Sustainable value creation in the wine trade

At the end of 2019, Borough Wines in London became the first supplier of wine in returnable KEGs to focus on wholesale, selling a range of sustainable wines. With the quality and environmental benefits of Wine-on-Tap, the company aims to spark a refill revolution. Their declared goal is to save tons of glass bottles, plastic and cardboard from bag-in-box and other non-refillable containers. Borough Wines is being supported in this new undertaking by Schäfer Container Systems, manufacturers of fully recyclable container systems for beverages, as well as IBCs and special containers.

In their search for innovation, Borough Wines have devised the value creation chain “SustainableWineSolutions” to meet the trade’s sustainable wine needs. A key link to the market, of course, is the product packaging. Consequently Borough Wines opted for the stackable junior PLUS KEG from SCHÄFER Container Systems. For this, the company has invested in a new bottling and cleaning facility in Greenwich Peninsula, which allows them to close the cycle in the bottling process and establish their own returnable system.

With a nitrogen mixture as the dispensing gas, stainless steel KEGs offer ideal conditions for red and white wines. Carbonation is not necessary and there is no risk of any unwanted oxidation of the wine in the KEG. This means that when kept at the correct storage temperature, the wine’s original sensory characteristics at the time of filling remain unchanged until the KEG is completely empty.

In fact, catering and hospitality in particular benefit from the advantages of these small barrels. Landlords and restaurant owners can switch from bottles to dispensing systems with little effort. More accurate portioning and therefore better billing is also possible by using a system with an integrated counting function.

There are logistical benefits, too: The robustness of stainless steel KEGs is unique and they also reliably protect their contents from light and sunlight. On top of this, barrels like the PLUS KEG models can be stored more efficiently than bottles. Storage space optimisation is also a benefit for hospitality businesses: the small amount of space needed enables a greater variety of beverages to be offered at the point of sale.

Consequently, with the many practical advantages of reusable KEGs, as well as their economic and ecological benefits, the wine trade and the hospitality industry has gained a decisive competitive edge.

SCHÄFER Container Systems will be presenting detailed information on stainless steel KEGs and sustainable wine marketing from 5th – 7th May at the Austro Vin 2022 in Tulln, Austria's leading trade fair for viticulture, fruit growing, cellar technology and marketing (hall 5, booth 543).