This blog is courtesy of our friends and the industry experts at PourMyBeer. For more information on their innovative pour technology, check out their website!

Is wine on tap for you?

The United States is the world leader in wine consumption — Americans drink about 872 gallons a year. It’s no surprise that wine on tap is taking the hospitality industry by storm. A once unheard-of concept is now a popular solution that takes your establishment to the next level. Reduced costs and increased restaurant profit margins keep you and your customers happy.

Here’s how it works:

Tapping wine is a bar technology that follows the same process as tapping beer. Much like dispensing a beer, a customer or server will pull on the tap; gas pressure pushes the wine through a glycol-cooled tube and dispenses the wine. With self-pour, guests pour glasses at their own rate and pay by the ounce. Patrons love the experience self-pour brings, and operators see countless benefits.

If your customers are wine drinkers and you go through too many wine bottles to count, self-pour wine on tap may be just what you’re looking for.

Benefits of wine on tap

Increased profit margins for bars and higher service efficiency

Kegged wine is less expensive by volume than a bottle. Depending on the quality, a keg of wine costs between $120 and $400.  A keg can hold the equivalent of 26 bottles or 120 glasses. Breaking those numbers down, stocking your venue’s wine by the keg is less expensive than by the bottle, leading to higher profit margins for your bar.

Additionally, kegged wine lasts much longer than in the bottle. This decreases the amount of wasted inventory and your overall inventory costs, leading to higher profits.

Self-pour wine taps also reduce the need for excess labor. Instead of having several bartenders find the bottles, open them, pour the wine, and dispose of the empty bottles, kegged wine cuts this process to just one step: guests pouring the wine themselves. Wine on Tap enables guests to drink at a much quicker pace due to less wait time in the ordering and serving process. With the freedom of self-pour, guests sample as much and as often as possible. This increased service efficiency leads to higher profits for your restaurant or bar.

Efficient storage and longer shelf life

Rather than keeping track of and storing hundreds of bottles of wine, a keg can hold 26 bottles, which simplifies inventory management and takes up less space in your venue.

Wineries have started adopting this approach to store their products because it takes up much less space and keeps the wine fresher for longer. Because kegged wine isn’t exposed to air or changes in temperature, the quality and integrity are maintained for over six weeks.

Sustainable solution

Wine on tap is truly a sustainable solution, significantly reducing your establishment’s carbon footprint. There’s less mess, cleanup, and packaging waste such as boxes, corks, foil wrapping, and bottles. If your customers are primarily wine drinkers, you could go through thousands of bottles of wine a year, so kegging wine is the environmentally friendly solution.

Never will you have to go through the pain of throwing away partially full bottles of wine due to oxidation. In most cases, your keg will empty before the 6-week mark, and you will have nearly no wasted wine or profits.

Reach a broader audience

Wine on tap enables you to serve a larger market of patrons by providing more options. John Felico, Owner of Auggie’s Taproom in St. Augustine, FL, says, “When I have a group of ten guests in Auggie's, I want to make sure I can satisfy all of them, including the wine drinkers. I don’t want to lose on sales just because some people prefer wine over beer.” While beer is a popular option, we can’t ignore that Americans love wine, and we consume a considerable amount each year. You do not want to neglect this large market of consumers.

What are you waiting for? Self-pour wine taps significantly reduce staffing costs and inventory costs while increasing profits. Expanding your on-tap selection by adding self-pour wine will help your establishment stand out because of the unique experience. Hop on this hot new trend!