Convenient closure tops Red Knot Wines

Red Knot Wine produced by South Australian vintner McLaren Vale and distributed by Seattle-based Precept Wine Brands uses unique "ZORK" closures manufactured by Zork USA to help distinguish its product in the fiercely competitive wine marketplace. The closures are made by Zork USA, a division of Portola Packaging, Inc. (www.portpack.com)

The Zork closure system looks like a screw cap and pops like a cork. It features a distinctive corkscrew swirl-contoured, tear-away neck band, tamper-evident metal cap, inner foil oxygen barrier, and a plunger that "pops" like a cork when extracted and is easily reinserted.

Red Knot was using red Zork closures for its red wines, white Zork closures for its white wines, and pink Zork closures for its rose wines

Red Knot used red Zork closures for its red wines, white for its white wines, and pink for its rose wines. Precept's vp of marketing Alexandra Evans says, "Our 2003 U.S. launch was with Red Knot's Shiraz and Cabernet. We later introduced the White Knot Chardonnay and Pink Knot Rose brands, using the same packaging scheme. But research showed that consumers didn't immediately associate the latter wine varieties with the Red Knot brand. And I believe the lifecycle of a brand's packaging should be reviewed every three to four vintages to keep in sync with market trends."

Working with KS Design Studio (www.ikdesign.com.au), Precept proceeded to evaluate every aspect of the Red Knot packaging. Some changes were made in the label format/font. The new flexo-printed, gloss-varnished paper labels are supplied by Studio Labels (www.studiolabels.com.au). The deep-punt glass bottles are supplied by Amcor (www.amcor.com).

Evans notes, “We explored the consumer and trade feedback on the Zork closure and found it was one element we didn’t want to change in our new packaging except to eliminate the white and pink color Zorks and going with red only. Zork is key to our sales strategy.”

"Zork ensures the quality of the wine we put into the bottle and gives consumers added convenience," says Red Knot winemaker John Davey.