Wineries, distributors and operators are recognized for saving a collective total of over 4 million wine bottles from landfills nationwide
Napa, CA, October 23, 2015—Free Flow Wines, the pioneer of premium wine on tap, announced the winners of their second annual KEGGY Awards that recognize exceptional and sustainable wine on tap programs nationwide. This year the awards ceremony was expanded to recognize not only wineries but also distributors and operators from across the U.S. To date, Free Flow Wines’ complete client base has saved over 6 million bottles, corks and foils from landfills, for a total of more than 9 million pounds of trash. The KEGGY Award winners were presented their trophies yesterday at an awards ceremony at Free Flow Wines’ headquarters in Napa.
Photo: The KEGGY “People’s Choice” award recipient recognizing one exceptional wine on tap program, went to Samantha’s Tap Room & Wood Grill of Little Rock, AR.
“The green aspects of wine on tap are undeniable,” said Jordan Kivelstadt, Co-Founder and CEO of Free Flow Wines. “It’s important that we recognize those who are working to save the planet–one keg at a time.”
The 2015 KEGGY Award winners includes:
- KEGGY Winery Award Recipients – Constellation Brands and King Estate, who each have saved more than 500,000 wine bottles from landfills, individually earned a winery KEGGY award for sustainability. Hess Collection, Long Meadow Ranch, O’Neill Vintners & Distillers, Prestige Wine Imports, Saintsbury, The Mendocino Wine Company, and Treasury Wine Estates, were also awarded a KEGGY for each saving a minimum of 100,000 wine bottles from landfills since they began kegging their wine with Free Flow Wines.
- KEGGY Distributor Award Recipients – Went to Southern Wine & Spirits of California for saving more than 500,000 wine bottles from landfills to date, and to Young’s Market of California, Southern Wine & Spirits of Nevada, RNDC Texas, the Henry Wine Group, and Wine Warehouse of California, who were each awarded a KEGGY for saving at least 100,000 wine bottles from landfills.
- The KEGGY “People’s Choice” Award Recipient – This award, that recognizes one exceptional wine on tap program, went to Samantha’s Tap Room & Wood Grill of Little Rock, AR.
- KEGGY Ambassador Award Recipients – The award that recognizes individuals who have impacted the wine on tap category in a substantial way, went to John Coleman from Savor Gastropub in Dallas, TX, and Mike Klosterman from Apex Commercial Kitchen Co. in Kansas City, Missouri.
Each Free Flow Wines keg holds the equivalent of 26 wine bottles and each keg that goes into distribution will save 2,340 lbs. of trash from the landfill over its lifetime. The company currently has over 100,000 stainless steel kegs in their fleet.
Free Flow Wines created the annual KEGGY Awards in 2014 to recognize wineries for their sustainability achievements in wine on tap. 2014 winners included Au Bon Climat, Qupé, Constellation Brands, Francis Ford Coppola Winery, Hahn Family Wines, King Estate Winery, and The Wine Group.
About Free Flow Wines
Free Flow Wines is the pioneer of premium wine on tap and delivers the world’s wine brands to the taps of restaurants and venues nationwide. Free Flow Wines’ kegging and logistics services have allowed the wine and hospitality industries to move away from bottles to a sustainable, environmentally friendly way of serving wine on tap, while maintaining wine integrity from the barrel to the tap. Free Flow Wines was founded in 2009 and has more than 220 wine brands in kegs, such as Frog’s Leap from the Napa Valley, King Estate Winery from Oregon and Simi from Sonoma County, California. Their clients’ wines are offered to a variety of restaurants, premium hotels, sports and entertainment venues nationwide. The company is located in Napa, California, and you can find them online at FreeFlowWines.com, on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Flickr @FreeFlowWine.
