Wineries, distributors and restaurateurs nationwide are recognized for their sustainability
achievements at Free Flow Wines’ KEGGY Awards ceremony and 10 Year Anniversary
Celebration.
Sonoma, CA, July 26th, 2019 – On Thursday July 25th, Free Flow Wines celebrated their 10-year anniversary and 6th annual KEGGY Awards at Sebastiani Winery in Sonoma, CA. The celebration included the announcement of this year’s KEGGY Award winners, leadership team changes and highlights of Free Flow’s expanded service offerings including the launch of the first wine-specific, high-speed canning line at their new Sonoma facility.
Free Flow Wines was founded in July 2009 by Jordan Kivelstadt and Dan Donahoe with sixty used beer kegs with the idea to put premium wines in keg and serve the freshest glass of wine in the most sustainable way – on tap. Ten years later, Free Flow Wines is now the leader in sustainable alternative packaging solutions for the wine industry, providing kegging and canning services for over 180 winery partners out of a new state-of-the-art production facility in Sonoma, CA. With over 80 employees and more than 180,000 reusable steel kegs pouring at thousands of venues nationwide, Free Flow and their partners have saved an estimated 22 million bottles or approximately 32 million pounds of waste to date.
At the ceremony, Jordan Kivelstadt, Free Flow Wines’ Founder & President, announced his transition away from an active role in the company as of August 2nd. “Founding and growing Free Flow into the company that it is today has been one of the most rewarding endeavors of my life. I am excited to see Free Flow continue to as a leader in sustainable alternative packaging” Kivelstadt said. Jordan will remain involved with Free Flow as an ambassador, kegging & canning customer, and on Free Flow’s Board of Directors.
To support the transition, Rich Bouwer will now assume the role of President. “It is a pleasure to be part of such an incredibly innovative team and with the new facility complete, we look forward to executing on all that we’ve built,” said Bouwer. Additionally, Heather Clauss has been promoted to Chief Commercial Officer to oversee all commercial business. “If not for the vision of our founders, this category would not exist as we know it today. We are grateful for their contributions and look forward to continuing to actively support the growth of both the wine-in-keg and wine-in-can categories with our key partners,” said Clauss.
At this year’s KEGGY Awards, Free Flow recognized 22 wineries, distributors and restaurant operators for their exceptional and sustainable contributions to the wine on tap category. “We are excited to celebrate our successes with our partners and continue to build upon what we have achieved together,” said Clauss. Below is a list of the 2019 winners in each category.
WINERY AWARD RECIPIENTS
Saved more than 500,000 bottles from the landfill
- O’Neill Vintners & Distillers
- Prestige Wine Imports
- Francis Ford Coppola Winery
Saved more than 100,000 bottles from the landfill
- Terlato Wines
- Trefethen Family Vineyards
- Winesellers, Ltd
- Boisset Collection
- Tuck Beckstoffer Wines
- Round Pond Estate
DISTRIBUTOR AWARD RECIPIENTS
Saved more than 1,000,000 bottles from the landfill
- Republic National Distributing Company – TX
- Saved more than 500,000 bottles from the landfill
- Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits – FL
- Skurnik Wines & Spirits
- The Winebow Group
Saved more than 100,000 bottles from the landfill
- Republic National Distributing Company – IN
- Opici Family Distributing
- Epic Wines – CA
- Johnson Brothers-Mutual Distributing – NC
- Quench Fine Wines – AZ
AMBASSADOR AWARD RECIPIENTS
- George Miliotes – Master Sommelier and Proprietor, Wine Bar George
- Jessica Norris – Vice President of Beverage, Front Burner Restaurants
- Todd Rushing – Owner, Two Urban Licks
“PEOPLE’S CHOICE” AWARD RECIPIENT
Brick Wood Fired Bistro – Prince Frederick, MD
About the KEGGY Awards
Free Flow Wines created the KEGGY Awards in 2014 to recognize winery partners for their commitment to sustainability by choosing reusable stainless steel kegs – a truly zero-waste package. Since then, the awards have been expanded to include distributors, restaurants and category ambassadors throughout the US who have helped reduce the carbon footprint of the wine industry. Each Free Flow keg holds the equivalent of 26 bottles of wine and will save approximately 1,560 bottles from the landfill over its lifetime.
About Free Flow Wines
Free Flow Wines, the pioneer of premium wine on tap, aims to deliver the freshest, best tasting, most sustainable glass of wine. Free Flow’s keg leasing, filling, logistics and canning services have allowed the wine and hospitality industries to move to a greener, fresher, better way to serve wine by the glass. Founded in 2009, Free Flow has more than 250 wine brands in keg, from wineries throughout the world. Premium wines in Free Flow kegs and cans are available at restaurants, hotels, retail stores, sports and entertainment venues nationwide. Free Flow Wines currently has headquarters in Sonoma, California and a production facility in Bayonne, New Jersey.
