Almost all Russian cities have opened shops selling draft wine. They obviously have enough buyers. The products there are cheap and, according to the sellers, are environmentally friendly. But most buyers do not even realize that in these stores, instead of a noble drink, they are slipped “Burda”, the composition of which even chemists cannot always determine.
The tradition of selling draft wines appeared in the Crimea. Many vacationers want to taste the products of local producers. But only good wine is not sold in local markets, as it is expensive and requires suitable storage conditions.
Quality wine on tap can only be tasted during tours of wineries. You can order a similar tasting in any resort town. This is exactly what I advise those who want to taste local varieties of wines to do. At factories that conduct tastings, the risk of stumbling upon a fake that is dangerous to health is minimal.
Producers try to provide their highest quality wine for sampling. They hope that upon arrival home you will become their regular customer. In this case, wine tasting is advertising.
Quite a different situation in the markets and in small shops. To make it easier to understand the essence of deception, I will talk about the methods of producing wines on tap.
Draft wine production technologies
1. From own grapes. This way you can get real homemade wine. But the problem is that it is impossible to reach production volumes of hundreds of liters, because the dear grandparents who sell in the markets do not have their own vineyards.
In most cases, wine for sale is made not from juice, but from grape pomace, to which water, sugar and alcohol are added. At the same time, we are not talking about compliance with traditional technology and hygiene. The resulting product only vaguely resembles wine. In order not to end up in the hospital, I advise you to stop drinking this dubious wine drink.
You can drink homemade wine only if you know that the owners prepared it for themselves, and not for sale.
2. Theft from wineries. This is usually the fault of small shops. They buy stolen or spoiled wine from factories for next to nothing, dilute it and sell it. At the same time, no one is worried about the quality. In such points of sale, there may even be fake certificates of quality, since not one person, but a whole criminal group is engaged in the theft of wine.
3. Wine concentrate. This method of production is also called “powdered wine”. To prepare, it is enough to combine water, alcohol, special flavors, sugar, citric acid and other ingredients. The resulting drink may taste like wine, but in fact it is not. Everyone knows about the dangers of this chemical bouquet; people who have tried it face severe poisoning and allergies.
If earlier draft wine was sold only in resort towns, now it can be bought everywhere. The cost of producing wine from powder is minimal, and the profit for the owners is significant.
Another interesting point – try to find draft wine from France or Italy in stores. It is not and cannot be, such a product is offered only by local manufacturers in most cases from the Crimea or Kuban. There is simply no globally recognized technology for the production of wine on tap that can be transported over long distances. This is an invention of local winemakers.
Draft wines are sold abroad only in expensive restaurants that own their own wine cellars, legal family distilleries and large factories where there are all conditions for storing draft wine. But even there it is not poured into plastic bottles, this is generally nonsense. Alcohol breaks down plastic, making wine hazardous to health.
Conclusion
Draft wine, sold in cities far from the centers of winemaking, should be alarming. Most likely, you are offered a low-quality surrogate. In our realities, you can taste real wine on tap only at large factories. In all other cases, it is much safer to drink regular bottled wines.