Green-conscious and looking for easier wine storage, David Regan at 14 Acres Vineyard and Winery in Ridgefield has begun using kegs instead of glass bottles in his operations.
Regan believes the steel vessels are best for large quantities of wine in short-term storage and by-the-glass servings, compared to glass-bottled wine.
Regan doesn’t expect kegs to surpass the popularity of glass-bottled wine, but they have some advantages that appeal to certain customers.
“The thing about wine is that there’s romance involved. There’s something about looking at a bottle right before you open it up. It’s almost like waving the American flag before the Super Bowl,” Regan said. “Kegs will never replace [glass] bottles, but they can help clean up some of the waste.”
The 5.5-gallon kegs Regan uses, known as sixtel kegs, can hold 24 bottles worth of wine. Though larger kegs are available in the industry, Regan prefers the smaller ones to make transportation easier and lower container costs.
For the winery, adding kegged wine to the offerings has benefited the business economically and environmentally.
“Economically it’s good for me, but also it’s the best option environmentally. We don’t have as much trash. We don’t have to throw out all the bottles, waste all the labels and corks,” Regan said.
Kegs can be reused indefinitely, saving considerable money in the long run. The upfront cost may be higher, as sixtel kegs cost around $100 a unit. But the savings add up quickly, Regan said.
“The [glass] bottle is $1, or $1.25. Then you’re talking about the cork and the label. That’s like another $1 to $1.50, depending on how many you made. Then there’s also the labor to get it into a bottle. It’s way more labor-intensive to get in a bottle,” Regan said. “You get an indefinite use out of kegs as long as you treat them right. You do have to replace the seals, but those are like $2 a seal.”
Kegging wine is significantly faster and can be done by a single person, Regan said.
“I filtered and bottled 10 kegs of pinot noir. I did it all by myself, and it took me about 30 minutes. It saves a lot of time, a lot of energy, and it’s a one-man show,” Regan said.
Some of Regan’s customers prefer kegs as well. Heathman Lodge, in Vancouver, is a regular customer that orders kegs.
“On all the wines [served] by the glass, they prefer keg. There’s less waste. They’re easier to store. It’s easy to store a sixtel as opposed to a few cases of wine, and they get every drop out of a keg because the [nitrogen] gas is constantly pushing on the wine and protecting it from oxygen,” Regan said.
Though excellent for commercial purposes, kegs do not have the shelf-life of bottled wines commonly found in homes. Kegs might not be the right choice for consumers who infrequently drink wine, Regan said.
“There’s a recommendation from other people that I know in the wine world that after a year you want to get rid of it. It’s good for about a year in the keg,” Regan said. “The [glass] bottles are designed to be shelved for at least 10 years.”
An opened keg will last longer than an opened bottle due to the nitrogen gas within, which keeps the wine from oxidizing and expiring.
“You open up a bottle, and immediately there’s a ticking clock of oxygen getting to the wine and turning it into vinegar,” Regan said.
To learn more about 14 Acres Vineyard and Winery, 2411 NE 244th St., Ridgefield, visit 14acres.com. The vineyard is open to the public from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., Wednesdays and Thursdays, noon to 8 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays, and noon to 6 p.m. Sundays.
