Cork vs. screwcap.

The gloves are off in the controversy over the future of wine closures as cork faces off against screw caps in a battle for public and professional opinion.

Consumers and wine servers prefer cork closures, according to a recent survey by Balzac Communications on behalf of the Portuguese cork association, APCOR. Sixty-nine percent of the 327 respondents to the 20-question survey prefer cork closures, citing performance and sustainability as factors. Nearly all--94 percent--of respondents said non-cork closures sometimes or often cheapen a bottle of wine.

Of those working in restaurants where wine is served, 71 percent preferred to open cork closures; 26 percent preferred screw caps.

Later this month, the Alliance for Innovative Wine Packaging (AIWP) will announce the findings of an ACNielsen study on the volume contribution of screw cap wine to U.S. retail sales as well as information about 2005 sales of premium wines in box, cask, Tetra Pak and 187 ml packaging.

Gathering the data was challenging because SKUs are not differentiated by wine package at retail, according to AIWP founder Paige Poulos of Paige Poulos Communications, who expects the data will reveal acceleration in the producer shift to screw caps.

Ultimately, consumers will determine the future of both closures, and wine drinkers will vote with their dollars.

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