The Great Oregon Wine Company has launched a single-use recyclable keg, which saves money for restaurants and is more eco-friendly than a wine bottle.
The winemaker, based in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, now offers its 100% Willamette Valley pinot noir and pinot gris wines in the kegs. Each keg holds three cases of wine, or about 200 5-oz. pours.
The kegs are 100% recyclable and because they are single-use, there is no cost associated with deposit or returning the empty kegs. They are made of aluminum, which adds no taste or odor to the wine.
Once empty, the kegs simply go into a standard metal recycling bin. The kegs also provide a superior barrier to oxygen and carbon dioxide, virtually eliminating the product loss from wine kept in open bottles.
And the kegs are much more eco-friendly than wine shipped in glass bottles. There is less material to recycle and the carbon footprint for delivery is reduced as well: The kegs weigh 64 lbs.—just over half of the equivalent amount of glass bottles (three cases), which weigh 120 lbs.
The kegs also save money on materials costs (no bottles, labels or corks are needed) and create more value for restaurants by eliminating product loss.
