Screwcap wine closures have a bright future, according to new worldwide research, but the industry still has some way to go to persuade all European consumers that natural cork has had its day.

What closures will consumers like to use in the future

Wine market analyst company Skalli & Rein surveyed 1,000 winemakers, marketers, buyers and journalists around the world as part of the on-going wine closures debate.

The screwcap is proving to be the most popular closure for wine drinkers in the New World, with natural and synthetic corks running neck and neck. But in Europe, the natural cork is still, but only just, the most popular closure, followed by the screwcap and then the sythentic cork.

Wine drinkers around the world are united in wanting ?ease of opening? as their number one priority with whatever closure is used. For New World drinkers, ?proper sealing? and ?TCA-free? wines are the next important attributes for a closure. For Old World consumers, it is a close call between ?conservation after opening?, ?TCA-free? and the ?wine-ageing? qualities of the closure.

The wine trade around the world believes consumers are ?not interested in low costs as long as the product is reliable?.

More information on how to obtain Skalli & Rein's Global Wine Closure Survey can be found on the www.skalliandrein.comwebsite .