Tolleson, Ariz. -- Portola Packaging has launched small-scale production of the Zork wine closure at its new Arizona manufacturing plant. The facility should be running at full production by the end of August. Batavia, Ill.-based Portola acquired licensing rights last year to handle U.S. production and marketing for the alternative closure--a peel-off stopper that is neither cork nor screwcap--developed by Zork, Pty. Ltd. in South Australia.

The original Zork closure was designed with European glass specifications in mind, limiting its use among U.S. wineries. However, the U.S.-produced closures accommodate different types of glass bottles more commonly used in the U.S. Portola's ZorkUSA division is currently working with bottle suppliers St.-Gobain, Vitro Packaging, O-I and Gallo. Glass companies can modify molds to accommodate custom bottles, according to ZorkUSA marketing director Beth Cozza.

The modified closures also allow two-color printing, rather than the one-color printing available on the Australian closures.

The largest user of Zork closures in the U.S. is Sonoma, Calif.-based Don Sebastiani & Sons. Deerfield Ranch Winery, also in Sonoma County, recently bottled its Sauvignon Blanc under Zork, and Napa's Domaine Carneros is currently testing the closure.

The Zork requires no special equipment for boutique wineries that wish to apply the closures by hand," noted Napa-based director of sales Robert Morey. Larger wineries can convert existing screwcap lines to accommodate the Zork closures, and at least one mobile bottling company--Top it Off Bottling, in Sonoma--offers Zork bottling services. Sonoma Wine Co., in Graton, Calif., is set up for Zork bottling and is scheduled to do its first Zork-sealed production run on Aug. 30.

The U.S.-manufactured Zork closure is comparable to screwcaps in price, Morey said. As an additional benefit over screwcaps, he added, "Zork doesn't come with emotional baggage."

The company plans to educate U.S. consumers about the closure by exhibiting at consumer wine events, such as ZAP and Rhone Rangers, and by creating neck hangers for retail sales.