The recent evolution of wine is a funny thing. First, corks started giving way to screw tops. Next, we had to stop making Franzia jokes when some decent boxed wines popped up. And now, oenophiles are entering territory formerly reserved for beer drinkers: the draught.

Wines dispensed from stainless steel kegs seems to conjure up images of “wine-in-the-box”, but the tide is changing in how wineries and restauranteurs are viewing the benefits of “kegging up” versus ”bottling up”. Putting wines in kegs is not a new concept. European countries such as England have incorporated keg systems in tavern and restaurant settings for years. Actually, the wine industry can learn a lot about cost effectiveness and efficiency at the point of pour. Draft beer programs have always surpassed traditional “by-the-glass” wine programs for less product loss and better pour margins. [READ MORE]

What is it? Wine on tap is the latest restaurant trend. No, those are not beer taps you are looking at – they are wine taps!

Restaurants are slowly adding these ‘green’ and less expensive alternatives to bottled wine for their patrons and wine connoisseurs.

Are they tapped from boxed wine? Nope. The wine served on tap comes from wine barrels shipped directly from wineries into a keg that is hooked up to the keg and tap system, similar to the system used for beer.

So how does it work? Much like draft beer. Wine is stored in kegs that hold 5.15 gallons, or about 26 bottles of wine and hooked up to a keg and tap system. Passing through a low-pressure system, an inert gas – usually nitrogen or argon – pushes the wine through. Gas goes in, wine comes out. Because the wine is never exposed to oxygen, it stays fresh indefinitely. [READ MORE]

Keep an eye on your bartender the next time you order a glass of wine at OTD, Charles Phan’s new San Francisco outpost. Chances are it won’t be coming from a bottle, but a tap.

That’s right. A tap.

Eight wines are being served from sterling spigots at the new Bush Street spot, and wine director Gus Vahlkamp couldn’t be happier about what they represent.

Vahlkamp, who lived in Provence when he was younger, remembers how local restaurants sold house wine straight from giant plastic barrels.

There were no bottles, no corks, no labels. No waste.

“I always thought it was a good idea,” Vahlkamp recalls.

He isn’t alone. Wine on tap is taking flight in Bay Area restaurants and bars as a cheaper, greener and fresher alternative to bottled wines served by the glass. [READ MORE]

The alternative packaging trend gets bigger and reusable: a 2009 Riesling from the Finger Lakes in 20-liter tank will soon be available in NYC.

Known as Gotham Project, the thirst-quenching Riesling is the brainchild of Charles Bieler (above, left), of Bieler Rose in Provence and one of the Three Thieves, and Bruce Schneider (right), of Schneider Vineyards on Long Island. Bars and restaurants will be able to get it from local distributor Michael Skurnik; the only open question is whether it will be available for homes, as rooftops and poolsides beckon [READ MORE]

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief
Photos courtesy of Verace

 I think we’ve all been there — in a restaurant that may or may not pay much attention to its wine list and may or may not pay even less attention to their by-the-glass selection — more or less offering whatever is already open, and over-charging you for it.

You order a glass anyway, knowing that you’re playing by-the-glass roulette. Before you even take a sip, you can pinpoint how long the bottle has been open — somewhere between a week and a year. Oxidized, cooked or both.

Now imagine a different world  completely, one where every glass of wine is fresh and tastes the way the winemaker intended. Now imagine that — in that same world — the wine by the glass isn’t a rip-off. 

This is the world of wine in kegs. And it’s come to Long Island in the form of Verace, a new Italian restaurant in Islip. I haven’t been there yet, but the wine program is certainly intriguing. [READ MORE]

WINE NOTES: A Portland restaurant is the first locally to use a delivery system that keeps quality wines fresh at a lower price

By KATHERINE COLE
Special to The Oregonian

Travelers to Europe are often beguiled by the vins de la maison served at neighborhood bistros. These rustic wines arrive at the table in a pichet, or pitcher, filled from a spigot attached to an utterly unpretentious (and utterly charming) small wood barrel.

Whether the transaction takes place in French, Italian or Spanish, the end result is the same: a cheap and satisfying wine experience that feels somehow more authentic than the act of uncorking a bottle. [READ MORE]

What comes from a keg, stays fresh for 60 days and isn’t anything like what you would expect? Wine by the barrel, of course.

Ordering a glass of wine at your local restaurant? You may be getting wine drawn from a keg, not poured from a bottle. A growing number of East Bay restaurants are opting for the eco-friendly, cost-cutting benefits of wine on tap.

Pete’s Brass Rail in Danville, Pizza Antica in Lafayette, Blakes on Telegraph, and Chop Bar in Oakland, to name a few, fill their wines by the glass from kegs or mini tanks that hold the equivalent of 15 to 20 bottles of wine, depending on the system. [READ MORE]

On a recent trip to San Francisco, I had the opportunity to visit famed Chef Charles Phan’s new restaurant Out The Door. My friend and I cozied up to the bar to grab some lunch. As we were handed our menus I noticed something odd behind the bar. There was a beautiful stainless tower with words like Sauvignon Blanc and Verdelho and tall tap handles on it. I inquired with the bartender and was informed that it was a keg system that dispenses wine. How could this be? With trepidation I ordered a glass of the Free Flow Wine from Dry Creek Valley. We had stumbled upon a growing trend in the industry, keg dispensed wine. And it’s Green to boot! [READ MORE]