Even with glass recycling programs in place, how many wine bottle end up in landfills? And what are the benefits of offering wine on tap via stainless steel kegs? Naturally, Jordan Kivelstadt, Co-Founder and CEO of Free Flow Wines, which deals in kegged wines, has some thoughts on the matter: "We are dedicated to removing the material waste that has been the dirty little secret of the wine industry since its inception." And that material waste, I might add, includes wine going down the drain. Which truly blows.
Free Flow Wines own waste reduction numbers, extolled in a recent press release, point to a a keg's 96% carbon footprint reduction versus wine from a glass bottle, as well as 2 million less bottles in landfills. They also tout a water reclamation system replacing over 1 million gallons of water each year. Which is good, because you have to think about all the water needed to clean those kegs each and every time they come back to the warehouse.
If you're the kind of person who doesn't relate to percentages and numbers so well, Free Flow Wines Co-Founder and Chairman Dan Donahoe can put the environmental impact in more easy digestible terms: "Every new keg we put into service is like taking an average car off the road for two years."
Does wine on tap excite you?