Research Institute indicated that type of closure was the
most important determinant for purchase intent, over price,
varietal, and region (Bleibaum et al. 2005). The study indicated
that U.S. consumers preferred natural cork closures
to synthetic corks and that screwcaps had a negative impact
on purchase intent, particularly for wines priced over
$15 per bottle. In contrast, Australian consumer purchase
decisions were most impacted by price, then closure, region,
and varietal. Natural corks also had the most positive
influence on purchase, but only marginally more than
screwcaps, with synthetic corks having a substantial negative
influence. The authors attribute this difference between
U.S. and Australian consumer perception of closures
to a longer history of screwcap use in Australia,
particularly for premium white wines; thus, the latter have
fewer negative connotations associated with screwcaps.
To date, no studies have investigated both consumer attitudes
and quality perceptions from tasting wines bottled
with the three major bottle closures (natural cork, synthetic
cork, and screwcap). Thus, the goal of this research
was to determine if wine consumers could detect a difference
between wines that were bottled with the three closure
types and if the type of wine bottle closure might
affect wine consumer perceptions of wine quality.