Cork statistics

Each year some 17 billion bottles of wine are sold. The way to plug the neck varies greatly from one country to another. Catherine Pivot at the Université de Lyon has collected statistics of the closures:

• France: 90% natural cork, 9% plastic cork, 1% capsule.
• Switzerland: 80% screw cap.
• Australia: 30% synthetic (plastic) cork.
• USA: 75% natural cork, 17% plastic cork, 8% screw cap or other type of capsule.

The price of the closure: Natural cork: 2 euro cents – 1 euro. Plastic cork: 1.7-8 cents. Aluminium capsule: 2-8 cents. Read more : vitisphere.com