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Why Boutique Vintners Like Alternative Closures

Screwcaps and synthetics are affordable, reliable and popular

by Suzanne Gannon When it comes to experimenting with closures other than cork, there's a growing consensus among smaller producers. Many believe they make too little wine to afford even a handful of cork-tainted wines that could very well alienate a customer forever.

For John Conover, general manager of PlumpJack Winery, the seed was planted 10 years ago over dinner at the PlumpJack Café with his bosses, Gavin Newsom and Gordon Getty. A cork-tainted wine had been opened and Getty posed the question: "Why is cork taint acceptable?" Conover mused that no other industry would tolerate such a high rate of spoilage, and immediately began researching viable alternatives.

Three years later, his 1997 PlumpJack Reserve Cabernet in a screwcap fetched $50,000 at the Napa Valley Wine Auction, sealing its fame as the first luxury Cabernet to be finished with a screwcap.

"Robert Mondavi really upgraded everything (else about winemaking)--stainless steel, small French cooperage," Conover said. "But the last thing he looked at was the closure. It was like a sacred cow."

PlumpJack entered into a research program in collaboration with UC Davis that studies the effects of screwcaps on luxury wines produced to age. Eight years into the study, Conover said, the results are "identical." With age, screwcapped wines are tasting very closely to cork-finished wines.

PlumpJack produces about 12,500 cases per year at its Oakville location, and currently sells its Reserve Cabernet in a two-bottle pack for $370; one bottle is cork-finished, the other features a Stelvin screwcap. "It's outrageous." Conover said. "We put a screwcap on a wine that Robert Parker rated a 98. Most producers wouldn't consider it." The wine in question was the 2004 PlumpJack Reserve Cabernet.

Dave Coffaro, who makes about 7,000 cases of Dry Creek Valley wines at his winery on the Healdsburg-Geyserville line, had a similar experience. Years ago he and his wife had driven 150 miles to her family's home in Modesto, only to discover upon arriving that two of the 1994 Cabernets they had brought along to taste were tainted with TCA.

He's been using screwcaps on 100% of his production ever since. Coffaro sells 70% of his wines as futures, and when buying wines for his personal consumption, he buys screwcaps almost exclusively.

"That sound (you hear) when you open (a screwcap) makes me think of quality," he said. "We're in the 21st century."

In 2004 Coffaro purchased a new bottling line, which included a labeler, for about $100,000, an investment of approximately $40,000 after he sold his existing equipment. His advice to fellow producers considering the switch is: "Don't expect it to be seamless. There are always going to be problems, either mechanically or in making sure the company will come through with the service."

Data analysis and deliberation like that practiced at PlumpJack was the key to Charlottesville, Va.-based Jefferson Vineyards' decision to move to synthetic corks. After studying coverage of the topic in trade publications and attending numerous trade shows where synthetic cork vendors pitched their products, Jefferson switched to synthetics five years ago.

"It really amounts to wines that we feel are for immediate consumption," said general manager Chad Zakaib, who finishes his unoaked whites (a Viognier for $25) and lightly oaked reds (a Terre Rouge and a rosé, each for $14.95) with synthetic corks, amounting to 60 to 70% of the 6,500 cases the winery turns out annually.

With three tiers of wine production, each with a different package, Zakaib said image also comes into consideration. "As long as we're not changing the look of the bottle, we use them." For his premium tier, which includes an age-worthy Bordeaux blend in a stenciled bottle, Zakaib sticks to cork covered in wax. "Research has shown that after five years, the integrity of the (synthetic) closure starts to be compromised," he said.

The Wine Business Monthly Closure Report published last June revealed that both small and mid-sized wineries reported slight declines in the number of natural corks used. Small wineries in particular reported small increases in the proportion of screwcaps used among closures overall, while roughly 20% of small wineries reported using alternative closures exclusively. Forty-five percent continue to use only natural cork.

A recent informal poll by the Sonoma Valley Vintners & Growers Alliance discovered that 20 of 29 respondents are still using natural cork exclusively, while one is using synthetic corks exclusively. Five respondents reported the use of synthetics on a portion of their production, mostly whites and rosés, and several others are dabbling in screwcaps and twin-disk corks.

Kathleen Inman, owner and winemaker at the Russian River Valley-based Inman Family Wines, has been using Stelvin screwcaps with tin liners for her Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir since the 2002 vintage, the first her winery released.

"I've found they've been wonderful at preserving the delicate aromas of my wines," she said. "I felt it was really important that the wine reach the customer in the state which it was intended to. I can't afford to lose a new customer with a corked or slightly tainted wine. (The customer might) ascribe the taint to the wine, rather than to the faulty cork."

Inman produces about 2,200 cases annually. Her Pinot Gris sells for $25 and her Pinot Noir for $42. She says 86% of her customers are female; many send her e-mails rejoicing over the fact that they no longer have to deal with corked bottles that leak all over the refrigerator.

Eighteen months ago, Inman sold out of her 2003 Pinot Noir with Stelvin caps. Only cork-finished bottles remained in inventory. She says Slanted Door restaurant wine buyer Mark Ellenbogen in San Francisco was not happy, and as soon as her 2004 vintage was ready to be tasted, he ordered it, so that he'd be guaranteed an adequate flow of inventory with Stelvin caps.

Though purchasing a screwcap bottling line may not be cost-effective for small wineries, screwcap-equipped mobile bottling companies offer an affordable alternative. "A bottling line can cost (a vintner) $60,000 to $100,000, and they use it only once a year," said Brendan Eliason of Periscope Cellars in Emeryville, who uses Ultima Mobile Bottling in Sonoma. "(The mobile option allows) you to spread out the cost of equipment among a bunch of small wineries."

A self-described "packaging geek," and an early screwcap adopter, Eliason said, "Creative and innovative packaging allows the possibility for market expansion."

Tom Larson of Ultima Mobile Bottling said his movable bottling lines are currently capable of bottling up to 3,000 cases per day at roughly $2.10 per case, regardless of whether the closure is natural cork, synthetic cork or screwcap. His company, which currently bottles more than 1 million cases annually, supplies the bottling equipment--mostly machinery manufactured by Bertolaso--and up to three operators. The winery must provide the bottles, labels and closures, as well as the labor to pack and unpack the cases, and a
forklift operator.

"Synthetic corks are increasing significantly, because natural corks are very expensive; 6 to 16 cents (per synthetic stopper) vs. 20 cents to a dollar (for natural cork)," Larson said.

Larson estimated that 75% of his customers--or 70 different wineries --are using screwcaps (at about 8 cents per cap), which accounts for 25% of his volume. Conversely, 25% of his customers are using corks--but this portion accounts for 75% of his volume.

Of the cork-inclined clients, he said half are using synthetic corks and half are using natural corks. Some have ventured into the composite corks, which feature a blend of cork and synthetic material.

In Fredericksburg, Texas, Ken Maxwell hit pay dirt with his perlant-styled Dirty Girl Chardonnay in a screwcap ($19.95), with a label depicting a girl in a bathtub holding a glass of bubbly. "When (the bachelorette parties) see it, they always snicker," he said.

More than 80% of the visitors who come from Dallas, San Antonio and Austin to his hill country Torre di Pietra winery are women. He said many of them favor the screwcapped 187ml size Red Flirt--a Cabernet-Zinfandel-Syrah blend that sells for $7.95, while others prefer the TDP Riesling for $5.95.

With a prior career in semi-conductors, Maxwell appreciates the simplicity of the screwcap bottling process for the 7,500 cases he bottles annually, all of them using his own equipment. "It's an easier bottling process," he said. "It eliminates some steps."

Fellow Texan John Wales said he'd never use anything other than the finest natural cork for the higher-priced wines he produces at his Wales Manor winery in McKinney and Lone Star Wine Cellars of McKinney and Grapevine. "Unless the wine retails above $21.95, I use synthetic cork," he said. "The biggest thing is to educate the consumer on why you're doing it. Once you do that, they tend to accept it--except for the higher-end wines."

(Based in New York, Suzanne Gannon writes on travel, culture, food and wine. She spent several years in the wine business. Her work has appeared in Town & Country, Art & Antiques, Executive Traveler and Via, among others. Reach her through edit@winesandvines.com.)

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