On Monday in class, we continued our discussion of authenticity. Alyssa mentioned packaging as one way a brand can exhibit its authenticity or betray it. This got me thinking about what packaging says about brands. Different packaging communicate different things. If you pick up a bottle that is heavy opaque glass, you're more likely to think the wine is high quality and thoughtfully created. If you pick up a bottle with a screw top and a fun label, you might think about drinking that wine quickly in a fun setting.
Over the last year or so, I've become fascinated with a new type of wine packaging...kegs. If you've been to a MLB baseball game recently, you might have seen a stand selling wine but no wine bottles were on display. That's because Free Flow, a Sonoma-based company, has started delivering wine in kegs to ever major baseball stadium in the country (http://www.forbes.com/sites/hollieslade/2014/05/06/thinking-outside-the-bottle-are-kegs-the-future-for-wine/#f8a4eb8521b8). Keg wine has also started appearing in high-end restaurants, bars, and hotels around San Francisco and beyond (e.g. Frances, Ritz Carleton, etc). Free Flow does not make its own wine but partners with wineries around Napa and Sonoma to fill the kegs and then distribute them. As a result, kegs are now filled with a wide range of wines (at diverse price points and quality levels).
Given the fact that packaging can communicate authenticity, what does it say about a winery if the wine comes in a keg instead of in a bottle? Wineries inevitably lose out of being able to tell their story in a restaurant if a glass of wine comes pre-poured from a tap rather than poured at the table from the winery's bottle. But maybe in making this change, wineries can tell broader messages such as "we believe in innovation". I can't wait to see how keg wine continues to develop in the industry and how wineries think about using it to tell a story.
This is really interesting! I am guessing the best application is for wines that are ready to drink, as the wines themselves won't get the benefits of bottle aging. It's definitely an easier way to distribute and to serve at restaurants.
ReplyDeleteI had recently been thinking about some other aspects of packaging - specifically, the cork. With such a high percentage (3-5%) of bottles with natural corks showing some spoilage, it makes sense to look for better alternatives. According to a study by UC Davis, synthetic corks now close 60% of the top 500 wines sold by bottle in the US. They are currently conducting a study to determine if wine experts and consumers can taste the difference between natural corks, synthetic corks, or screw caps. Hopefully this will give us even more insight into this aspect of wine packaging! (Link here: http://gsm.ucdavis.edu/blog-feature/natural-vs-synthetic-vs-screw-caps-great-wine-closures-debate-coming-close)
This is super interesting - thanks, Emily! This got me thinking further about how changes in wine storage technology will shape drinking behaviors, after my post on Coravin. Coravin is the gadget that allows you to "tap" into a bottle of wine to extract a single glass without spoiling the remainder of the bottle. I could see scenarios in which the wine keg acts as a substitute for Coravin for certain wineries and restaurants. According to this LA times article, "Kept at the proper cool temperature, wines could last for up to a year (or more) in keg". The biggest hurdle it seems is the question of "authenticity" and whether such a well-established industry based on tradition will adopt a keg solution for wine storage and preservation.
ReplyDeleteMore here: http://www.laweekly.com/restaurants/wine-on-tap-restaurants-get-into-the-flow-2375982
Thanks Emily, I really now want to try wine out of a keg! When I initially read your post I thought to myself, NO, you can't drink wine out of a keg. But the more I think about it them more I think its a great idea. In addition to the benefits associated with storage, preservation and distribution, I think this could be a great way for wine to reach the masses at sporting and entertainment events. When I recently watched the Superbowl I noticed the large amount of commercials for Beer, however, there was no such advertisement for wine. When I have also attended a range of supporting events, I have noticed how getting a glass of good wine can be incredibly hard to come across. Free flow and their kegs may be able to change this - let's hope so!
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