Screwcap now ‘the norm’: new study

Acceptance of screwcaps on wine bottles has more than doubled among UK consumers over the past eight years, according to new research.

(Image: screwcapinitiative.com)

The survey, conducted by research company Wine Intelligence for its 2011 Closures Report, suggests that 85% of the regular wine-drinking population now accepts screwcaps – compared to only 41% in 2003.

Cork remains the most liked closure, but affinity levels have fallen slightly over the past eight years.

While 51% of consumers say they actively like buying wines under cork, 42% like buying screwcapped wines – a figure that has increased sevenfold compared to eight years ago, when 6% of consumers said they actively liked screwcap.

Female wine drinkers in their 30s and 40s are the biggest drivers of screwcap acceptance, along with younger drinkers who have recently entered the wine category.

‘This year’s consumer view on closures suggests that the UK has fundamentally changed over the past eight years,’ said Richard Halstead, Wine Intelligence COO and author of the report.

‘From a market that was actively sceptical – in some cases hostile – towards screwcaps, we now have a situation where they are the norm rather than the exception.’

The research was based on online quota-based surveys of 1,000 adults who drink wine at least once a month, conducted in March 2011.

The full Closures Report also includes similar analysis of closure perceptions in the US and Australia, including data going back to 2007.

Written by Richard Woodard