may point to the fact that they have invested in their own capping machinery whereas wineries without this must have capping done by a mobile company.



Quady, who uses natural, technical and some synthetic closures on wines over $25, said he doesn't determine the closure type according to red or white. "I don't break it out into red or white; it's more a function of the end product," he said.



Murray of Patton Valley Vineyards feels that wines that are higher priced or red don't automatically point to a natural cork anymore. "We've had zero complaints about screw caps in terms of performance and find that people are getting over the romance of natural cork pretty quickly," he said.



Wineries continue to develop their own guidelines for determining which closures to use for different wine programs. Experimenting is an integral process of this industry: wineries must stay open to the new while maintaining the best aspects of the traditional in creating a balance that is uniquely appealing to them as well as their consumers.

Wine Closures

Natural cork is the most frequently used closure by winemakers due to its ability to compress and expand to form a tight seal as well as allow the wine to breathe over long periods. Natural cork is regarded as environmentally-friendly since corks are easy to recycle, and cork is sustainably produced (the same trees are stripped about every nine years). The main drawback of natural cork is the possibility of wine developing cork taint ("corked") brought on by TCA (2,4,6-trichloroanisole) in the wine, which in most cases is said to be imparted by the cork itself due to natural occurrences in the cork or how it is processed.

Closure costs can vary widely depending on various factors such as: closure type, quantity ordered, origin and quality of materials used, and who you buy from. Natural corks can range from $.10 to $1.50 each.
Technical corks are made to resemble natural corks and are manufactured using a combination of agglomerated natural cork granules with natural cork disks glued to the ends (in contact with the wine). These types of corks are also know as "1+1" corks (there are also 2+0: two disks on one end, and 2+2: two disks on each end) and have low incidences of cork taint compared to natural corks.
Technical corks are efficient at preserving sulfur dioxide concentrations within the bottle and are most commonly used with wines that are meant to be consumed within the short-term (two to three years). The "Twin Top" is the most well-known technical cork developed.

Synthetic closures mimic natural cork closures in how they look and function, for the most part, but are made of plastic (injection-molded or extruded); thus they do not present the risk of TCA contamination. The most commonly cited drawbacks of synthetic closures include: difficult to remove from the wine bottle (as well as re-seal) and higher risks of oxygen permeation than natural cork although this latter aspect has seen improvement. Another drawback that has created some opposition to synthetics is their environmental impact as they are oil-based and are not biodegradable like a natural cork. Synthetic closures can range from $.10 to $.16 each.

Screw Caps are made from aluminum and seal onto a wine bottle's neck in a threaded fashion, as opposed to being pushed into the bottle's opening like a natural cork closure. Screw caps are said to offer a tighter seal, thereby protecting against cork taint and keeping unwanted oxygen at bay, serving to preserve aromas and improve a wine's overall quality. Conversely, some have accused screw caps of suppressing wine aroma and quality too much (reduction). Screw caps, the predominant closure choice in New Zealand, continue to rise in usage by U.S. wineries as U.S. consumers become more comfortable with them. Screw caps can cost between $.05 and $.10 each.

Zork closures were developed in Australia as an alternative to cork. Zork seals like a screw cap but has a pop like a cork, and is comprised of three parts: an outer cap with a clamp to attach to the bottle; an inner metal foil to regulate oxygen; and an inside plunger that creates a "pop" upon extraction. Zorks can be easily resealed after removal and do not require a foil cover. Zorks range between $.18 and $.25 each depending on quantities ordered.

Vino-Seal, or "Vino-Lok," is made of plastic and glass and is manufactured by Alcoa (starting in 2003). The seal uses a glass stopper with an inert o-ring, creating a hermetic seal that prevents oxidation and TCA. Noted drawbacks of the seal include its costlier price tag and the cost of bottling. Vino-Seal closures are $.64 to $.67 each depending on quantities ordered.

Survey Respondents

This year's Closure Survey received a total of 229 responses, including 98 from California, 24 from Washington, 13 from Oregon, 8 from Virginia and 4 from New York. Fifty-seven percent of responding wineries produce fewer than 10,000 cases annually, another 25 percent produce 10,000 to 49,999 cases, 11 percent produce 50,000 to 499,999 cases, and the remaining 5 percent produce 500,000 or more cases (3 percent of which produce a million cases or more).

Seventy-eight percent of survey respondents reported their job as being in winemaking, 60 percent as president/owner/GM, 34 percent work in cellaring/production, and 31 percent each in sales/marketing and purchasing/finance (respondents were able to choose more than one function).

The purpose of the survey was to determine trends in wine bottle closure usage and perceptions. Please note that the findings of this survey are meant to offer a general look at trends and practices; it is not a scientific study and should be used only as a tool and a point of reference for further inquiry. wbm



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Cathy Fisher lives in Sonoma and has been writing on the wine industry for five years.





Origin information: Wine Business Monthly