Aveleda Winery Partners with Nos Alive Music Festival, Using Petainer Kegs

Aveleda Winery, with a history spanning over 150 years, is currently managed by fifth-generation vintners Martim and Antonio Guedes in Portugal. Known for cultivating indigenous Portuguese grape varieties and producing a diverse portfolio—from ready-to-drink wines to sparkling and age-worthy varieties—the winery has long upheld a tradition of quality and innovation.

Recently, Aveleda set its sights on a major event: NOS Alive 2023, one of Europe’s premier music festivals in Lisbon, renowned for showcasing top European artists and offering a unique blend of culture, beaches, and surfing. With the challenge of serving tens of thousands of festival-goers while maintaining wine quality in an outdoor setting, Aveleda turned to Petainer’s 30L Classic Kegs to bring their wine on tap to life.

The Challenge: Scaling for a High-Volume Event

The transition from exclusively bottling in glass to serving wine on tap presented several hurdles. First, the handling of glass bottles in a high-footfall festival environment is inefficient and prone to breakage. With NOS Alive expecting around 55,000 attendees, rapid service and constant replenishment were critical.

Additionally, the logistics of keeping bottled wine at a consistent, cool temperature in outdoor conditions posed further difficulties. In a bustling festival setting, ensuring that every pour maintained the wine’s quality—without cumbersome manual processes or safety risks—was paramount.

• Transition from Glass to Draft Service: Traditional bottling would slow down operations and increase the risk of breakage.
• High-Volume, Fast-Paced Environment: Rapid dispensing was essential for keeping lines short and meeting the high demand.
• Preserving Wine Quality Outdoors: Maintaining consistent temperature control in the summer heat required a robust solution.

The Solution: Petainer’s 30L Classic Kegs

To overcome these challenges, Aveleda Winery chose Petainer’s 30L Classic Kegs. This solution was ideal for a high-volume, outdoor setting and addressed both operational and sustainability needs.

Petainer’s kegs provided several key advantages that directly aligned with Aveleda’s requirements:

• Lightweight Design: A 30L PET keg weighs significantly less than an equivalent number of glass bottles, making transport, storage, and handling on the festival grounds much simpler.
• One-Way Convenience: With no need to retrieve and wash steel kegs after the event, the one-way design cuts down on return logistics, reduces potential handling errors, and lowers overall costs. The kegs are fully recyclable, which further enhances their sustainability.
• Rapid Dispensing & Consistent Temperature: The kegs integrate seamlessly with standard draft systems, allowing staff to serve wine quickly and efficiently. Because the kegs can remain connected to a refrigerated system, every glass is served at the ideal temperature without the risk of wine warming in the sun.

This solution not only allowed Aveleda Winery to meet the logistical challenges of a high-volume event but also ensured that the wine maintained its premium quality, even in the demanding conditions of NOS Alive.

Results: Streamlined Operations and Market Expansion

Implementing Petainer’s 30L Classic Kegs yielded significant benefits for Aveleda Winery. The adoption of this innovative packaging solution transformed their operations at NOS Alive and beyond.

• Streamlined Festival Operations: The switch from glass bottles to PET kegs resulted in fewer storage issues and a dramatic reduction in breakage, enabling a smoother, more efficient setup at the festival.
• Enhanced Customer Experience: Attendees enjoyed perfectly chilled wine dispensed rapidly, ensuring that even during peak times, service remained swift and the product consistently high in quality.
• Reduced Carbon Footprint: The lightweight, one-way design eliminated the need for return logistics and reduced transportation requirements, contributing to a lower environmental impact overall.
• Positive Brand Image and Future Growth: The successful deployment at NOS Alive not only reinforced Aveleda Winery’s reputation as an innovative, forward-thinking brand but also opened the door to further market expansion opportunities, positioning them for continued growth in high-volume, fast-paced environments.

Conclusion: A Future of Sustainable, High-Volume Wine Service

By partnering with Petainer and implementing the 30L Classic Kegs, Aveleda Winery has effectively addressed the challenges of serving wine on tap at large-scale events like NOS Alive. This modern, sustainable solution has streamlined operations, reduced costs, and enhanced the overall customer experience—all while preserving the quality and freshness of their wines. The success of this initiative underscores how even longstanding, tradition-rich brands can innovate to meet modern market demands and expand their reach.