Natural Cork Retains Closure Dominance as Primary Driver of U.S. Off-Premise Wine Revenue, Data Shows

According to strategic market research released by the Portuguese Cork Association (APCOR) and the Natural Cork Council (NCC) using NielsenIQ data for the 52-week period spanning July 2025 through July 2026, natural cork closures continue to lead the U.S. wine market, serving as a primary driver of off-premise revenue and price realization across mainstream and luxury tiers.

Market Performance and Revenue Share

During the analyzed 52-week period, cork-sealed wines generated 62.3% of all domestic off-premise wine sales, totaling $7.74 billion, and accounted for nearly half of total case volume at 56.32 million cases within the $12.42 billion total U.S. market. For traditional 750ml glass bottle formats in core premium tiers priced at $8.00 and above, cork closures commanded 73.8% of bottle sales revenue, reaching $7.20 billion, and 70.8% of case volumes.

The findings indicate that cork-sealed wines averaged $137.37 per case, or approximately $11.45 per bottle, across all price tiers. This compares to screwcaps averaging $107.92 per case, or about $8.99 per bottle, and alternative closures averaging $44.63 per case, or roughly $3.72 per bottle. In the premium category of wines priced above $8.00, cork-sealed bottles rose to an average of $147.88 per case, or about $12.32 per bottle.

Premium and Luxury Dominance

• Luxury Tier ($25.00+): Cork captured 95% of total domestic revenue.
• Ultra-Premium Tier ($15.00–$24.99): Cork captured 54% of wine sales.
• Top 100 U.S. Wine Brands: Cork secured 97% of Luxury tier revenue during the evaluated window.

Data also highlighted cork's presence in accessible mainstream branding. Within the Top 100 U.S. wine brands sold segment, 100% cork-sealed 750mL glass bottles accounted for 8 out of the top 10 SKUs for revenue growth and 9 out of the top 10 volume-growth SKUs.

White Wine Expansion and Chardonnay Leadership

While traditionally prevalent in red wine categories—sealing 89% of all SKUs priced at $8.00 and above—cork's footprint in white wine continues to expand:

• Top 100 Brands White Wine: Cork-sealed wines accounted for 49% of active white wine SKUs and generated $3.15 billion in revenue, representing 44% of total white wine revenue during the period.
• Chardonnay: Generated over half of all white U.S. wine sales at $1.60 billion, capturing a 59.9% revenue share worth $961 million.
• Sauvignon Blanc: Cork-sealed bottles indexed at a +34.5% higher average case realization ($130.51 per case) compared to other white wine category averages, and a +14.3% price premium over screwcaps.

Market Stability and Verification

Amid macroeconomic challenges in the U.S. wine industry, upper-tier cork sales demonstrated relative resilience, dropping just -2% year-over-year in the Luxury tier, while non-glass and synthetic alternative closures experienced a -28% year-over-year revenue contraction in the Popular Premium tier ($8.00–$11.99). Similar trends were reported in European markets, including studies commissioned by APCOR using NielsenIQ data in the UK and France.

Patrick Spencer, Executive Director of the Natural Cork Council, stated that the data demonstrates cork's role as a signal of quality and sustainability for consumers. Readers and industry professionals can review the original announcements and verify methodology by visiting the official APCOR website (apcor.pt) or the Natural Cork Council website (naturalcorkcouncil.org), which note the research data was compiled via NielsenIQ and CGA Retail Performance Audit for the trailing 52 weeks.