Recent market research of wine sales in restaurants and retail outlets confirms the growing preference by U.S. consumers for wines sealed with natural cork over all artificial closures at all price points.
Wine & Spirits’ “25th Annual Survey of the Top 50 Restaurant Wine Brands asked wine directors at 218 restaurants to name their 10 best-selling wines. The results for 2013 by closure type showed that brands primarily finished with cork accounted for 90 percent of the Top 50 Restaurant Brands, up 21 percent, as compared to ten years ago. Brands primarily finished with screw caps showed a 39 percent decline and brands using synthetic closures were down by 70 percent, as reported by wine directors.
According to Nielsen’s latest figures, sales of premium wines sealed with cork continued to outpace wines sealed with artificial stoppers at all retail price points.
Since 2010, sales of the top 100 premium brands sealed with cork were up by 36 percent, compared to 8 percent for wines with artificial closures.
“The results from these two national surveys demonstrate why it is in the wineries’ best economic interest to use cork closures,” said Peter Weber, Executive Director of the Cork Quality Council. “Whether it is in a restaurant or at a retail outlet, wine consumers overwhelmingly and consistently choose wines that are sealed with natural cork.”
Joao Ferreira, president of the Portuguese Cork Association, added, “These positive results for cork should inspire all natural cork companies to maintain their focus on providing the highest quality product. As cork producers and wine lovers, we have an obligation to continue the 200-year bond between cork and wine, which not only enriches the wine experience, but also helps to mitigate global warming and improves the lives of thousands of men in women who work in the cork groves and in our companies.”
