Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/498427
May 2015 WINES&VINES 57 PACKAGING variation, as well as ease of application." After experiments with screwcaps posed earlier bot- tling line problems, he said, "We are well en- trenched with synthetic at that tier and have good customer acceptance. Oxygen transmis- sion and ageability are also important." Schug began trialing synthetics in the late 1990s, and by 2000 he had committed to a mix of Nomacorc and Neocork (now Tasz), Cox said. "We had some difficulty with natural corks at the mid-quality level. They failed to meet expectations—inconsistent, TCA—prior to the cork processors developing new technologies. "We have no intention of going to screwcaps anytime soon, for a combination of price-point (consumer expectations) and aesthetics," he said. "We might consider Nomacorc for higher price point wines, but there, it is mostly a con- sumer expectation choice. If someone is spend- ing $30-plus, we believe (and there was some consumer research to back this) that they ex- pect it to be cork-finished. While some wineries will take up the challenge to change people's opinions, we have other messages to try to get across, e.g., elegance and fruit over raw power, Carneros vs. other regions," Cox said. "For the most part synthetics go by unno- ticed, which is their job. It's about the wine in the glass, not the package it came in," he con- tinued. "I do think there is growing awareness that synthetics are consistent and do a good job of protecting the wines. In the early days there were many styles of synthetics, some not very good. They tainted a few consumers' minds, but those corks for the most part have fallen by the wayside. It has been many years since I have had a retailer/sommelier or con- sumer offer negative feedback." Schug Carneros Estate Winery bottles its wines under Nomacorc. "Over time, the quality of synthetics has continued to improve, and weaker companies were weeded out. I think people have had good experiences with synthetics as well as screwcaps and other closures, and (they) realize that the quality of the wine is key." —Michael Cox, winemaker at Schug Carneros Estate Winery —continued from page 53