Boston might be less than a four-hour trip from the North Fork, but our local wines are seldom found in Beantown restaurants and bars.
But alternative packaging like kegs can change that.
In an online article published Sept. 16, The Boston Globe reported on how Bridge Lane’s 2015 rosé made its way in a keg from Premium Wine Group in Mattituck, where it is produced, to the State Park restaurant in Kendall Square, which is located across the Charles River from Boston. Kegs keep wine fresh longer and allow restaurant to offer glasses on tap.
“The region’s bottles are hard to find in Massachusetts,” wrote Boston Globe correspondent Ellen Bhang. “Most inventory stays in New York, frequently snapped up by day-trippers from the city, visiting the area’s 60 wineries. But change is afoot, thanks to an ambitious producer, a convenient keg format, and Boston-area sommeliers who champion these wines.”
The recyclable 26-bottle volume kegs are an increasingly attractive package for sommeliers, as well as consumers, the article notes.
“Massachusetts distributor Ruby Wines says that consumers care more about how a wine tastes than its packaging,” the article states. “That makes the keg version of Bridge Lane Rosé — a sprightly dry pink, mainly cabernet franc and merlot — easier to sell to restaurants than even a few years ago.”
Ashish Mitra, of Harvard Square’s Russell House Tavern, also a fan of Bridge Lane Rosé, likes this format and thinks Boston wine drinkers will be eager to try even more North Fork wines.
“The North Fork is like the Sonoma County of our neck of the woods,” he said.
Also of note: the article features a photo shot by northforker contributing photographer Madison Fender.
You can read the full story here.