TAP Wine by the glass

Third generation Italian born and bred in Melbourne, wine has never been something new for Andrew, especially as he grew up drinking it at the table with his family, a ritual that reveals his roots and a strong bond with Italy.

"“I learnt to drink wine with my meals at home and as I became older I recognized how to understand wine in different dimension and began to appreciate its significance and the diversity it offers", he says.

His big passion for drinking wine has led Andrew to create TAP. "“I wanted to offer diverse groups of the drinking community the ability to savour good quality wine by the glass without the necessary high price tag, and focus on the real reasons why we drink it: for the love of wine, to complement our food, and, actually drink the true flavors and characters of the varietals."

Andrew decided to launch TAP. with Sangiovese and Pinot Grigio, two of Italy's most popular wines, "“"¦ sourced from premier wine-growing regions, Tuscany and Veneto, to maintain their authenticity", he explains.

"“Melbourne is currently in love with both of them. You see them nearly on every wine list across Melbourne's top food locations, so we wanted to allow everybody the ability to drink a true representation of those varietals."

An afternoon spent with Andrew gave me the chance to experience those varietals and find out that they are simply excellent, smooth, refreshing.

Rosਠlovers are able to enjoy a dry, gentle blend of Italian red grape varietals as well, and new wine varieties are about to be presented, Andrew reveals.

But, apart from the genuine aromas and flavors, what are the strengths of TAP.?

Eco-friendly, innovative and affordable: these are some of the keywords of this new technology and able to change Australian habits about drinking wine.

Let's start with the idea of sustainability.

"“TAP.'s carbon footprint is really important to me. We use premium stainless steel kegs that last up to 30 years. One keg contains 20 litres of wine, and that means 26 bottles out of circulation. As a consequence, you don't' create waste, you don't throw bottles, corks, caps and packaging in landfills"¦"

All the equipment is made of the highest quality materials that help prevent the risk of UV rays, oxidation, cork taint and wastage, which means innovation.

"“Our kegs preserve quality, maintain flavor and have excellent thermal properties ensuring the wine is never compromised by any contamination", Andrew states.

And that's very important. Elder people in Italy, in fact, believe that if wine crosses the mountains, it's gets spoiled. It is not only a popular belief, but also a simple way to explain science and in this case the odds that wine goes bad when prone to thermal shocks.

"“With TAP. the consumer can be sure that wine is always consistently fresh and perfect every time, regardless of location", he stresses.

Innovation also includes the concept of beauty.

"“The aesthetic of this brand are our towers. We wanted to create a very powerful design because we knew that this was the face of TAP. They are made from ceramic and combined with an elegant and eye-catching handmade design", and in fact Andrew's philosophy is that customers must fall in love with the product first, before tasting it!

Another goal for TAP. is to challenge the general stigma that wine from the tap is low quality or cheap. TAP. Wines are instead authentic, elegant and affordable both for the consumer and the restaurateur.

"“TAP. was pioneered on this principle, we should all have the accessibility to drink quality wine by the glass and not worry about the brand or label and the price tag that comes with it."

And what about restaurateurs? Over the course of a year all the indirect costs associated with bottled wine add to reduced profitability. TAP. is revolutionary: all the wines by the glass "“on-tap" have zero wastage and the operators no longer need to pay for waste disposal of bottles and packaging.

In addition TAP. offers a full turn-key solution to the wines by the glass.

"“Being a part of TAP. means you can focus your time and energy on other aspects of your business. We have developed a program that is very easy and have taken out all the "“grey" area surrounding wine-on-tap."

One last thing before I leave you with the wonderful taste of TAP., have you noticed the dot in the logo? This is not a punctuation error but it stands for "“punto e basta" meaning "“that's it" or simply TAP. End of story!

For further information visit the new website www.tapwines.com.au