Hospitality group Solotel has launched one litre takeaway tap wine bottles at three of its Sydney venues in a new partnership that eradicates packaging waste.
In collaboration with Australian wine producer Alpha Box & Dice, Solotel is giving customers the chance to fill custom one litre vino bottles with either Pinot Grigio, Rosé or Grenache from the bar taps of three venues for just $25, with the option to bring your bottle back for a refill at $20.
Wine Squealers will now be available from multi-level Chippendale pub The Abercrombie, wine bar and bottle shop Lil Sis which sits inside the terraces of The Abercrombie, and Erskineville pub The Erko. The Abercrombie will also have a special skin contact wine available for purchase.
Reece Griffiths, Solotel Group bars manager, spoke to Australian Hotelier about the new initiative which will minimise glass and cardboard usage.
“When we opened the Abercrombie we started to explore how we could get high quality, super interesting wines on tap. We wanted wines we love with high drinkability in that space. We have worked with Alpha Box & Dice for years, so we started working together to figure out how we could get the best wine we could in the glass, with zero waste.
“For Solotel, sustainability is a huge focus for us, but it has historically been very challenging to have a real-world impact in the liquor supply chain. Much like what Ecospirits is doing in the spirit world, this helps us reduce our waste, cut down our emissions and find efficiencies in areas like logistics, while getting great wine into people’s glasses”
By kegging the wine, each venue diverts more than 5000 bottles from landfill or recycling each year. In addition to the sustainability benefits, tap wine systems are also designed to keep wine fresher for longer. Each food-grade bottle will be filled onsite and sealed to retain its freshness until it is ready to be poured.
“The first step is about educating our customers that the wines are of a fantastic quality,” says Griffiths.
“Because of the system we use they have no interaction with oxygen, so when they’re poured it’s like we just opened a bottle. Another benefit is that they can taste the wines before they purchase, so they know they will be 100 per cent happy. It’s not often you can sneak a taste of a bottle while you’re perusing the shelves.
“The other win for me is the sustainability factor. By refilling the squealers, we not only remove thousands of bottles from the waste cycle, we also pass on a direct discount to the drinker. Plus, the one litre bottles are the perfect size for a picnic.”
The launch of takeaway tap wine bottles follows Solotel’s recent appointment of Joshua Hillary as its first ever food and beverage director back in September whose role will focus on curating creative and culture-forward hospitality experiences.