Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/498427
May 2015 WINES&VINES 53 PACKAGING sonable candidate for the closure. Other winery clients cur- rently using WAK include Na- pa's 60,000-case Silverado Vineyards and Monterey Coun- ty's 100,000-case Scheid Vine- yards, according to Allesandro Bocchio, general manager of G u a l a C l o s u r e s N o r t h America. WAK signifies "wine aluminum keeper," he said. The "capsule" is fit- ted with a pre-threaded aluminum insert. Unlike other screwcaps, it is screwed on rather than rolled on during the bottling process, he ex- plained. From its incep- tion, Guala viewed WAK as a premium closure i d e a , i n c l u d i n g e n - hanced aesthetic ap- peal. Developed in Italy, where it debuted, it drew Australian clients as well before coming to the United States. Although pricier than some rival screw- caps, Bocchio said, "It's still competitive, and cheaper than cork-and-capsule. It doesn't go on a wine that's sold for $3-$5." Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards in Windsor, Calif.—now owned by Brown Forman Wines— has for decades been respected for its Chardon- nays. Winemaking director Mick Schroeter declined to share supplier information, saying it was "proprietary." He told Wines & Vines, how- ever, that closure decisions were "both a winemaking and brand decision, based on several fac- tors such as consistency, quality and convenience. These wines truly run across all segments of the wine category from value p r i c e d t o u l t r a - p r e m i u m wines," he said. "We use the same liner for all varietals with this type of closure. The vast majority of our wine that is under screwcap is sold on-premise, and much of that volume is by the glass. We have had very positive results so far. Wine sold on-premise is more likely to use alternative closures." Wine & Spirits magazine's annual restaurant poll recently named Sonoma-Cutrer the No. 1 most popular Chardonnay in the United States. Schroeter looks forward to new develop- ments, saying there is "really interesting work being done with screwcap liners for varied OTR (oxygen transmission rates)." Stop…in the name of 'green'? Similar to Stelvin's domination of the screwcap category, Nomacorc, based in Zebulon, N.C., has become the default name in synthetic wine stoppers. It reports selling an estimated 20 billions units worldwide annually. Last year it introduced the Select Bio, made from renew- able, plant-based biopolymers derived from sugar cane. Nomacorc has quietly been adopted by top U.S wineries including 40,000-case Schug Carneros Estate Winery in Sonoma County, Calif., which employs Nomacorc stoppers in its Sonoma Coast tier of wines: Its Chardonnay and Pinot Noir sell for $25 per bottle, and the Sauvignon Blanc retails for $20 per bottle. Winemaker Michael Cox reported: "Consis- tency is important—avoiding bottle-to-bottle Silverado's WAK closure is screwed on—not rolled on. Sonoma-Cutrer promotes screwcaps destined for the on-premise market. —continues on page 57