Case Study on the Introduction of the Screwcap to the Australian
wine market
By Damien WILSON and Joëlle BROUARD
Damien.wilson@escdijon.eu and joelle.brouard@escdijon.eu
Résumé: This case study details the conditions leading up to the first launch of the screwcap
bottle closure to the Australian wine market in the mid-1970s. The case outlines the
perceived problems associated with the use of natural cork as a wine bottle closure, and the
steps taken by a number of wineries in a lesser-known wine region with their attempt to
adopt an alternative form of closure to counter the perceived technical deficiencies with
natural cork. The case outlines that this era in the Australian wine sector was both highly
creative and yet financially challenging. Details provide highlights of the mix in conditions
that combined to thwart the commercial success of the adoption of this product innovation.
The use of an archival analysis of documentation from that period presents evidence of the
marketing approaches used to aid in the adoption of this innovation. By incorporating these
findings through interviews with wine culture historians on the behaviour of wine consumers
at the time, and outlining the decision-making procedures of the executives responsible for
implementing such marketing practices, the case details why the screwcap closure was a
commercial failure on its first release in Australia.