Wine Buzz: Fill 'er up with house at OneSpeed

The cat's out of the bag when it comes to the wine at OneSpeed, the popular new east Sacramento restaurant. And that's to say: The house wine at OneSpeed is literally poured from a plastic bag.

Save the corkscrew for another time. There's no bottle, box or even a screwcap with OneSpeed's house wine. And customers already can't get enough, going through 15 bags – that's nearly 20 gallons – of house wine each week.

Don't be surprised when wine in a bag comes to a restaurant near you. Because of the wines' low cost and environmental friendliness, the concept's spreading to other local restaurants.

"I'm absolutely pleased that people are accepting it," says Rick Mahan, owner of OneSpeed. "The fun part is when they find out it comes from a bag. It blows their mind."

OneSpeed's house red and white wines were conceived by Jeff Hansen of AH Wines, a company that develops wines for clients such as Mahan. Peltier Station in Lodi produces the wines, which are pumped into plastic bags and sent to OneSpeed.

OneSpeed receives its house wines in 5 liter bags, which are placed in a wood cabinet behind the bar. When an order's up, the wine flows from the bag's spout and into a carafe or tumbler.

"It's the same exact bag you'd find in a box of Franzia or Gallo," says Hansen. "They're made of a material that's impermeable and doesn't impart any off flavors.

"We are so far behind the rest of the world in delivery vessels for wine," adds Hansen. "In Europe, they deliver wine in cans and plastic bottles and Tetra Pak. Something new comes up here, and people act like it's the most cutting-edge thing."

The financial bottom line is especially tasty for both Mahan and OneSpeed's thirsty clientele. The absence of bottling means the wines can be produced for less than $1 per glass. The wines then sell at OneSpeed for $3.75 per glass, or $18 for a 1-liter carafe.

Another bonus: No wine gets wasted by spoilage. Bags keep oxygen out of wine better than bottles, and wine in a bag can stay fresh for months.

The lack of bottles may also appeal to those with eco-friendly tendencies. And keeping with the "slow food" ethos of championing local producers, Mahan was adamant about partnering with a nearby winery.

"(Local sourcing) is an important consideration in most of the things I bring into my restaurants," says Mahan, who also owns The Waterboy in midtown.

"I'd had some good examples of French and Portuguese (bagged wine) and knew it was possible. I just had to find the right winery."

But can wine from a bag really taste any good? Sure, but just don't expect much more than a simple, food-friendly wine.

OneSpeed's house red is a blend of barbera, cabernet sauvignon, zinfandel and petite sirah. Plenty of berry flavors figure in this straightforward, medium-bodied wine that's meant to go with one of OneSpeed's pizzas.

"I loved the idea of having a carafe of wine in our pizza joint," says Mahan. "But I didn't want a fat zinfandel. I wanted the wine to be food-friendly."

OneSpeed's house white wine balances Lodi's fruitiness with a firm acidic backbone. Unoaked chardonnay, pinot grigio and vermentino are mixed into this fairly refreshing blend, and would pair well with OneSpeed's salads.

"The vermentino was the kicker," says Hansen. "It has a nice flinty character that brings some structure to the wine, but it's also clean and crisp."

Hansen aims to take this bagged-wine concept nationwide. OneSpeed for now serves as the prototype, and its proprietary wine in a bag is now served at such local brew pubs as River City Brewing Co. and Rubicon Brewing Co.

More Sacramento-area restaurants are expected to serve OneSpeed's bagged wine soon.

But back at OneSpeed, the business for wine in a bag keeps booming.

"Most of the skeptics have been converted," says Mahan. "I'm doubly pleased that people are accepting it."

Source Sac Bee