A toast to automation [Automation Wine]

Over-the-counter wine sales are far from ideal, from both the seller's and the customer's point of view. Investing in a whole bottle can be quite a commitment in a bar, so wine tends to be dispensed by the glass but this presents a problem. Even properly stoppered, an opened bottle keeps fresh for only a few days, as the air inside gradually oxidises the wine. It is therefore quite usual for wine to go to waste, making bar owners reluctant to offer a wider variety of more expensive tipples.It's different in restaurants of course, where a table of diners can order bottles more easily but there is still plenty of demand for wine by the glass. So here again freshness is an issue, as is restaurateurs' tendency to limit by-the-glass choice to the house red or white the varying quality of which is the stuff of urban legend. But now the industry is beginning to adopt automation based systems that can keep a range of wines fresh for up to 30 or even 60 days, and which in some instances allow customers to serve themselves. The number of bottles these systems hold varies widely for base units it's usually four or eight, but retailers like the Kensington Wine Bar and Selfridge's in central London have up to 50 on display.