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]