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JUNE NEWS King Estate 'Kegs' Wine for the World E Oregon winery shipping in steel containers to 12 states and Canada ugene, Ore.—Keg wine sales found a niche as Oregon winer- ies sought to keep sales going through the economic downturn of 2008 and 2009. Today, they're opening a world of op- portunities for King Estate, which expects to keg upwards of 50,000 liters of wine this year for domestic and international markets. "We're only in 12 states right now, but we're ready to bust it open as soon as we get into the 2011 (wines.) We could sell 2,000, 3,000, 4,000 kegs—it's so hard to project," Steve Thomson, exec- utive vice president for King Estate, told Wines & Vines. Since working with Free Flow Wines LLC of Sonoma, Calif., to launch kegged wines at the beginning of the year, demand has been surprisingly strong. King Estate has actually taken some wines back to bulk to satisfy demand for wines in the 19.5-liter stainless steel kegs. Free Flow we've had it kegged up and then sending it across the country," Thomson said. "It's been awkward." With the launch of its 2011 wines, King Estate will start shipping its Acrobat- tier Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris wines to Canada's Fresh Tap in Vancouver, BC, to be kegged for local licensees. Fresh Tap opened at the beginning of March, kegging wines for a half-dozen winer- ies including British Columbia's Blasted Church Vineyards and Desert Hills Estate Winery. King Estate is its initial U.S. client. winesandvines.com Learn more: Search keywords "King Estate." Steve Thomson, executive vice president for King Estate, says he expects the winery to keg 50,000 liters of wine this year. Cherokee_Nov05.qxt 9/19/05 10:52 AM Page 1 fills and then ships to licensees from Wash- ington state to Florida. "We've been open- ing up bottled wine, putting it in the tank and shipping the tank to Sonoma, where But with markets in Japan and Australia also on the horizon for King Estate, hard plastic kegs are one option Thomson is considering for export purposes. Plastic kegs are about the size of the water bottles usually seen atop the office water coolers, and they could be recycled when empty. —Peter Mitham hauling precious cargo • 24 hour dispatch • Competitive rates • Personalized Service • Radio/Cell phone equipped • State-of-the-art equipment • Maximum payload capacity • Over 30 years in operation • References available • Fleet of over 200 trucks including Wine Tanks and Dry Freight Vans CHEROKEE FREIGHT LINES 5463 Cherokee Road • Stockton, CA 95215 Telephone: 209.931.3570 • or visit our website:www.gocfl.com 14 Wines & Vines JUne 2012