Our customers’ success is our success. I am approaching this topic from the perspective of the guy who is appreciative of your business in corks and intellectually convinced that natural cork based closures are absolutely the way to go for wines sold in bottles.
FACTS:
1. 60% of the wine sold in America is still under cork. This number is increasing. (Nielsen)
2. Wines sealed with corks are still gaining market share. (Nielsen)
3. More of the higher priced wines experiencing sales increases in the last 36 months are sealed with corks. (Nielsen)
4. Wineries who switched closures in the last 36 months were more often switching back to corks. (Nielsen)
5. There are still unanswered questions about aging, sulfur, copper, and reduction. Illegal levels of copper may prevent reduction?
6. There are risks of seal interruption with a screw cap in storage or transport because the screw cap seal is external.
Cork has the advantage:
1. Based on Nielsen data, Market Perception/ Perception of Quality- Consumer preference is still a cork. Especially true for any wine sold outside the tasting room. Why add value scrutiny to a wine in competition for sales against wines from a better- known or more reputable region? I know you make great wine. Would a buyer who has never been to the winery know that? Would a screw cap decrease the odds for the benefit of the doubt? The numbers say yes.
2. The obvious IF>THEN here is, “Can you ever raise your price once the product changes to screw caps?”
3. Cork is Sustainable
4. Cork is Recyclable
5. Cork is Repurposeable
6. Environmental Impact
a. Lower carbon footprint (manufacturing one ton of aluminum creates FOUR tons of carbon)
b. Less energy consumption during manufacturing
c. Less water used during manufacturing
7. The cork tree lives.
Environmental compliance in the countries where screw caps are made is a horrifying question. We might discover that certain manufacturers are trashing the earth and not careful about what they are selling or how they make it. http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2010/10/07/f-red-mud-bauxite-aluminum.html
FACTS:
1. 60% of the wine sold in America is still under cork. This number is increasing. (Nielsen)
2. Wines sealed with corks are still gaining market share. (Nielsen)
3. More of the higher priced wines experiencing sales increases in the last 36 months are sealed with corks. (Nielsen)
4. Wineries who switched closures in the last 36 months were more often switching back to corks. (Nielsen)
5. There are still unanswered questions about aging, sulfur, copper, and reduction. Illegal levels of copper may prevent reduction?
6. There are risks of seal interruption with a screw cap in storage or transport because the screw cap seal is external.
Cork has the advantage:
1. Based on Nielsen data, Market Perception/ Perception of Quality- Consumer preference is still a cork. Especially true for any wine sold outside the tasting room. Why add value scrutiny to a wine in competition for sales against wines from a better- known or more reputable region? I know you make great wine. Would a buyer who has never been to the winery know that? Would a screw cap decrease the odds for the benefit of the doubt? The numbers say yes.
2. The obvious IF>THEN here is, “Can you ever raise your price once the product changes to screw caps?”
3. Cork is Sustainable
4. Cork is Recyclable
5. Cork is Repurposeable
6. Environmental Impact
a. Lower carbon footprint (manufacturing one ton of aluminum creates FOUR tons of carbon)
b. Less energy consumption during manufacturing
c. Less water used during manufacturing
7. The cork tree lives.
Environmental compliance in the countries where screw caps are made is a horrifying question. We might discover that certain manufacturers are trashing the earth and not careful about what they are selling or how they make it. http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2010/10/07/f-red-mud-bauxite-aluminum.html
