The world’s finest wines are sealed with cork stoppers

Cork stoppers are the closures used by 91% of the world’s finest wines ranked in last year’s Wine Spectator’s Top 100. This overwhelming preference - which was revealed in a recent study conducted by 100% Cork and APCOR – the Portuguese Cork Association - confirms the trend that has been registered over recent years: the cork stopper is the closure preferred by the vast majority of wine consumers. Moreover, 2021 appears to be the year in which a higher percentage of wines in the Wine Spectator’s Top 100 were sealed with cork stoppers (since 2016, when 100% Cork started monitoring the list). Three more statistics that confirm the cork stopper as the supreme sealing solution: according to a report by the consultancy firm Nielsen, between 2010 and 2020, sales of wines sealed with cork stoppers among the 100 best premium brands grew by 97%, compared to 6% for alternative stoppers; the market share of premium wines sealed with cork stoppers increased from 47% to 67.6% in the same period; and 31 of the 33 American wines included in the Wine Spectator’s 2021 Top 100 list were sealed with cork stoppers (94%). 2021’s Top 100 list was topped by Dominicus Estate, Napa Valley 2018, Château Pichon Longueville Lalande, Pauillac 2018 and Heitz, Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Martha’s Vineyard 2016. Wine Spectator, a prestigious American magazine that specialises in wines, has been drawing up its annual Top 100 list since 1988. The selection criteria include quality, value, availability and the history behind the wine.