CORK A KEY TO SUCCESS IN US MARKET

The preference for natural cork as a wine closure in the United States has

been underlined with the release of two new studies as well as the

outstanding success of a cork-sealed New Zealand wine in this major market.

Leading US trade publication Wine Business Monthly again highlighted the

positive perceptions of natural cork among US wineries in its 2009 Closure

Report.

The publication says its latest survey of 229 US wineries, published in the

June edition, shows that natural cork remains the highest rated closure in

terms of ‘overall perceptions’.

The best ‘overall’ rating was achieved by natural cork’s top rating in several

categories including consumer acceptance, performance on the bottling line

and product performance.

Companies exporting to the US also consider American consumers’

preference for cork closures when developing their packaging strategies for

this market.

As reported by Decanter.com, a New Zealand wine recently became the best

selling sauvignon blanc in the United States with the use of a natural cork

closure seen as a major factor in the wine’s sales success.

The Decanter.com report said the company had packaged the brand

specifically for the US consumer by sealing the wine under cork, a move that

meant going against the screwcap trend in New Zealand.

Several studies published over the last five years have highlighted US

consumers’ preference for natural cork as a wine seal.

A recent consumer perceptions study conducted by Nelson Barber,

Christopher Taylor and Tim Dodd of the Texas Tech University titled Twisting

Tradition: Consumers' Behavior Toward Alternative Closures, suggests that

71 per cent of US consumers prefer natural cork closures.

In a presentation on the study the researchers said that “packaging can be of

considerable value as a competitive marketing strategy” and that the “style of

closure adds directly to the look of the product and is considered by

consumers as a direct reflection of the quality of the wine”.

They suggested “consumers still consider screwcaps to be an indication of

cheap wines and cork and indication of quality”.

This study indicates little has changed in terms of US consumer perceptions

since a survey in 2005 by Tragon Corporation showed that US consumers

prefer to buy wine sealed with natural cork ahead of all other closure types.