Sparkling Wine Kegs

Keg Tips for Sparkling Wine

  • Due to a high dissolved CO2 in sparkling wine, their kegs need to be stored/served COLD. If the wine is served from a warm storage room and cooled en route, then the CO2 will diminish through the life of the keg (lost to the headspace) and the final pours will lack sufficient CO2.

  • Sparkling wine kegs should be pushed with Carbon Dioxide (CO2) in order to retain the CO2 in the wine throughout service of the wine. The gas that you push the beverage will affect how it tastes/acts. A fully sparkling keg may need a higher pressure than you are using for beer.

    • For example, most of our kegs contain 3.5 saturations of CO2 = 6.9 g/L = 21 psi head pressure @40F

  • If the wine is excessively foamy at service, it may helpful to extend the draught line (extra tubing between the keg and tap) or reduce the draught line diameter (smaller tubing). Both of these will help to increase the pressure drop prior to your faucet. Foaming (breakout) is caused by a rapid change in pressure on a carbonated solution (made worse at higher temperatures). Alternatively, a flow-control faucet such as the Perlick 650SS can help to accomplish the same goal.

  • Use a US standard Sankey type D keg fitting.

  • We use a Petainer 20L Hybrid one-way keg. This keg is made of plastic and should be handled more carefully than a standard metal keg. It is possible to puncture the outer wall, which will cause failure of the keg.

  • When your keg is empty you can recycle your keg. Check with your local recycling centers for best practices in disposing of your kegs.

    Learn more about recycling your keg.

  • PDF available here

Wines Available in Kegs

  • Our Gomes Vineyard Sparkling Albariño is our flagship wine at CARBONISTE. This light and fresh sparkling wine expresses notes of gooseberry, kumquat, and stone fruit blossom.

    Carbonated and kegged, the Sparkling Albariño retains it’s purity and freshness.

  • 2024 ROUGE BRUTE Sparkling Red Wine

    A carbonic, chillable red, with fresh and crunchy fruit. It is a blend of Merlot, Primitivo, Gamay noir and Albarino.

    The red grapes were fermented under carbonic maceration and aged in barrel for 9 months. Albarino was added at the end to bring back some acidity, juiciness, and brightness. Also available in 750 mL format.