Sea Island Life Magazine Spring/Summer 2014 | Page 38

On-tap selections
offer the chance
to try a flight of
wines without
opening a bottle
for each tasting.

sommelier and beverage manager. “We want
to add variety, so sometimes we’ll pick a wine
to put on tap that might not be as popular, but
gives [people] something unique and different to try.”
Sometimes, diners will come in and try a

“Some people were pleasantly surprised
because they go to Napa and other parts of

says. “Others, who aren’t familiar with wines
but then they try them and are very surprised
at how much they like the quality.”
Sometimes it’s just a matter of shifting

she says. “It seems unusual to drink wine
from a keg. … Once people open their minds
to it, they really embrace it.”

Going Green
Sommeliers, winemakers and producers point
to another important aspect of putting wines
on tap: It’s more environmentally friendly.
Collin Cranor, a winemaker for boutique winery Nottingham Cellars in Livermore, Calif.,
says restaurants with by-the-glass offerings
typically have to dump around 20 to 30 percent
of their bottles due to slow sales and spoilage.
And that’s not to mention the waste of throwing out or recycling the bottles and corks.

COURTESY OF FREE FLOW WINES

to offering an on-tap selection—there’s no
commitment to trying a whole bottle.
Greenlip sauvignon blanc from Marlborough,
New Zealand, is one favorite at Davis Love
tive of grapefruit and lime, and has a good
amount of minerality, Carrier says.
Another favorite is the Frog’s Leap sauvignon blanc, a wine from Rutherford in
Napa Valley that is the perfect alternative

to Greenlip. “It’s varietally correct in terms
of the difference between Marlborough and
Napa Valley wines,” Carrier says. “In the
Frog’s Leap, you have more [of] a tropical fruit
side to the wine, whereas, with the Greenlip,
there’s more citrus. Our guests really enjoy it.”
When Davis Love Grill added wines on

Jordan Kivelstadt and Dan Donahoe are the founders of Free Flow Wines,
which provides ready-to-tap kegs for more than 300 wineries.

Stem Wine Bar patrons are often surprised after trying wine on tap,
realizing that there’s no difference in taste from bottled wine.

38 SEA ISL AND LIFE | SPRING/SUMMER 2014

SI3_Wine-e_v2-e_v3-e_v4-e.indd 38

3/13/14 9:58 AM