Corks v Screwcaps Survey Results
January 26th 2011, by Gavin
We’ve had an incredible response to our recent ’30-Second Survey’. As I mentioned in 10 Questions about Corks v Screwcaps, we’ve considered whether we should continue with corks for our white and rosé, and possibly for our reds. With the bottling of over 10,000 cases due to take place next month, we wanted to know what everyone thinks. The easiest thing to do would be not to change anything – after all, we get few complaints.
On 14 January, we emailed all our customers (or rather, all those who are on our email list), with a link to a simple survey, which closed a week later. The question was:
What closures should we use to bottle our wines?
There were three choices – cork, screwcap or don’t mind – for each category of white, rosé and red. Over 1100 responded within a week, leaving their full name and email address (which wasn’t obligatory). Around 700 left a comment. This was the result (1148 entries):
Conclusions
Corks v Screwcaps Quiz Winners
January 26th 2011, by Gavin
Everyone who completed our January ’30-Second Survey’ was invited to enter a short quiz, with the closest to guessing the % vote in favour of cork winning a prize. 600 people took part.
The results were 16%, 12.4% and 59.5%. For the full results, see Corks v Screwcaps Survey Results.
Congratulations to the winners, Stuart Denlegh-Maxwell and Brian Cockburn
who each win a case of 2000 Château Cap de Faugères (89/100 from Robert Parker). Both were within 2 points on average of the pro-cork vote.
Mike and Liz Stamp snatched the third case, of 2000 Château Puygueraud (87/100 RP).
A Château Bauduc apron, for being within 3%, goes to these 6 who were so close – within 3% on average:
January Newsletter
January 25th 2011, by Gavin
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10 Questions about Corks v Screwcaps
January 14th 2011, by Gavin
The debate about corks versus screwcaps is hardly a new one, so why now?
Today, we’re emailing our customers with a 30-Second Survey to see whether they prefer corks or screwcaps on our whites, reds and rosé. We’re bottling next month, so we’d like to know what our customers prefer.
What closures do Château Bauduc use?
All our wines in our current line-up (pre-2010 vintage) are bottled with natural cork from Portugal. After some poor experiences with corks ten years ago, we did a trial using Stelvin – the leading brand of screwcaps – for our 2002 vintage Bordeaux Blanc. The 2002 bottles sealed with Stelvin are still drinking well today.
Why not carry on with Stelvin screwcaps back then?
Consumer reaction in 2003 was mixed and some restaurateurs were not in favour. The acceptance of screwcaps since has obviously changed in most countries, especially the UK, but not in France. More importantly, we changed cork suppliers – we now use two or three – and the quality of corks has improved dramatically. It’s a small point but we were also quite attached to the uncommon ‘antique’ green colour of our bottles, which until now have not been available here for screwcaps.