This compares with just 41% of UK wine drinkers who accepted the idea of wine with a screw-cap closure when Wine Intelligence first began reporting on this issue eight years ago.
According to the new Closures Report 2011, in the same period, affinity for screw-cap closures – those people saying they actively like buying wine with a screw-cap - has risen from 6% of UK regular wine drinkers in 2003 to 42% in 2011, according to the report.
The biggest drivers of acceptance appear to be female wine drinkers in their late 30s and early 40s who are buying wine regularly from supermarkets to drink at home. There is also support for screw-caps among younger drinkers who have recently entered the wine category, suggesting that screw-caps will continue to strengthen their grip on UK wines.
Natural cork, meanwhile, remains the most liked closure among UK drinkers, with 51% of consumers saying they actively like buying wines sealed in this way. However affinity levels are slightly lower than eight years ago. Synthetic cork perceptions have remained more or less the same during this period.
Richard Halstead, COO of Wine Intelligence and author of the report, said: “This year’s consumer view on closures suggests that the UK has fundamentally changed over the past eight years. From a market that was actively sceptical – in some cases hostile – towards screw-caps, we now have a situation where they are the norm rather than the exception.”
The Closures Report also includes similar analysis of closure perceptions in the US and Australia, with tracking data going back to 2007.
The Closures Report 2011 - available for £500 (single-user licence) or 1 Report Credit.
