Wine sales with cork stoppers in the USA grow 97% in 10 years

Wines sealed with cork lead the premium wine market in the US between 2010 and 2020, with sales increasing 97% compared to 6% for wines sealed with artificial closures, according to a study by Nielsen consulting.
The study, which analyses sales trends for the top 100 premium brands, concludes that the market share of cork-bottled wines has increased from 47% to 67.6% over the past 10 years, with 72% of the top 100 US premium brands using cork stoppers by the end of 2020.
“Wines that choose cork lead in all price categories, particularly in wines priced above $10 (about €8.4) per bottle, with cork being used by 90% of wines above $20 (about €16.7)”, the consulting company pointed out.
Quoted in a statement, the president of the Portuguese Cork Association (Apcor) stresses that “the US is the world’s largest consumer of wine and the main export market for cork, worth 196 million euros”: “Cork stoppers occupy a prominent place in exports, representing more than 80%, which means 162 million euros. Cork is the second largest Portuguese exporter to the American market and probably the one with the highest added value worldwide”, says João Rui Ferreira.