Turning the screw on closures

Never talk religion or politics on a first date - or closures. The science behind closures can put people to sleep, but to the industry, it remains very much a charged topic.

This year has seen a surge in interest in the green debate and the cork industry feels it is in a position to take advantage of this wave - but rivals claim it is still not doing its job properly.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is calling on the wine industry to back cork to save the 2.7 million hectares of cork oak forests located in the Mediterranean basin. The survival of these cork forests apparently rests largely on the market for cork stoppers, which reportedly account for 30% of the volume harvested, but 70% of the total cork market value.

The WWF alleges that 100,000 people rely on cork oak forests
for their survival, as do 13,000 plant species and the entire European population of common cranes, and many other birds and animals.

What's more, cork's environmental credentials are given greater support by the rapid surge in interest in our carbon footprint. A study by French research agency Cairn Environnement reported that a screwcap (with 35% recycled aluminium) emits more than four times more carbon dioxide (CO2) per tonne than a natural cork stopper.

The research was conducted on behalf of Oeneo Bouchage, which stopped producing corks last year to concentrate on its technical cork, Diam, and screwcaps.

Its Diam closure produces more than double the amount of CO2 of a natural stopper. Inevitably, screwcap producers are less than impressed by the findings. Bruno di Saizieu, sales and marketing director for Stelvin giant Alcan packaging, says: "The Oeneo study is based on their screwcaps, whereas ours are 100% recycled aluminium."

Others have questioned the WWF's campaign. Oeneo's sales director, Dean Banister, is not swayed by deforestation arguments. He says: "If cork worked then the cork
forests wouldn't be under threat. I think it's a side issue. If there were no cork forests then they'd grow something else. I think the wine industry is suspicious of its backing."

But Nora Berrahmouni, coordinator of the WWF cork oak landscapes programme, answered back: "We are not working for the cork industry and we are not against screwcaps or plastic stoppers," she says. "We are aware of the quality issues related to cork stoppers and we are pushing them to improve and maintain quality. But if the industry wants to do something for the environment and the planet, it should reconsider its decision to use other closures."

But is the green argument enough to persuade those who have switched to alternative closures to return? If cork doesn't perform, claims of eco-friendliness will fall on deaf ears. Cork producers admit that until the late 1990s, they had largely ignored the taint issue.

Carlos de Jesus, marketing and communications director for Amorim, the world's biggest cork manufacturer, says: "If it wasn't for alternative closures giving us a kick in the pants we wouldn't have put the money in or made the technological advances.

It's awakened the industry." Since then Amorim's ROSA steam treatment has reduced TCA contamination by between 69% and 80%, according to independent researcher CCFRA.

In May this year the International Guide for Buying Cork Stoppers for Still Wine was published, after consultation with retailers including Marks & Spencer, Tesco and Sainsbury's, producers such as Yalumba and KWV, and national trade associations.

Its aim is to ensure cork producers are aware of the technical standards required by the wine industry.

The guide is another layer of protocol for the cork industry, which has already had the International Code of Cork Stopper Manufacturing Practices (ICCSMP) in place for some time, as well as Systecode - a system that audits ICCSMP production. It is now estimated that 90% of corks are produced to ICCSMP specifications.

However, TCA is still a cause for concern. Howard Winn, technical manager for beers, wines and spirits at Sainsbury's, was a contributor to the guide.

He says: "At long last corks have started to up their game, agreeing on new codes of practice." But this is not yet enough. "The key thing is to deliver a wine in the best possible condition. I still try to avoid cork stoppers and have been very successful in converting wineries to use synthetic stoppers over the past eight year.

"I've seen a 75% to 95% drop in complaints since using synthetics."

On the other hand, corkscrew-resistant tendencies and coloured corks that have you reaching for your sunglasses haven't done synthetic closures any favours. Simon Waller, vice-president of global sales for Supremecorq, thinks synthetics have an unfairly hard time.

"You get different performances from different types of synthetic corks but the industry tends to tar us all with the same brush. There are lots of lower-quality producers who have entered the market and if a producer has one bad experience it puts them off altogether."

But he is not deterred having seen an increased demand for synthetics as a result of a global bottle shortage, particularly lightweight bottles, clear glass and screwcap finish.

"Retailers don't want tainting or bottle variation, they want consistent batches," says Banister. Gonzalo Peres, winemaker at Chilean winery Anakena, comments: "Cork has not been a problem for us - maybe one in 100 bottles that's all. Around five to 10 year ago I was worried about its lack of reliability, but in my opinion it has really developed in the past five years. For Sauvignon Blanc I prefer Stelvin, but some wines must have corks."

In the case of Anakena, UK retail pressure has counted, however, because in 2008 all its whites will go under screwcap.

South African producer Vergelegen is now putting half of its production under screwcap as a result of the UK multiples, demands. Its winemaker Andr Van Rensburg says: "We would have serious delisting issues if our wines weren't under screwcap.

The retailers won't take whites under cork - they are banging the drum."

Winn at Sainsbury's admits: "We have very much led the way." Only 8% of its own-label range is bottled under natural cork,with some 72% under synthetics (plastic or Diam).

Wine Intelligence found that two-thirds of Tesco's white wine and almost half of its red wine had screwcaps, but the closure remained heavily concentrated in the New World section. Waitrose, in September 2006, had more than 50% of its range bottled under cork, with less than 15% under synthetic.

So does the winemaker have a say in all this? If you are Australian producer Brian Croser you can certainly bottle your wine under whichever closure you choose. Croser prefers cork, calling the Stelvin movement "disparaging, brutal and unintellectual". He also believes the environmental credentials of cork will slow screwcap sales.

And what about the end user? Do they actually care what closure the producers use? A Wine Intelligence closure survey released earlier this year found that almost three-quarters of regular wine drinkers in the UK find screwcap closures acceptable, compared with 64% in 2004, and 41% in 2003.

Nearly all consumers found natural cork stoppers as acceptable as they did three years ago, while almost a third consider the ritual of opening a bottle with a corkscrew as an important part of wine consumption.

Wine Intelligence summarised that "wine trade debates about cork taint and oxidisation have yet to make a significant impact on consumers".

Cork has come a long way since the end of the 1990s, but whether it is enough to persuade UK retailers is another thing. If cork proves it can perform consistently then its green credentials could boost its desirability. Other closure types are making technological advances. Diam, for example, is on the rise, and there's a variety of permeable screwcaps. The search for the perfect closure continues...

OXIDATION, NOT TCA

While TCA has been reduced, though not eliminated, there are other key factors in the closures debate, including rate of oxygen ingress and consistency. Paul Sanders, technical manager and winemaker for Bottle Green, which supplies many of the UK multiples, says: "At the premium end natural corks are good, but there's too much variability at the lower end with oxidation."

Chablis producer Michel Laroche, a prominent screwcap supporter who famously put his Grand Cru wines under Stelvin five years ago, believes TCA is no longer the main issue. "The problem with cork is not TCA but oxidation - within five to 10 years my wines were oxidised under cork. I have the feeling that the wines are going to last twice as long under screwcap."

Screwcaps have been accused of encouraging reduction, with 2.2% - or one in 50 - wines found to have been affected at the International Wine Challenge. Bruno di Saizieu at Alcan remains unconcerned.

"Reduction is not a problem. You have reduced wine with cork as well as screwcaps. It all depends on the liner." The inside liner controls the rate at which oxygen reaches the wine and Alcan currently produces two kinds. It is working on a "new generation" of Stelvin with differentliners to suit different markets, due on the market by the end of 2008. Di Saizieu says: "The Japanese prefer their Chardonnay more oxidised than the Americans so winemakers can decide on their liner by market."

Some say that reduction is not a closures issue but a winemaking issue. Oeneo's Dean Banister admits: "A lot of winemakers went into screwcaps without thinking about adjusting their winemaking. Some wines have a tendency to be reductive. It's not a grape thing - it's a vineyard thing."

You'd expect a winemaker to know his or her vineyard well enough to know whether their wines had reductive tendencies and adjust their wines accordingly but it is still an issue. So why, in 2007, are they still getting it wrong?