A review of gold medal winners shows the continued popularity of cork closures.
The Sonoma County Harvest Fair hosts one of California’s oldest and most prestigious wine competitions. This year’s competition included over 1,000 wines made from Sonoma County grapes. Gold medals were awarded to 235 wines. Of gold medals awarded, 204 went to wines finished with cork (87%).
Consumer research consistently demonstrates that wine drinkers perceive cork finished wines to have superior quality than wines offering alternative closures. In a 2011 study of consumer attitudes toward wine packaging, Rebecca Bleibaum of Tragon reported “an overwhelming 93% of consumers agree that natural cork conveys wines of high or very high quality. This was 3 times higher than synthetic closures and 9 times higher than screw cap.”