Just over a decade ago, somewhere between the bag-in-box and canned wine revolution, draft wine, or wine on tap, exploded onto the U.S. market, billed as the next big thing in on-premise wine service. With the simple pull of a handle, bar and restaurant staffers could swiftly and easily pour a range of wines in whatever quantity the consumer desired. Following in craft beer’s footsteps, wine would move from bottle to keg on a grand scale.
Fast-forward to today and the reviews for wine on tap are mixed across all segments of the beverage industry. Some refer to draft wine as a short-lived fad that has tapered off over time; other producers, wholesalers, and restaurant operators have doubled down on wine on tap, pointing to a serious track record of sales—and potential for future growth.
Though kegged wine remains a relatively small slice of the wine production pie, after withstanding the pandemic and cutting through industry traditionalism, it appears set to grow in popularity. It’s become especially attractive for new or revamped restaurants and wine bars in today’s operating environment, thanks to kegged wines’ profit potential, eco-friendliness, and ease of use. What’s the state of the wine on tap market in the U.S.—and what’s ahead?
A trajectory of growth
According to sales numbers alone, producers of wine in kegs report that the draft wine market is booming. Gotham Project, one of the first keg-dominant producers to really make waves in the U.S. market, makes wine from grapes grown in New York, California, and Washington, and imports wines from several European countries, along with Argentina, Chile, and New Zealand. What started as a brand hocking a Finger Lakes Riesling on tap a dozen years ago now boasts partnerships with fast-casual food chains like Shake Shack, bringing draft wine to the masses.
The project bottles nothing. Eighty percent of production goes to keg while the balance is canned. “Keg sales have grown significantly since we started in 2010,” says Bruce Schneider, a managing partner at Gotham. He says keg sales have risen some 25 percent for Gotham over the last year alone. “The growth has been pretty evenly distributed across restaurants and wine bars,” he adds.
Lauded Willamette Valley winemaker Ken Wright has seen similar traction for his small but growing keg program at Ken Wright Cellars. While the vast majority of Wright’s wine is bottled, he began putting some in kegs after being approached by Sixty Vines, a Texas-based franchise, in 2015.
“They had a casual but high-end approach to both wine and food service,” says Wright, noting that the chain has a substantial draft wine list. While just five percent of Ken Wright Cellars production goes to keg, that number is poised to increase, and kegs of Ken Wright wine are now available in 12 states.
It’s not only attractive for certain restaurants and bars, but in the tasting room as well, where Wright says there’s almost always a tapped keg.
Michael Cook, the director of sales for Lieb Cellars and Bridge Lane Wine in New York, says demand for wine by the keg has increased steadily since they started, back in 2010. After a brief dip during the pandemic, the brand is back to kegging a substantial percentage of its overall wine production, to the tune of 25 percent.
Jordan Sager, the co-president of Illinois-based wine importing company Winesellers, Ltd, which first got into keg wine in 2013, echoes as much. “Keg sales were growing every year until COVID, and for obvious reasons started to slide,” he says. “Since lockdowns ended and restaurant sales have come back, we have seen a return to wine on tap popularity.”
Click HERE to read the full article.