Page 33 - Grapevine May-June 2019

In The Winery

Disc-style corks offer a ‘step up’ from the agglo
corks with natural punched cork presenting at the
opening and in contact with the product. Colorful
PVC capsules combined with customized cork
options can elevate even the most inexpensive cork
to a worthwhile opening presentation.”

Stebbins went on to explain that synthetic or
plant-based cork options are often able to endure
more challenging storage conditions compared to
natural cork. “This allows wineries to purchase larg-
er quantities at savings while not worrying about
the product expiring or drying out, which results in
savings in the long-term,” she said. “Storage con-
ditions are not always ideal; thus this type of cork
option with a longer shelf life maximizes value.”

Wine Closure Trends

Trends come and go over time, yet it’s smart to
learn about emerging technologies and note where
the closure industry is headed.

Concerning trends, Hagge of VIDON Vineyard said,
“More wineries are using screw caps each year.”
Stebbins has also been seeing a trend toward
screw caps. Many of the company’s medium-size
and large wineries are making the switch to Stelvin
brand capsules.

“The screw cap can be customized to suit a brand,
specific to desired oxygenation levels, and offer
consistency from bottle-to-bottle that a natural
product may not always provide,” Stebbins said.
“The outlay cost of specialized cap application
equipment may be daunting to smaller wineries;
however, those using co-packers or mobile bottling
services are very willing to make the switch.”

Meanwhile, Comninos has been noticing a trend
of prioritizing more consistency, whether that be by
use of screw caps, Diam, or some other closure to
ensure that each bottle tastes the same no matter
its closure.

“Every cork producer out there will say they have
the best cork, but the very nature of the bark is
highly variable,” Comninos said. “The days of a
romantic attachment to solid, variably porous
pieces of cork are over, in my opinion. I feel our
customers deserve to know that they are tasting
exactly what we intended to sell them.”

877-892-5332 The Grapevine • May - June 2019 Page 31

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