FSR April 2023

LIQUID INTELLIGENCE

more places adopt tap wine programs in a wider variety of spaces.” Less waste lowers costs and improves margins, but experts say it also impacts restaurant sustainability. “One of the strong things about cans, besides envi ronmental impact, is reduced shipping costs and storage space, and ease of recy cling,” McCarthy says. Chetcuti agrees nontraditional pack aging helps restaurant sustainability, and in under five years the tech will improve to “get the most out of those systems and recycle 100 percent and have almost zero waste,” he says. Since the 2015 start of their tap pro gram, Drysdale adds, they’ve pulled 35,000 bottles annually from recycling systems plus removed cardboard, dump sters, glass, and wine transport and fuel costs. “We can talk about sustainability with 28 bottles being saved from the land ll because when they’re throwing glass into the recycling bin, only about 20 percent gets recycled,” says Carcara. “We’re using reusable kegs or fully recy clable kegs and we have partnerships to make sure they’re picked up and recy cled … and aluminum cans are recycled at about 100 percent.” Getting started with best practices comes easier with canned wines because, as Drysdale says, if you have storage, your distributor can likely deliver it tomorrow. “And it’s an interesting, out of-the-ordinary approach and appropri ate for younger clientele who think it’s fun,” he adds. “With a wine tap program, you gotta brace yourself for the initial cost, which comes down to how many handles, but you’re looking at thousands of dollars for entry-level.” Consider your concept type and cli entele thoroughly before starting, Cohen advises. “We’re always trying to be cre ative, and younger generations are more open to experimentation and non-con ventional options so this is fun, keep it interesting. ere’s something more casual, less stuffy about this type of wine service for consumers who might be intimidated by formal wine service presentations or models.”

age, says Molly Cohen, director of Wine and Spirits at e Smith and corporate director of Wine and Spirits at Corner Table Res taurants, which has locations in New York City, Washington D.C., and Chicago. “There’s a huge impact in WITH 88 TAPS ON ITS WINE WALL, THE MATHESON APPRECIATES THE GREATER FLEXIBIILITY TO SWAP OUT ARTISANAL CHOICES.

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crank that tap all day long for an ounce, a half ounce, two ounces, 10 ounces; I can crank it all day long and I’m not los ing,” explains Carcara. is also includes reduction in labor costs with sta spending less time open ing, carrying, and managing wine boxes. Plus, it lowers your carbon footprint, and helps eliminate storage woes and pres sure on the post-pandemic glass short

terms of waste reduction so that trans lates into cost, so there’s definitely a nancial incentive for restaurateurs to look at this, but it’s not a one size ts all,” explains Cohen, where e Smith operates about six taps. “I’ve noticed in the last ve to 10 years, public percep tion is changing for the better, so con cerns restaurant owners might have had before, that’s changing, and you’re seeing

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APRIL 2023