Tyrrell's and Yellowglen have both made moves to replace the traditional cage and cork seals with screwtops.
Tyrrell's has announced its Moore's Creek and Glenbawn on-premise only sparking ranges are swapping cork for a cap, aguing that the screwcap takes only a fraction of the time to open and minimises wastage when wine is being poured by the glass, as the wine is kept fresher for longer.
At last week's Jazz in the Vine concert, Tyrrell's was able to have two less staff members working in the bar.
"One in every eight bottles sold at the Jazz is Sparkling. In recent years we have had to deal with the cage and cork closure and as each bottle needs to be opened on demand it was taking double time to serve a sparkling customer. In the past the bar struggled with lineups and we just couldn’t serve them quick enough.
"2013 was a massive improvement, sparkling customers were served as quickly as still wine customers…one twist and it was done," said Andrew Goldman, Tyrrell’s cellardoor manager.
Yellowglen has launched Yellow Brut Cuvée with a reseal screw cap, which it says maintains sparkling wine effervescence for weeks.
Michelle Terry, managing director of Lindeman’s & Sparkling, said "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. It’s this continued innovation that has been so important in Yellowglen’s 40 years of sparkling heritage."
However, Yellow will still be available with a traditional cork seal, so those consumers who enjoy the 'pop' of opening a bottle of sparking won't be disappointed.