Now being served at local Eagle restaurants.
By Pamela Kleibrink Thompson, Photography by Marshall Nichols
“Wine should be for all people, including the working class, not just the wealthy. Proletariat Wine Company’s tag line, ‘All for Wine, Wine for All’ honors the affordability of wine on tap,” states Darin Williams, the General Manager in charge of growth for Proletariat Wine Company. Owners and residents of Eagle Scott and Tina Thompson, Ed and Kim Davis, and Tracy and Elizabeth Baggerly started Proletariat believing that wine delivered in kegs, while unorthodox, is an environmentally and economically sound business.
Prior to wine on tap, restaurant owners dealt with the risk of wine spoilage. Once a traditional bottle is uncorked, the wine begins its oxidation process. The restaurant usually has three or four days to serve the balance of the bottle or risk the wine spoiling and having to dispose of it. “Wine on tap eliminates the breakdown process. Oxygen doesn’t touch the wine until it hits the consumer’s glass, which ensures a fresh, crisp, and bright glass of wine each and every time,” Williams notes.
While this is certainly good news for restaurants, it’s also good news for consumers. Most restaurants try to recoup as much of the cost of the bottle as 
possible with the first pour, increasing the cost to the consumer. With wine on tap, the restaurant can offer quality wine at a much lower cost and risk to both themselves and their customers.
Proletariat provides wines to restaurants using 5.16 gallon stainless steel casks, which equates to roughly 26 bottles of wine. In addition to the stainless steel casks, the use of nitrogen, an inert gas that has no effect on the wine, is used to pressurize the wine system. Because oxygen never touches the wine, the oxidation process is stopped, eliminating the risk of restaurants and bars pouring their profits down the drain or pouring spoiled wine in a consumer’s glass.
Wine on tap is environmentally friendly as well.
“Using kegs eliminates the need for bottles, corks, labels, and foils that are required in a traditional winery operation, resulting in a much reduced carbon footprint,” Williams says. Since the company started production, Proletariat estimates the company has saved the planet the use of 200 tons of glass bottles that have been kept out of the landfills and over 300,000 corks that are still in trees. Proletariat’s wine on tap is popular with consumers not only because it is environmentally friendly, but because the wine is of the highest quality.
As Baggerly notes, “Going green never tasted so good!”
Proletariat’s varietals of wine include seven reds, seven whites, and a rosé during summer months. All fruit is sourced from Washington grape growers with the exception of the Pinot Noir, which is sourced from the Willamette Valley in Oregon. Proletariat’s current varietals include Sauvignon Blanc, a Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Malbec, Viognier, as well as several custom blends.
Jay Hastings, owner of DaVinci’s, says he’s carried Proletariat Wine for two and a half years now and it is popular with customers. “Proletariat Wine has been a great addition to our business,” shares Hastings. “There is no waste, which is phenomenal. We feature it at our happy hours and serve it in carafes as well.”
A premium wine that is environmentally sound and offered at an affordable price, Proletariat wine is on tap at over 50 locations throughout the Eagle, Boise and Meridian areas. In Eagle, Proletariat is on tap at DaVinci’s, Crush Wine Bar, Winding Creek, and Rice Contemporary Asian Cuisine. The Boise market includes Juniper, The Dish, Solid, 13th Street Pub, and Cottonwood Grill. Check their website for additional locations, and next time you’re out, ask what’s on tap to enjoy a fine glass of wine at an affordable price.
Visit proletariatwines.com for more details.
