Self-serve wine tanks coming to a store near you?
One of the great reasons to visit Europe – or, heck, even the U.S. – is the prospect of buying your booze from a grocery store.
If wine is your bag, visit your favourite market down by Paris’ river Seine, grab a bottle alongside your baguette, meat and cheese, and you’re set. It’s a system that fosters one-stop-shop convenience.
But even the French have found a way to one-up themselves when it comes to wine distribution, and perhaps their latest innovation could soon be on its way to stores this side of the Atlantic.
Indeed, the latest modernization of France’s wine trade should be peaking the interest of international retailers and consumers alike. According to DrVino.com, French supermarkets have now begun allowing shoppers to buy their wine from a self-serve distribution tank.
Check out the accompanying image to the left to see how intriguing this product is, but the futuristic-looking wine vending machines, despite their Lost In Space appearance, have reportedly been received as a “Hey, how did it take us until now to think of this?”-style consumer improvement.
The self-serve kiosks are simple: grocers place them in their stores with either 500 or 1,000-litre wine tanks inside. Shoppers come into the supermarkets with any refillable container – be it a jerrycan, empty water cooler jug or whatever – and fill up themselves much as they would at a fountain pop station. After they pour, the amount is measured, the cost is calculated, and payment is received right at the machine.
The reaction of customers to the wine dispensers has been shock at first, one French grocer has said, but they then “warm up to the idea, especially after a taste. They come back often.”
Now, a warm consumer reaction is nice, but it’s the numbers behind these self-serve wine kiosks that make their North American debut all but inevitable.
According to DrVino.com, the lowered costs to retailers of buying in bulk have been passed onto French shoppers, who can buy midrange-quality wine from the dispensers for only about $2 per litre.
Since many of Canada’s liquor distribution laws don’t allow alcohol to be sold by grocers and corner stores, there may be some hiccups as to when such wine vending machines can arrive here, at home.
But who’s to say provincial-run liquor stores across the country couldn’t adopt these as a means to stir things up and give short-term sales a significant boost?
Because, wine dispensers won’t stay exclusive to France for long. By the Consumerist’s measure, they could be hitting stores in the U.S., at least, within the next year.
By Jason Buckland, MSN Money
(*Image courtesy: reserves-precieuses.fr)
Posted by: JR | Sep 16, 2021 8:10:39 AM
The SAQ depot in Quebec starting using similar vats years ago. And, of course, it has long been possible to buy wine in Quebec grocery stores as well -- it's more likely a volume/space issue for grocery chains.
Posted by: MC | Sep 16, 2021 12:20:08 PM
great idea - and you can reuse the same bottle.
Posted by: Domenic Zito | Sep 17, 2021 9:12:58 AM
Italy is way ahead of this game. Years ago they started delivering wine to homes like a milkman delivering milk, from an oil tanker like truck
Posted by: DR | Sep 17, 2021 3:12:58 PM
As my good friend from Quebec has pointed out, this isn't new in Canada. Select liquor stores in Alberta have had similar systems for many years. Sadly, we can't buy wine at the grocery store though.
Cheers!
Posted by: DrVex007 | Sep 17, 2021 8:36:34 PM
Here in Ontario the LCBO tried the bottle your own concept years ago and it failed miserably. The main reason I would guess is that the wine is just not very good. What self respecting winery would want their hard work put into this "Frankenstein Wine Stein"? (Yes I made that one up.)
Anyway, more and more peope are shying away from crappy bulk wine and moving to quality VQA wine. Better grapes, better process, better wine. The way the wine industry works is very simple and it would be to you and me also. You put your best grapes into your varietal specific wine (ie. Chardonnay, Malbec, etc.) Then you take the leftovers and blend it (ie. Shiraz/Malbec (Fuzion))
Then you take the leftovers of the leftovers and you sell it to companies that have vending machines like this one. Yuck.
Wine is a beverage to be enjoyed. If you want a cheap drunk experience, you need help.
Do you think that a winery would gently pick/harvest their grapes, ferment them, age them in oak barrels and then ship it to this veding machine? No way. This would be the cheapest garbage known to man and the only people that would want it on the street are those that live there.
Buy VQA and enjoy life.
Posted by: aaa | Sep 19, 2021 4:28:06 PM
I like the idea, except I"m not crazy about anything "self serve." However, the concept seems fine to me. To top all this off, I happen to really enjoy a cheap wine, generally, before the expensive wines.
To "Dr,Vex"...you're nuts. What's wrong with cheap wines for the poor person who isn't rich like yourself?