Rocky Mazza of K restaurant draws a glass of wine for a customer from the newly installed dispensing system.

Florida relinquished its co-dependent claim with Utah as the most alcoholically repressed states in the country when it finally allowed restaurants and bars to serve wine on tap from reusable containers. The wine is dispensed from barrels — kegs, if you prefer — from taps that look exactly like those that draw beer and ales.

The barrels, which may be no more than 5.16 gallons, are reusable and refillable, which fits in nicely with the mission of Quantum Leap Winery to be an environmentally responsible winemaker. With the wine on tap, Quantum can offer its wines to restaurants while reducing the carbon footprint that comes from traditional bottling, including bottles that must be recycled or end up in landfill. And, because it is local, the barrels can be refilled locally without having to be shipped to another part of the country.

You’re probably thinking this is the same as buying boxed wine but in really large boxes. There are some similarities, but in the case of wine on tap, you’re likely to find better quality wines and a better guarantee that the wine will remain fresh through to the end of the barrel.

Quantum Leap is among the first in the state to offer the wine on tap, and K restaurant is one of the first to start pouring.

What do you think? Would you order wine from a tap? Leave your comment below.

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