While wine on tap is nothing brand new here in the United States, our first loves of beer and liquor have made us reluctant adopters of this trend. Wine from kegs is old hat in Europe where storing to serving wine in kegs was a seamless and almost obvious transition. Every so often wine on tap has been introduced in the states but has failed to gain a foothold. So, for Europeans and Americans alike this is no “trend” but for us it is trend that in the past few years has turned into a fast growing obsession and there a great number of reasons for it.
First and foremost, we are getting better at serving wine from the tap. The process of storing and pouring from a keg has improved so much that the main issue that plagues an open bottle of wine (oxidation) has been eliminated. Kegs of wine are pumped full of inert gases (argon and nitrogen) which fill any voids left by the wine preventing oxygen from getting in. What the customer gets is a very fresh glass of wine that tastes good too.
Another benefit from wine on tap is the eco-friendly aspect. Kegs cut down on waste and cost. Kegs are re-usable unlike wine bottles which require recycling, not re-bottling. Wine in a keg (approx. 130 glasses) takes up less space than the equivalent number of cases of wine and weighs less overall. This adds up to more storage space in the restaurant or bar and cheaper shipping costs for the manufacturer.
Restaurants and their customers further benefit by being able to sell and buy different sizes of glasses of wine. Taste-size pours to full liters of wine can be poured without having to watch the waiter struggle with the cork or having to worry about what to do with the rest of the bottle. Lastly, kegs don’t break.
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