Why Tap Wine Is A Good Thing
Some customers are sceptical about wine on tap. Here's the truth — and what to say.
Wine on tap has a reputation problem it doesn't deserve. The reality is that tap wine is often fresher and better quality than the same wine by the glass from an open bottle.
No oxidation. Wine in a keg is sealed under inert gas. The moment you open a bottle of wine, it starts to oxidise. A keg of wine stays fresh from the first glass to the last — a bottle opened two days ago does not.
Fresher flavour. Because the wine never contacts oxygen, you get it in the same condition as when it left the winery. Crisper whites, fresher reds.
Better for the environment. A 20-litre keg replaces roughly 27 bottles. Less glass, less transport, less waste.
Same quality wine. The producers we work with choose tap specifically because they believe it's the best way to serve their wine by the glass.
What to say if a customer pushes back:
Quick Recommendation Guide
Keep this front of mind on every shift.
Tap Wines
Our tap wines are served in 150ml and 250ml pours. Fresher, lower waste and great value.
Light and easy drinking with a gentle spiced pear character. A great house white for guests who want something unfussy.
Pinot Gris is a versatile white grape originally from Burgundy. The Mornington Peninsula's cool coastal climate produces particularly elegant examples — lighter and more aromatic than many European versions.
A lighter, easy-drinking Pinot Noir at a great price. Silky and approachable — perfect for guests who want red wine without the heaviness.
Pinot Noir is one of the world's great grape varieties, prized for its elegance and complexity. King Valley's cool mountain climate produces a particularly food-friendly style.
A really interesting blend — Gewürztraminer brings floral, lychee aromatics while Riesling adds crisp citrus. Great for guests who want something a bit different.
Vinteloper is a respected Adelaide Hills producer known for making wines that are a little left-of-centre. Gewürztraminer is one of the most aromatic grapes in the world — deeply floral and spiced. Blending it with Riesling adds freshness and backbone.
Sangiovese is the grape behind Chianti — it's bright, food-friendly and a little savoury. Great with pasta dishes or anything with tomato.
Sangiovese is Italy's most planted red grape — the backbone of Chianti and Brunello di Montalcino. Australian producers on the Mornington Peninsula are producing some excellent examples at accessible prices.
One of Victoria's great wine regions in a glass. The Yarra Valley is famous for elegant, cool-climate Pinot Noir and this is a beautiful example at a great price.
The Yarra Valley Co-Op sources fruit from multiple growers across the Healesville area, producing wines that reflect the best of the valley's cool-climate character. The Yarra is considered one of Australia's premier Pinot Noir regions.
Adelaide Hills Shiraz is more restrained and peppery than the big Barossa styles — elegant rather than heavy. Great for Shiraz drinkers who want something a little more refined.
Cool-climate Shiraz from the Adelaide Hills has a completely different character to Barossa Shiraz — more pepper and spice, less jam and alcohol. Vinteloper is a producer known for thoughtful, terroir-driven wines.
Rosé
A classic dry Yarra Valley rosé — pale, fresh and very food-friendly. Great on its own or with almost anything on the menu.
Tokar Estate is a well-regarded Yarra Valley producer with a strong reputation for elegant, cool-climate wines. Their rosé is consistently one of the best local examples — dry in the Provençal style rather than sweet.
White Wine
One of Australia's great white wine styles. Adelaide Hills Riesling is bone dry with brilliant citrus and a long mineral finish. Ages beautifully but drinking perfectly now.
Australian Riesling — particularly from Clare Valley and Adelaide Hills — is world-class. Unlike many European Rieslings it is typically bone dry, with steely citrus character and the ability to age for decades.
Marlborough is the home of New Zealand Sauv Blanc — and for good reason. Bright passionfruit and citrus with that classic zingy finish. A crowd-pleaser that never disappoints.
Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc put New Zealand on the world wine map in the 1980s. The region's intense sunshine and cool nights create an exuberant, aromatic style that has become one of the world's most recognisable white wine profiles.
From one of Germany's most respected wine estates. Leitz removes the alcohol using gentle vacuum distillation — the flavour stays intact. Most people are genuinely surprised by how good this is.
Weingut Leitz is a prestigious Rheingau producer. Their alcohol-free range uses low-temperature vacuum distillation to remove alcohol while preserving the aromatic character of the wine. One of the benchmark producers in the non-alcoholic wine category.
Clare Valley produces some of Australia's most elegant Pinot Grigio — light, fresh and easy drinking. A reliable crowd-pleaser for guests who just want something clean and uncomplicated.
Atlas Wines is a Clare Valley producer known for producing quality wines at accessible prices. Their Pinot Grigio is made in a crisp, northern Italian style — light, dry and very food-friendly.
Pinot Gris in the Alsatian style — richer and more textural than a Pinot Grigio. Great for guests who want a white with more body and presence.
San Pietro is a respected Mornington Peninsula producer. Their Pinot Gris is made with skin contact giving it extra texture and spice — more akin to the full-bodied Alsatian style than the lighter Italian Pinot Grigio.
Margaret River Chardonnay is world-class — this is a beautifully crafted example with stone fruit and just enough oak to add complexity without being heavy. One of the best wines on the list.
Flametree is one of Margaret River's most acclaimed producers. The 'Embers' Chardonnay uses partial barrel fermentation to build texture and complexity while keeping the fruit character fresh and expressive. Margaret River is consistently rated as one of the world's great Chardonnay regions.
Red Wine
The Mornington Peninsula produces some of Victoria's finest Pinot Noir. This is an elegant, food-friendly style — perfect for guests who want red wine without heaviness or big tannins.
The Mornington Peninsula's cool coastal climate is ideal for Pinot Noir — producing wines of real elegance and complexity. Quartier is a respected local producer making wines that reflect the peninsula's terroir.
Yarra Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is more restrained and elegant than Coonawarra or Margaret River styles. This is a seriously good wine — structured, complex and very food-friendly.
Dalla Mia is an Italian-influenced Yarra Valley producer. Cabernet Sauvignon in the Yarra is cooler-climate in character — less jammy than warmer-region examples, with more savoury herb and cassis character.
Dolcetto means 'little sweet one' in Italian — but don't be fooled, it's a dry, savoury red. From Piedmont, home to Barolo. Great with food and one of the more interesting bottles on the list.
Monchiero is a respected Piedmontese producer from Alba. Dolcetto is the everyday drinking red of Piedmont — meant to be drunk young and fresh. It's softer and more approachable than Barolo or Barbera, with a characteristic bitter almond finish.
Classic Barossa Shiraz — rich, generous and full of dark fruit. One of Australia's most celebrated wine styles. Great value for a Barossa bottle at this price.
Torzi Matthews is a well-regarded Barossa family producer. The Barossa Valley is the heartland of Australian Shiraz — producing the country's most powerful and opulent examples, often from old vines over 100 years old.
Greenock Creek is a serious Barossa producer making wines from old vines. This is a step up in concentration and complexity — for guests who want the full Barossa experience.
Greenock Creek has an exceptional reputation for old-vine Barossa Shiraz. Their wines are sought after by collectors and consistently receive outstanding scores from wine critics both in Australia and internationally.
One of the best alcohol-free reds available. Avec Flowstate genuinely drinks like a proper Shiraz — great for guests who want red wine with their meal but aren't drinking alcohol.
Avec is an Australian non-alcoholic wine producer leading the category with genuinely impressive results. Flowstate Shiraz uses advanced dealcoholisation techniques that preserve the wine's structure and flavour.
Sweet & Sparkling
Delicate, lightly sparkling and gently sweet. Perfect with dessert or just on its own. Lower in alcohol than most wines — easy and pretty drinking.
Moscato is made in the style of Italy's Moscato d'Asti — lightly sparkling, low alcohol and sweetly aromatic. Heathcote is an emerging Victorian wine region known for warm-climate varieties. Montevecchio is an Italian-influenced producer making lovely examples of this style.
Made in Victoria's King Valley — Australia's Prosecco capital. Light, fresh and very approachable. Great as an aperitif or throughout a meal.
The King Valley is home to Australia's thriving Prosecco industry, driven largely by Italian immigrant families who planted the Glera grape in the 1980s. Allora is one of the region's most respected producers.
The world's most recognised Champagne. Consistently excellent — toasty, crisp and celebratory. When guests want to mark a special occasion, this is the answer.
Founded in 1743, Moët & Chandon is one of the oldest and largest Champagne houses. Their Brut Impérial NV blends Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier to achieve a consistent house style that has become a global benchmark.
A genuinely impressive alcohol-free sparkling — crisp, dry and celebratory. Perfect for guests who want to join a toast without drinking alcohol.
Altina is an Australian producer dedicated to premium non-alcoholic drinks. Their sparkling is made to the same standard as conventional wines, making it a credible and impressive option for non-drinkers at celebrations.