This year 2024 marks the 60th anniversary of the adoption of screw caps for wine bottles. In Australia and New Zealand, a whopping 90% of wines are sealed with screw caps. However, in China, USA and parts of Europe, many consumers believe that cork closures carry a greater sense of quality and tend to prefer wines with cork stoppers. But after years of the popularisation of screw caps, has there been a shift in this perception within all the different markets from around the world?
Sealing the Deal: from screw to cork to get a sale!
In 1964 the French-owned Amcor Capsule Company introduced the Stelvin bottle cap, due to the Chasselas grape variety, widely cultivated in Switzerland, being highly susceptible to the influence of cork stoppers. Although still lined with a thin layer of cork in the capsule, until further research and development advanced the closure, it was specifically developed for Swiss wine growers to preserve the taste, freshness and quality of wine in the best possible way.
At the time, the aluminium screw cap was considered revolutionary. I use the analogy of moving from a wooden stopper to a cork; the next progression is to a screw cap. This did not see widespread use until the late 20th century (1990 saw all wines from the Clare Valley, South Australia move to screw cap), when it was adopted on a large scale by wineries in New Zealand and Australia. Australia was a very early adopter of screw caps due to the poor-quality corks being supplied by Portugal and Spain.
This very stubborn acknowledgement of the existence of cork taint and other quality issues is another reason not to use corks, especially in Australia even after scientific research proved otherwise. Many of the quality wines under screw cap from the early 1970s are still drinkable today and currently wineries in 40 wine-producing countries use this technology.
However, in the Chinese market and the US market, screw-capped wines have faced scepticism from consumers, who regard them as less formal and lacking in ceremonial value when opened (suffering the humiliation of having a broken, crumbling, mouldy cork and oxidation when opening your really expensive wine/vinegar should be enough to convert you – down the sink!).
To align with the tastes of Chinese consumers, some Australian wineries have adjusted their approach. Penfolds supplies Rawson’s Retreat red wine to Dan Murphy’s (Australia’s largest liquor supermarket operator) with a screw cap, but when it’s sold in China on the country’s leading e-commerce platform, JD.com, it shows the wine with a cork seal. Even more notably, high-end wines from major producers undergo a full packaging change for the Chinese market. Hardys wines, priced around RMB 200, and premium Penfolds wines, such as 389 and 407, are sold with cork stoppers in China, though the same wines sold at Dan Murphy’s feature screw caps.
Screw caps gaining acceptance for entry-level rosé and white wines
A merchant selling Casella’s Yellow Tail wines noted that the brand had discontinued the use of cork stoppers years ago, fully transitioning to screw caps in alignment with international standards. Given Casella’s positioning as an entry-level wine for everyday consumption, it faces no prejudice from consumers but offers guaranteed quality wine, which cork producers do not.
Additionally, the use of screw caps for white and rosé wines, which are typically enjoyed in relaxed settings, seems to be a non-issue for Chinese and US consumers. Customs data reveals that despite a downturn in wine imports in 2023, New Zealand, known for its screw-capped white wines, saw its import volumes and values to China increase by 19.43% and 18.29% respectively.
DAVIDWINE from Spain also introduced a rosé wine in the Chinese market with a screw cap. According to the company’s China General Manager, Liu Anqi, the choice of screw cap was both a design decision and a nod to the preferences of younger, wine-savvy consumers who don’t discriminate between closures. Also, note the price difference of the closure helps sell more wine. In general, a screw cap costs 0.15 cents each, whereas a cork and capsule cover will cost 10 times the amount.
“The initial intent behind using screw caps was to match the packaging design better. Furthermore, this wine targets knowledgeable young consumers who do not mind whether the bottle uses a screw cap or a cork stopper, with sales channels mainly in small taverns and on Xiaohongshu (popular Chinese social media app similar to Instagram), where screw caps fit the target scenes well,” she explains.
Partial Acceptance of Screw-Capped Premium Wines
It’s noteworthy that the mentioned rosé wine, sealed under screw caps is considered a premium wine priced between RMB 268 and 368 per bottle depending on the channel, indicating a growing acceptance in the Chinese market.
Hong Boyong, General Manager of Shanghai Pran Cellar Australia, specialising in premium wines from Australia’s five-star wineries, remarked, “Many of the boutique wineries we represent cannot customise their products with cork stoppers just for us. Hence, we have always sold wines with screw caps.”
“This would have posed a problem ten years ago, with consumers frequently questioning the packaging during promotions. However, since 2016, such inquiries about screw caps have nearly vanished. It’s no longer an issue of concern,” Hong told Vino Joy News.
Wu Yonglei, General Manager of Xiamen Fond Wine in China’s affluent southern Fujian province, also shared similar experiences, saying, “Our Australian suppliers would face inefficiencies if they produced cork-stoppered wines just for us, so we purchase screw-capped wines. And for consumers buying wines for business dinners, they have all come to accept screw caps.”
“This may be because many wine consumers in Fujian have overseas experience. Sometimes, they find it odd to see domestic versions of Penfolds 407 packaged with cork stoppers,” he remarked.
I personally suggest a better way around presenting screw cap reds is to decant the red wine before serving, so as not to change the perception of the quality of the wine from the prejudice of cork or screw cap wine; 99% of people don’t realise the effect of the closure directly with the wine.
In inland markets, preferences vary. Fang Yi, General Manager of Changsha Puyi Cellar Door, a leading wine importer in Central China, noted that while consumers buying wine for personal use are indifferent to the type of closure, those purchasing wine as gifts or for official dinners still show a preference for cork stoppers, but also bottle packaging is important as shown by Penfolds with Red and Gold being very dominant.
Michael Quirk
acknowledgements for info used for this article: Morris Cai for Vino Joy News
