I enjoyed meeting Andy Woehl, President of MÁS Wine Company, at our “Welcome to Oregon” party on Saturday night (which Mike and Keli graciously hosted on their Brownsville farm). Andy’s Cloverdale, CA-based company makes wine from grapes grown in Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino counties.
On top of making wine, Andy and his partners have figured out a new way to package wine, and it’s here that MÁS Wine Company may be able to make a difference in the US market.
The German engineered mini tank is an environmentally friendly, air-tight, stainless steel container that mimics the way wine is stored at a winery. These mini tanks are re-usable, and they keep every glass as fresh as the first. A nitrogen gas chamber inside the mini tank keeps air out so there is no oxidation of the wine. This eliminates waste from oxidized wine in an open bottle and keeps wine fresh for 60 days.
MÁS Wine Company mini tanks are available in two sizes. The 11.3 liter mini tank contains the equivalent of 15 bottles of wine (about 75 5-ounce pours), and the 15 liter mini tanks contains the equivalent of 20 bottles of wine or 100 5-ounce pours.
I think it’s clear that restaurants and bars will favor wine kegs for house pours, once they see the benefits. It’s also a great party option for the retail channel.
According to the North Bay Bohemian, wine is produced and sold in kegs throughout Europe. In addition to keeping large amounts of wine fresh indefinitely, putting wine in a keg system eliminates excess packaging.
Transporting all that packaging (cardboard, cork, bottle, trash) wastes both materials and gas.
p.s. Naturally, Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV dedicates an episode to MÁS’s offerings.
