Wine on tap??

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor ... 70&sc=emaf

Is anyone else slightly horrified by the thought? Or am I just too archaic?

I know of wine makers who store a portion of their wines in stainless steel "Korny Kegs", which are basically the same containers soda pop makers ship their syrup in for fountain drinks in fast food places. This wine is then used for topping up barrels. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornelius_keg

When I know that I'm not going to be consuming the bottle of wine I'm opening, which is nearly all the time, I use a nitrogen dispensing system that fills the ullage with nitrogen. This prevents oxidation and the wine stays good pretty much indefinitely. So I'm very used to and comfortable with the concept. And if it helps prevent stale wine by the glass at restaurants, I'm all for it.

-Paul W.

I recollect wine being dispensed out of self-serve pumps (like at your gas stations) in wine cooperatives in France. The locals bring their own containers and filling them with wine of their choice. The choice of wine at these places was pretty extensive and the price per liter was ridiculously low. I remember thinking -"lucky bastards!"

And if it helps prevent stale wine by the glass at restaurants, I'm all for it..

Paul saved me some typing

[James Roscoe]

Ditto!

Terrior wine bar's Tribeca, NYC location serves a very credible Finger Lakes Riesling on draft. And it wasn't unusual to see Vinho Verde on tap in Portuguese restaurants (was pretty tasty in its not-too-serious way). If it makes decent wine more widely available, without wasting resources on bottles, etc., why not?

The bistro/cafe inside the wine shop at Oxbow Public Market found just a few rows albarino from some experimental vineyards just up valley and got the owner to make the wines separately, then put them up in stainless steel tapper casks for their wine bar to serve by the glass.

Damned good stuff and lip-smacking fresh, and went incredibly well with their cheese sandwiches and marzano tomato soup.

And as others have said, the French have been putting out their bulk wine from the winery for years and years that way.

Is this what you mean? http://www.landnwinebarandbistro.com/

I have had too many oxidized wines by the glass to turn up my nose at wine taps. If it means good wine by the glass that is affordable and fresh, I say go for it.

Just wondering - is there any real chemistry difference between wine on tap and wine poured from an Enomatic machine? Generally, I have found the Enomatic wine to be quite fresh and well-preserved, except when the bottle is almost empty. My humble opinion is that Enomatic machines are a great educational tool, so I don't see why wine on tap can't be successful as well for people who want a glass of wine but don't want to pay for an entire bottle for whatever reason.

The one time that I had an oxidized wine from an Enomatic machine, it was a 10-year old white Burgundy, and probably was already prematurely oxidized.

Provided that there was a wine on tap that I was interested in trying, and that it went with what I was ordering to eat, I would definitely try it if it were available on tap.

There's a burger joint here that serves a wine that's made about 5 blocks away out of what looks like a little beer keg and tap assembly. The wine's a red blend that's hearty and works really well with the burgers. It does have a very slight tingle to it that probably comes from the method by which it's dispensed. Bottom line for me is that I can take the kids out for a burger and get a glass of very appropriate wine to go with it. What's not to like?

I see everyone's point about keeping wine by the glass fresh and I wouldn't be opposed to it for certain wines that were meant to be consumed young. This is the first I have seen of anything like this, so I was quite surprised.

At the risk of presenting Hoke with a terrible shock, I am all for this system*. I have seen and sampled examples here in Israel, in Paris, in Lyon and in Madrid and in every case was absolutely delighted by the results of clean, young, fresh, crisp and refreshing wines, in almost every case well suited to the dishes or snacks being offered.

By the way, the system is hardly new. It has been reported that Hammurabi, the sixth king of Babylon, kept wines in amphorae fitted with wood spouts so that wine could be drawn at the pleasure of the king. Whatever Hammurabi might have been, he was no dope, and realized that exposure to air would harm the wine so to prevent this double or triple layers of cloth were floated over the wine and those covered with very light wood chips (probably of balsalm wood), the chips being added to as their level fell in the amphorae. And that ws about 1780 BC).

Best
Rogov

I recollect wine being dispensed out of self-serve pumps (like at your gas stations) in wine cooperatives in France. The locals bring their own containers and filling them with wine of their choice. The choice of wine at these places was pretty extensive and the price per liter was ridiculously low. I remember thinking -"lucky bastards!"

I'm pretty sure that the French term for this is wine sold "En VRAC". It's kind of the wine equivalent of buying wine by the growler from a brewpub. The wine can be sold more cheaply because the producer doesn't have the expense of bottles or a bottling line.

-Paul W.

I'm pretty sure that the French term for this is wine sold "En VRAC". It's kind of the wine equivalent of buying wine by the growler from a brewpub. The wine can be sold more cheaply because the producer doesn't have the expense of bottles or a bottling line.

Here's a photo of a dispensing device, Slovenian style:

Slovenian wine pump.jpg

I am surprised that no one has commented on the link that I posted in my previous. It's a great system that I use myself at home. Mine is not refrigerated as theirs is, but it does put a layer of nitrogen over the wine keeping oxygen away, and that is what we are after...unless I mis-understand.

An Enomatic wine dispenser is just “wine on tap” from the bottle instead of the traditional “keg” (or bulk). But as Andrew pointed out the bottle of wine could have been on a downward decline prior to placing it in the Enomatic wine dispenser.

Salute

LOcal wine bar in Vacaville is dispensing Zinfandel from a "cask." The wine comes from the Venges at Saddleback Cellars. Not a fan of the wine per se (sweet and oaky), but it seems to work pretty well.

Daniel Rogov mentioned Hammurabi's court taking steps to prevent barrel ullage in order to preserve wine. The ancient Romans used to store and age wine in glass bottles quite similar to modern ones, but without a cork. Instead they poured a layer of olive oil over the top of the wine to prevent air from getting at it.

-Paul W.

[James Roscoe]

Those damned ancient Romans! Sneaky bastards!

We were hosted in the central region of our Loire expedition by Nancy's relatives near Tours. One wine we wanted to taste while in the area was Noble Joue, a vin gris made of Pinot Meunier, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir. Rousseau Freres was a particular producer on our list. None of this had we mentioned to our host when what should he bring out before dinner one night but a bottle of Rousseau Freres Noble Joue! The wine actually was a little flat, but the bigger story was that he had purchased it from the winery in 22 liter plastic containers and bottled it himself. The winery even provided him very official-looking labels with space at the bottom to fill in his name after "bottled by". Apparently, the practice of buying wine in bulk this way and bottling it yourself is a fairly common in the area. Grocery stores often carry a line of syphoning tubes, closures and other do dads. In contrast, we had learned that one of the AOC regulations in Sancerre is that wine can be sold only in glass containers.

A few days later we made our way to Esvres, the heartland of Noble Joue, and found the winery of Earl Jean-Jacques Sard. Typical of our experience in the Loire, it had been hard to find and after finally coming upon it looked all the world as though it were closed. We knew by now that this could be deceiving however and, sure enough, a smiling Madame Sard soon appeared and invited us into their tiny tasting room. This time the Noble Joue was all we had hoped for. Clear salmon-pink in color and dry, it tasted of honey, nuts and flowers. Of course, our impulse was to buy several cases (at 4 euros something per bottle) but, already over quota on bottles that could possibly be lugged home, bought just two bottles. Madame Sard was visibly surprised . Although we tried to explain that our purchase had nothing to do with our enjoyment of the wine we weren't sure that she understood.