It’s on tap. But it’s not beer. It’s wine. Get used to it.

As more wineries produce kegs, more restaurants will get retrofitted for them, to save money and to offer wine drinkers quality pours

August 03, 2011|By Stephen Meuse, Globe Correspondent

Patrick Lee, co-owner of Russell House Tavern in Harvard Square, has served… (YOON S. BYUN/GLOBE STAFF )

To keep pace with an industry seemingly intent on moving its goal posts, wine drinkers have repeatedly adjusted their perceptions of what serious wine is supposed to look like. Long convinced that quality wine came in bottles sealed with a real cork, we were persuaded otherwise as upscale labels adopted screw caps and synthetic stoppers. Even bag-in-box, which could be relied on to dispense ordinary (or worse) wine, turned its image around once better vineyards caught on to its virtues. Apparently, no packaging is so disreputable it can’t be rehabilitated by better quality inside.

Now the industry is poised to make us change our minds again: high quality wine is being served from a tap. That’s right, sauvignon blanc and pinot noir from kegs, not bottles, dispensed from a tap like beer and ale. The approach promises to remake restaurant by-the-glass programs by lowering costs, dramatically reducing waste (wine in open bottles deteriorates rapidly), and making the whole process considerably greener. Nearly a dozen Boston area restaurants are serving keg wine, in some cases hooking up with smaller, quality-oriented wineries to have custom blends kegged for them. But a switch won’t happen overnight.

Although draft wine has undeniable advantages for both restaurateurs and the folks who crowd their bars, implementing the system is not as simple as it might seem. Installation costs are generally high and, at this point, few wines are available by keg.

Early adopters are mostly spots that have either just been constructed or recently remodeled. At the new Area Four in Kendall Square, for example, the all-keg wine program was an important design consideration. Beverage manager Chris Graeff says it resulted from a search for value. “Costs associated with bottling and shipping go way down,’’ says Graeff, “and the wine stays fresh.’’

Keg wines here live behind the bar in a refrigerated cabinet with taps above (the fridge-tap combination is often called a “kegerator’’). Recently, nine wines were on offer, including a riesling, chardonnay, and pinot noir, each by the glass or in half-liter and full-liter carafes. At $6, $17, and $32, respectively, the prices reflect the cost savings. Few go higher.

Distribution company Cafe Europa supplies several wines to Area Four from Stephen Ross Wine Cellars in California. Europa owner Todd Verhoeven hasn’t seen a rush to adopt the system. “No one is exactly jumping on,’’ he says.

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