Cork-sealed wine enjoys higher price and bigger increase in value over past four years compared to screwcaps

Wine sealed with a natural cork have seen their prices rise by more than those with screwcap closures, retailing on average at £3.04 more per bottle, according to a recent report from the Portuguese Cork Association (APCOR).   After analysing the top 1,500 wine skus in the UK, the report, conducted by Nielsen,  showed that natural cork sealed wines enjoyed a 29% increase in value compared to a 10% increase for screwcap bottles over the past four years.  

The average price for a bottle of wine sealed with natural cork is now £9.13 compared to £7.05 in 2017, and for screwcap £6.09 versus £5.53 (2017). And both red and white wines sealed with cork outperform the market in driving value.

In red wines, bottles with natural cork have an average price of £9.05 per bottle compared to £5.96 for bottles sealed with a screwcap. Additionally, the average price for a bottle of red wine sealed with natural cork has increased by 26% since 2017 compared to the average price of a bottle of red wine closed with a screwcap which has only increased by 13% over the same time frame.  

Meanwhile, the average price of white wine bottles sealed with natural cork is £9.20 compared to £6.23 for bottles of white wine sealed with a screwcap. White wines sealed with natural cork have seen an increase in price per bottle of nearly three times that of white wines closed with a screwcap since 2017 - a 36% increase, compared to only 13% for screwcaps.  

New World wines sealed with natural cork have seen the biggest uplift in value, up by 105% since 2020, comprising 19% of all bottles sealed with cork. The trend is being driven by Argentina, which accounts for 40% of New World wines under cork, followed by Australia with 24% and South Africa with 16. Old World wines sealed with cork account for 81% market share.    

And younger UK consumers show a clear preference for natural cork too, according to recent Wine Intelligence research. “Generation Z in the UK is more likely to associate cork with quality and could consider screwcap sealed wines as less prestigious," said CEO Lulie Halstead. "Millennial respondents have also shown a preference for natural cork over alternatives such as plastic stoppers.”

João Rui Ferreira, APCOR's vice president commented: ‘It’s really interesting to see consumers trading up, not just in terms of wine value sales but it seems that there is an inherent interest in opting for cork sealed wines particularly amongst millennials.  Educating consumers and particularly millennials about the benefits of cork closures is one of our key aims and one of our recent UK activations has been our recycling partnership with Majestic to demonstrate to UK wine drinkers that natural cork is the best choice in terms of both quality and the environment.”