Send Slotomania Gifts

According to wine industry figures, faults attributable to the use of cork as a seal run between 3-7 per cent depending on who you ask; this is high and would be labelled a disaster in any other industry, especially for food and beverage. It's particularly so when there are ways the industry can directly address the issue, by looking at alternative seals, as they are now doing. The decision to change closure, however, has to include consideration of costs and consumer preference. At present a plastic cork costs considerably less than a natural one - well under 3p each, when a good quality cork can easily cost more than 10p. With regard to consumer preference, this is more difficult to gauge. In some countries, most notably Australia and New Zealand, consumers, it seems, have readily embraced the screwcap. Indeed, the corkscrew is rapidly becoming redundant in both countries. When even Kay Brothers of McLaren Vale, the dusty old winery that has hardly changed since the eponymous brothers bought it in 1890, is using screwcaps exclusively, the time for a cork revival may be too late.

According to the cork industry more than one in two wineries are considering using the screwcap. However, many in the industry will continue to use natural cork for higher-priced bottles largely, they say, because of cork's ability to facilitate the proper aging of wine and overall consumer acceptance. The new synthetic corks have succeeded in getting the natural cork producers to take quality control far more seriously, and as a result the quality of cork closures has improved. But many wine makers and retailers remain unimpressed and argue that the cork industry has not yet eliminated cork taint.

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