Do Sommeliers Consider Closure When Choosing Wines for Their Lists?

2023 Sommelier Choice Awards Results Continue to Show Preference for Cork Finished Wines

NEW YORK, August 3, 2023 – The results of the 2023 Sommelier Choice Awards indicate that sommeliers and wine directors prefer wines closed with cork, as the annual survey of the top 100 rated on-premise wines once again shows cork-sealed wines dominating the list in comparison to wines closed with artificial closures.

“The package matters,” said Gianfranco Sorrentino, famed New York City restaurateur and owner of Il Gattopardo and The Leopard des Artistes. “The cork signifies quality, and the ritual of the table side presentation of the bottle and removal of the cork is an important part of the restaurant experience,”

Sponsored by the Beverage Trade Network, the Sommelier Choice Awards ranks the top on-premise wines as chosen by sommeliers and on-premise wine buyers. Judging is based on one overriding concern: identifying the wines that should become additions to restaurant wine lists. The scoring system takes into consideration food pairability, quality, typicity, value, and packaging including closure.

The Top 100 scoring wines ranged across all price categories, with 40 wines over $30, 17 in the $20 – $30 range, 39 in the $10 – $20 range, and 3 priced under $10.

Thirteen countries were represented, with 25 from the USA and 22 from France. Surprisingly, Spain and Italy, two of the top countries for imported wine in the USA, had only 3 and 5 wines make the list.

The results showed that 81% of the wines were closed with natural cork, 17% had screw caps, 1 was a canned wine, and finally, 1 was a boxed wine. By region, all eight wines from Australia and New Zealand were closed with screw caps, while 23 of the 25 USA wines and 47 of the 52 European wines on the list were sealed with cork.

Tonya Pitts, sommelier and wine director at One Market Restaurant in San Francisco, said, “Although there are many fine wines under screw cap, most restaurant goers generally expect a fine wine to be closed with a cork, and the fact is most better wines still are.”

About 100% Cork

100% Cork is an educational communications campaign about wine cork stoppers. The mission of the campaign is to provide the wine industry and consumers with the latest information and research on the benefits of natural cork. The campaign was established by the Portuguese Cork Association (APCOR) with support from the Cork Quality Council to increase awareness of the unique qualities and sustainability of natural cork.

About APCOR

Associação Portuguesa da Cortiça (APCOR) exists to represent and promote the Portuguese cork industry and its products. APCOR is the employers’ association of national scope, created in 1956 and is based in Santa Maria de Lamas, at the heart of the cork industry around 30 kilometers from Porto, Portugal’s second largest city. Membership of the association is open to all companies operating in the fields of production, marketing or export of cork products. The organization advocates on behalf of the Portuguese cork industry worldwide and is the driving force of an industry based on tradition, innovation and sustainability.