Wine dispense systems

The growth in wine sales in the Uk is enormous. Gone are the days when having the odd bottle of Blue Nun or Bulls Blood on sale was enough to satisfy the great British drinker. The popularity and consumption of wine has grown enormously both in home and retail markets. The impact of this growth on pubs and bars is reflected by the amount and variety of wines on sale. The modern wine drinker is now far more discerning and knowledgeable about different wines and how they should be presented.If we the retailer are to take full advantage of this growth in wine sales how can we best ensure that the wine we sell is being presented as it should be.

Serving wine directly from the bottle by hand is not always suitable or profitable for large retail operations, so the industry have had to look at different methods of dispense.Draught wine has been available for years. Ten or five litre bag in the box containers are dispensed using gas pumps and free flow taps or stand alone wine dispensers. Because of this systems design the wine does not come in contact with  air and therefore lasts for many weeks. Generally white wines are most suited to this method of dispense as the coolness of the product can be reasonably controlled. Serving red wines using this method can be more problematic however, with temperature control being a bit more hit and miss. Regular cleaning of these draught wine lines is essential, but in a lot of cases it is neglected. It is often left to the retailer to ensure this job is done correctly. So it is little wonder that in some but not all locations where this system is used, wine product quality can be compromised. Operated properly draught bag in the box wine is an efficient method of dispense, but with obvious limitations.

Free standing wine dispensers are another alternative means of serving wine. These are often seen on back bars, and have the advantage of displaying the bottled product on sale. A small refrigeration unit keeps this unit at a constant temperature, and the wine is served using gravity, via small taps or measured optics. Once again these do not always provide a perfect environment for red wines as the dispenser is usually optimised for white wines. Poor shelf life is possibly a disadvantage of this system, as air is allowed into the bottles to prevent a vacuum forming and this can cause spoilage. This system is best suited for fast through-put venues with a limited selection of wines on sale.

New technologies have arrived quite recently with new types of cooled bottled wine dispensers now available. These use either vacuum or nitrogen preservation techniques. Nitrogen is an inert gas, which is heavier than Oxygen, thus slowing down the process of oxidation. The bottle dispenser has two climate zones from which one is thermostatically controlled  by using a digital wine thermostat. The other zone, which is used for red wine, has a temperature which is approximately 6 degrees Celsius higher than the controlled zone.  With the problems of temperature control and spoilage having been resolved, this  system gives far more flexibility to the retailer in terms of the variety of wine that can be sold.

The drinks industry has not been slow in grasping the importance of presenting good quality wines either traditionally or by using modern systems.  Whatever method you choose to serve your wines, by focusing on getting the quality of your wine in to top condition, you will improve your business and provide your customer with a consistent product.