Australian wine maker Treasury Wine Estates has adopted the Australian-developed Viiva resealable closure for sparkling wines to cap its new Yellowglen Yellow Brut Cuvée release.
The Viiva closures, developed by Guala Closures Australia and the local branch of glass giant O-I, were launched last year as a resealable closure option specifically for sparkling wines.
Developed over five years, the closures are designed to retain the carbonation and quality of an opened bottle of sparkling wine through a combination of improved screw design, the aluminium material used to manufacture the caps, and the liner within the closure.
Yellowglen joins other wine brands, including Viiva's launch customer De Bortoli, as local adopters of the caps.
The winery said the launch of Yellow reseal sparkling had the potential to reinvigorate the category and drive growth.
It said the closure offered such benefits as easy accessibility, less wastage, and a significant reduction in rubbish from corks and hoods.
“Reseal bottles have revolutionised the table wine industry in Australia and have been embraced by consumers and trade alike – and we can foresee similar trends with reseal bottles in sparkling wine,” Treasury Wine Estate's managing director of Lindeman’s and Sparkling, Michelle Terry, said.
“From an on-premise perspective, it makes it easier and more cost effective to sell sparkling by the glass as carbonation will be maintained for significantly longer.
“At the same time, many consumers of sparkling have concerns about wastage, loss of bubbles over time and a genuine fear of popping corks, so we are continuing to lead innovation in the sparkling category and give people more choice.”
Acknowledging that the ceremony of unwrapping the hood and popping the cork is an important part of the sparkling wine experience for many consumers, she said the Yellow product would also be available with a traditional cork closure.
Guala Closures Australia sales and marketing manager, Simon Yudelevich, told PKN the latest application of the Viiva closures had demonstrated their strong acceptance since their original launch last year.
He said since the introduction of the Viiva closures on launch customer De Bortoli's sparkling wines, about 20 other brands from such companies as Taylors Wines and Cockatoo Ridge had adopted the caps.
Yudelevich said Guala had worked closely with Yellowglen in trialling the new closure for the its Yellow product.
“We have always regarded Yellowglen as the premier sparkling wine brand in Australia and have worked with the brand throughout the reseal development process, sharing early trial results and gaining feedback,” he said.
“It’s a great result to have a brand with Yellowglen’s market share taking this technology on board.
“Mindful of the sparkling category norms and keen to differentiate the product with table wine, Yellowglen has been instrumental in working with us to develop the tall necked bottle to sit at the same height as the Yellowglen Yellow under cork, maintain the packaging dimensions of sparkling under cork and to clearly communicate the new closure with consumers.”
Yellowglen Yellow is part of the Yellowglen Colours range, launched in 1996, which also includes Pink, Red and White varieties.
Yellowglen Yellow will be available in bottles sporting both corks and resealable closures designed to maintain carbonation after opening and resealing.
