Wine on tap—once thought to possibly be a fad—has during the last few years become a staple of successful bar programs. In fact, more than half of independent restaurants credit keg wine programs as a top way to attract customers.*
The reason for the attraction is simple: pouring a better glass of wine, every time.
The perfect pour can be a difficult thing to do if a bar program only employs bottled wine in their lineup. Someone might order a glass of one particular bottle, and you might not be able to sell through the rest of that bottle before oxygen negatively affects the quality of the wine, whereas wine in a keg will stay fresh for 45 days after being tapped. A nice benefit here is the new ability for a greater number of bar programs to be able to offer luxury wines by the glass, as opposed more modestly-priced brands.
Preserving the integrity of the wine is just one of the many benefits of a keg wine program.
Eco-Friendly Benefits
- Reduces carbon dioxide emissions in production and shipping process
- Fully recyclable
- Reduces waste from corks, bottle production and labeling
- Over a lifespan, one keg will replace one ton of bottles
Ease of Operation
- Increases speed of service
- No wasted time pulling corks, recycling bottles or throwing away waste
Cost Savings
- Eliminates 10% average waste from spoilage
- Roughly 50 cents cost savings per 750 ml bottle, which equates to roughly $6 a case savings
All these benefits are valid reasons for considering employing a keg wine program if you aren’t already. The customers will appreciate the high-quality wines. Most wines produced today are meant to be consumed rather quickly, so why not pour your customers a wine that tastes exactly like how the winemaker intended?
Statistics provided by E. & J. Gallo Winery, Wine Spectator and Technomics