A wine dispenser works to both dispense wine in pre-set amounts and also preserve them. This enables customers to taste various wines during their dining period or sample before purchasing an entire bottle. The wine-by-glass approach has helped operators offer wider wine variants that boost sales opportunities with minimal wastage.
How does it work? Upon installing a bottle of wine on the system, nitrogen or argon gas is dispensed into the bottle. The gas acts as to stop any air getting in contact with wine thereby preventing oxidisation and spoilage in terms of colour, taste and aroma. Argon has been found to be the most efficient gas due to its density that provides a stronger barrier between bacteria-laced oxygen and wine. Furthermore, the gas requires refilling only 2-4 times a year depending on usage. Operators can program the system to deliver set amounts; most commonly 125ml, 175ml, 250ml with tasting samples of 20ml available as well. The wine is dispensed when customers press the touchscreen panel or mechanical button; the latter favoured due to less complicated parts that may malfunction.
For flexibility, you can opt for one that has individual lodging of bottles that adapts to different heights and sizes. Meet the demands of turnover by having a system with space to keep a second bottle that enables staff to swap it immediately when the previous bottle runs out. Some manufacturers offer partition system that allows users to change the number of whites or reds sold at any time according to trends and will store them at its ideal temperature. Most systems are customisable in design and size to reflect the identity of your establishment. You want to make sure of hygiene so that the taste of wine is not affected therefore automatic self-cleaning pouring spouts are a good idea.
Although a preservation system, you would not want to be keeping wine for too long as it may mean that the wine is slow-moving. However, you can still have a longer storing time of 30-60 days and you may also like to have a machine with a function that preserves each bottle in its own environment to avoid aromatic cross-contamination.
** Special thanks to Vinotemp & Wine Emotion for providing images depicted in this article.
CINDY CHENG
Marketing Director,
Eclat Galley & Kitchen Pte Ltd
“In making a choice of wine dispenser, consider one that will provide great accuracy in pouring as over-pouring can result in up to 15-20% loss. However, like all machines, they are not foolproof solutions. Wine can still spoil if the dispenser is not operated or maintained properly, so invest in one that is easy to run”.
