Excerpts From: Wine Business Monthly Closure Survey - June 2007

Usage by Price Point

The choice of closure continues to be directly correlated to a wine's retail bottle price point. In general, natural corks are used at higher price points, while synthetic, technical and screw caps are used at lower price points (Chart 12). The "Other" category on this chart consists of unique closures, including Zork and Vino-Seal. Vino-Seal, in particular, is positioned for use in the top market segments, where 5 percent of the respondents noted that they are using it. "We are moving to the Vino-Seal glass stoppers for all of our 'top-tier' reds," Liz Ratcliff of Volcano Vineyards noted. "They have quite a 'wow' factor."

It is also notable that wineries are using alternatives at higher and higher price points. The price at which alternative closures cease to make up over 50 percent of the market has moved up from the $10 to $14 segment to the $14 to $25 segment.