Wine-On-Tap Player Free Flow Leveraging Opportunities In Hotels, Tasting Rooms

As alternative packaging for wine continues to grow, pioneering keg wine player Free Flow Wines continues to be a leader in wine-on-tap for the on-premise. Currently, the company handles roughly 400,000 9-liter case equivalents annually, working with producers like The Wine Group, O’Neill Vintners & Distillers, Treasury Wine Estates, and Prestige Wine Imports, among others. “Last year we shipped around 160,000 kegs across the country, and this year we’re confident we’re going to be over 200,000,” said Julia Tarazoff, Free Flow’s director of customer success and marketing.

Free Flow is expanding its presence in hotels, namely Hilton and Marriott locations, especially those that feature self-pour beverage stations, as opposed to traditional bar environments. “We work with a lot of self-pour companies,” said Barclay Webster, vice president of business development and trade. “These concepts have really been taking off, especially in the hotel sector, and they will likely explode in the next year.” Wine-on-tap focused restaurant chain Sixty Vines is another key partner.

Currently, Free Flow predominantly features American wineries, but it’s working to grow its relationships in the import sector. Tarazoff estimates that roughly 70% of Free Flow’s business is domestic, with 30% coming from imports. Free Flow’s import partners include brands like Matua, 19 Crimes, The Pinot Project, and Domaine Bousquet, among others.

While the company’s main focus is kegged wines for the traditional on-premise, in the last year Free Flow has opened up business with wineries’ tasting rooms as well. “Now we’re working with about 10 wineries, and we just had Clos du Val launch wine-on-tap in their tasting room,” said Tarazoff. “Tablas Creek is a big one as well. They’re down in Paso, and they have over eight wines on tap in their tasting rooms.” Tarazoff pointed to Clif Family Winery and Sterling as two tasting room partners Free Flow is excited to work with in the near future.

Overall, Free Flow estimates that 70% of wines served on tap in the U.S. are from their partners, with the company seeing 20% growth last year. The company’s kegs are reusable, cutting down on environmental waste, and can help save costs for wineries through shipping efficiencies. Wineries are able to send their wine to Free Flow to be kegged or purchase a tank adapter to do their own kegging, with the former option popular for larger wineries and the latter allowing smaller wineries to use the service.—Shane English

GET YOUR FIRST LOOK AT 2025 ESTIMATES AND 2030 PROJECTIONS FOR THE WINE AND SPIRITS INDUSTRIES. ORDER YOUR 2025 IMPACT DATABANK REPORTS. CLICK HERE.