Let me give you a situation. You are at a restaurant. The waiter or waitress approaches you. The following conversation ensues…

The Natural Process Alliance (The NPA), continues to make major strides in the wine industry.  Pioneers in natural winemaking, alternative packaging, and wine distribution, The NPA has become one of the first winery tasting rooms in the world to pour all of their wines on tap to visitors to the winery.

“There is something special about, young, fresh, local, wine.  We can deliver that in our tasting room and to our restaurant partners using kegs and Klean Kanteens (stainless steel water bottles).  As a fringe benefit, we eliminate all the waste that goes into the packaging for a common bottle of wine-  But this is beyond packaging-  People visit wine country to taste local wine at its best– The NPA tasting room gives consumers a chance to get directly in touch with wine country through wines that have undergone none of the rigors of the modern winemaking process.” states Kevin Kelley, owner and winemaker. [REAM MORE]

Wine kegs in restaurants are  nothing new—in other parts of the world, anyway. Traveling in the French countryside I’ve sometimes been served local wines from a small barrel delivered to a restaurant by the winemaker. In fact, one of my fond memories involves being in the Beaujolais region in late November—right around the time that the Nouveau arrives in the U. S. Le propriétaire recommended a local Nouveau, and we were delighted when he dipped a pitcher into a wooden barrel on the counter and carted it to our table. It was, as he had predicted, fantastique! [READ MORE]

You may have noticed wine kegs have weaseled their way into some of the more respected restaurants in San Francisco, like Frances, Delfina and Salt House. At some of these spots, wine directors are commissioning custom blends for wine-on-tap programs: like Gus Vahlkamp, wine program manager at Charles Phan’s Out the Door, who’s sourcing exclusive creations from Scholium Project and LIOCO for the restaurant’s state-of-the-art tap tower. But it doesn’t have to be that complicated. Other Bay Area restaurants, like Coda in Oakland and Salt House in SF, choose blends from Free Flow Wines’ newly launched Silvertap. The first brand in the country to create a winery for the sole purpose of producing high quality wine for keg distribution, effectively streamlining the process from vineyard to tap. [READ MORE]

Whether you are a wine connoisseur or amateur, one of the most difficult dining decisions can be deciding which wine to choose. Most restaurants and bars only offer a few wines by the glass, and many people are unwilling to purchase a bottle of wine that they’re not familiar with. However, the wine tasting bar concept has become an increasingly popular way to expand wine horizons.

A wine tasting bar offers a variety of wines by the glass or by the taste, as well as by the bottle. In most restaurants, the challenge with having a large number of wines by the glass is in ensuring that the wine stays fresh after opening. A wine tasting bar however will have preservation systems for their bottles offered by the glass, some of which can ensure a wine stays fresh for up to 2 months.  Tastings in Mystic offers a large variety of wines for sampling. [READ MORE]

Did you ever imagine you would walk into a bar and ask what wines they have on tap? Well, imagine, because those days are here. The new trend throughout California is wine on tap, and it is all for the purpose of going green. If you think about it, it just makes sense, after all, how often do wineries have barrel tastings? And, isn’t this just the same thing? Wouldn’t you love to have a wine kegger party for a change of pace? Well, now you can. [READ MORE]

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]