New York, N.Y.— A recent study published in the International Journal of Hospitality Management found that wine drinkers in a blind taste test rated the same wine 10 to 13 points higher for appearance, taste, aroma and overall quality when they were led to believe by visual cues that the wine was closed with a natural cork as opposed to a screw cap or a synthetic cork. The 310 participants did not know they were actually tasting the exact same wine. The aim of the study was to investigate the association between wine bottle closure type and consumer perceptions of intrinsic wine attributes.

The study concluded that restaurants, bars, wineries and cellars can “better please customers” by serving wines with natural corks instead of screw caps or synthetic corks closures because “closure type can influence perceptions of taste, bouquet, appearance, and overall quality.” Moreover, the researchers suggest that wine manufacturers should “resist shifting to alternatives to natural corks.”