Ah, Italy, that beautiful, romantic, boot-shaped country with rolling hills, leaning towers and baked ziti.  From the land that gave us our favorite Marlon Brando characters, Versace, and the correct pronunciation of 'how you doin'?' now comes the latest innovation to hit the states: the Enomatic wine serving system.  Considering the abundance of imported wine staples here in America, it’s obvious Italians know their wine; apparently, they also know how to serve their wine. 

The Enomatic offers wine aficionados a new twist on tasting and ordering their favorite drink.  Think of it as a wine vending machine—put your pre-purchased Enomatic debit card into the machine, push the button corresponding to the wine of your choice, and watch as your drink is poured directly into your glass.  This wine “vending machine” just might be the spark that ignites a wine revolution worldwide.

There are four basic designs: the Enoround, the Enoline, the Enomove and the Enosystem.  The Enoround is a 16 bottle kiosk that allows for self-service with a chip card reader, which can be purchased from the store with a pre-paid dollar amount.  The Enoline allows for temperature controlled storage-those white wines need a little chill.  The Enomove holds eight bottles and is completely mobile, allowing waiters effortless service.  Finally, the Enosystem is perhaps the grandest of all the models.  The custom made storage units can be built to fit behind a bar or in the back room of a restaurant.  They can be tailor-made to match almost any décor or look.  The Enosystem creates a continuous line of bottles that will immediately wet the tongue of any wine lover on sight.

            In a pre-Enomatic world, the unavoidable truth about wine is that its quality deteriorates after opening.  With the Enomatic, a nitrogen gas system is in place to protect the wines from oxidation.  Instead of lasting for only two or three days, the wine will be good for upwards of two months.  So what does that mean for the average wine drinker?  Try this: restaurants and bars that formerly were deterred from ordering, stocking, and opening expensive or rare bottles of wine, due to the cost of throwing away unused portions, can now offer patrons a wide selection.  They can rest easy knowing the unused wine will stay fresh.  Be on the lookout: never-before-seen wines might be popping up at a restaurant near you.

            Roberto Rinaldini, president of Rinaldini Distribution, the company handling the import and distribution of the Enomatic, knows there are even more benefits to reap from the system.  Wine novices, nervous about the pronunciation of “pinot grigio” or the correct glass swirling technique, can finally relax.  “Instead of having to ask or feeling uncomfortable,” Rinaldini says with his fluid, Italian accent, “they can use their wine card and can go to our machine and insert the card, push a button, and test it themselves.  This way they have their own experience and, with time, they can understand the difference between a Shiraz, a pinot noir, or Chianti.”  The Enomatic offers a sample size, so newbies can read up on each wine, try it out, and then go for something else.  “Each label has a history of the wine, the grapes, the vineyard, and the region of production,” Rinaldini adds.

            Where, exactly, might a budding wine connoisseur find an Enomatic?  Restaurants and wine bars all over Europe, Australia, Canada and even Asia offer their customers self-service wine through Enomatic machines, and Americans will soon have as many options as their lucky counterparts around the world.  Within the next two or three months, there are more than ten installations planned in states such as Washington, California, Texas and Nevada.   “Usually (the Enomatic is installed in) wine bars—a lounge with couches and comfortable chairs,” Rinaldini says, elaborating on the perfect Enomatic locations.  “People at happy hour can go there with friends after work and can taste wine and can eat a selection of good cheese.  It can be in a regular restaurant as well.  Nice music, nice atmosphere.” 

            Once upon a time, cappuccinos were the tangible embodiment of snobiness.  These drinks were reserved for only the trendiest of jet-setters, to be sipped with one pinky raised in the air while discussing items of importance for high society.  It takes one drive down any street in the country to pass a Starbucks and know that things in the coffee world have changed.  Coffee is now a drink for the proletariat, working class everyman, and it appears, with the help of the Enomatic, that wine will be, too.  “In 10 years we can have a wine bar in each corner and people can enjoy wine, can test wine, can buy a bottle of wine,” Rinaldini claims.  “People finally know the wine better.  It is a revolution around the world!”

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This article was originally published in Flossin Magazine. This article is edited by Edna Waters. This article is optimized for web by Steven Christian (Artist | Author | Podcaster).