The first can wine I ever heard of was Sofia Blanc de Blanc from Francis Coppola back in the early 2000s. I remember thinking how cute and fun! It even came with it's own bendy straw! But really how good could it be? It had to be at least a step above from Franzia in a box, especially since it was being produced by Francis Coppola. I'm pretty sure I tried it once when it came out, I think while sitting on the lawn at Wolf Trap. That's what makes cans so intriguing. You can take them easily in your picnic and no need for an opener.
Move ahead about 15 years and cans seem to be showing up more and more in the wine stores --wine stores! Not supermarkets. So, they must have a higher quality, huh? Last year, my family and I were in Cape Cod - an amazing place, if you haven't been, make a point to get there. We were going to have an clambake on the beach. When we came across the Underwood can wines in the local wine store I asked the wine store folks what it was all about. They said they couldn't keep it in stock. So, I thought what the heck, we won't have to worry about a wine opener and it will fit right in the cooler with the beer. We bought the Underwood Pinot Noir. We thoroughly enjoyed it, but who knows if it helped that we were on the beach having an amazing clambake! But either way, it satisfied us and was easy.
So, as summer is coming upon us the can wines are showing up again in our local wine stores and supermarkets. My friend Mrs. Richey, blogger of Good, Better, Best, and I decided we should do a Can Wine Tasting to check out the different cans available in our area. We dubbed it the Can Wine Pro-Am. I am apparently the Pro and Mrs. Richey is the Amateur -- although as far as wine drinking goes I think we both qualify as pros!
So, here you go. Our thoughts on 5 different can wines (check out the Good. Better. Best. blog post here):
Underwood Pinot Gris Underwood is from Oregon. They bottle and can wine. In cans you have bubbly, rose bubbly, rose, pinot gris, and pinot noir. I purchased this can for $7.99 at Balduccis. One can holds 375 ml - half of a bottle. So, you can get 2-3 glasses of wine from the can.
At first I wasn't enjoying the very dry lingering taste in my mouth but I also think that it was almost too cold. Once it warmed up a bit the taste became smoother. And I should also state that I am not a huge Pinot Gris fan, but, if you like Pinot Gris, you should like this. I did like this much more once we started having food -- buffalo chicken dip, pimento cheese spread, ribs, roasted vegetables, etc. It showed as a nice smooth white wine. Refreshing summer drink. And this was the same winemaker of the pinot noir we had on the Cape last summer. For a canned white wine I would buy it again if I needed a canned white wine. As Mr. Richey said, " I like it for its purpose in life."
Alloy Wine Works Everyday Rose
Alloy Wine Works is in Paso Robles. As their name indicates, cans is what they do. Their cans are fun and funny -- remember, people eat and drink with their eyes first. This can told us that the wine, "tastes like strawberry, mint, guava, grapefruit, sour patch kids, rose petals." They do a Rose, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon. I got this can for $9.99 at Balduccis. It is 12.5% abv and 500ml. So you can get at least 3 glasses from the can.
Neither of us tasted the Sour Patch Kids but we did get lots of grapefruit. It is a dry rose and if you like lots of forward flavors in your rose this might be good for you. I will say, alone, this wine wasn't my favorite, the flavors didn't seem to meld together, there were too many different things going on with it. But with food (a slice of salami and later ribs) it evened out. So, pair this with a nice salty food -- as with most roses.
Margerum Riviera Rose
Margerum is in Santa Barbara. They bottle and can this wine. I bought this can at Unwined for $11.99. It is 500 ml - so at least 3 glasses.
This is made with Grenache and Syrah grapes from 4 different vineyards. This was mine and Mrs. Richey's favorite of all of the wines we tasted. It was so smooth - not one overwhelming flavor. It has a perfect balance of acidity with floral and green apple on the nose. If I were tasting this blind I might have trouble pinpointing it to California. It has some good French qualities in it. You can see in the photo that it is barely pink, actually if you didn't know it was a rose it would be hard to tell when you poured it that it wasn't just a white wine. This stood up with food as well.
Sofia Blanc de Blanc
The longest running can wine that I know of. This was $5.49 at Balduccis in a 187 ml can. This is one glass per can. They are normally sold in 4-packs but you can buy them separately at Balduccis.
Sofia is a California sparkling wine and smells like roses. For those who like a less dry wine (meaning sweeter) this is for you. I am not a fan of drinking my wine through a straw - and didn't for this tasting, but it sure does look cute doesn't it? For the cuteness factor it's a winner, if you want a dry sparkling wine, I would look elsewhere.
Alloy Wine Works Pinot Noir
Another from our friends at Alloy in California's Central Coast. This was $9.99 at Balduccis for 500 ml - at least 3 glasses from the can.
My first reaction was not so great. But I gave it a few swirls and it opened up a bit. The can tells us we can find mushroom and white pepper in it. You certainly can, but it is pretty mushroomy and the white pepper pretty much controls this wine. It is definitely a heavier pinot noir, like many from California. If you like a lighter, less woodsy pinot noir, in a can, I would suggest going with the Underwood Pinot Noir.
The pros of these can wines are:
1) No need for extra equipment to open
2) You don't need a glass - if you're desperate. However, I find it weird to drink wine straight from a can and always pour mine in a glass.
3) They fit nicely in a cooler
4) The can keeps them nice and cold
The Cons:
1) Once you open it, it's opened - no cork or cap to close it back up.
2) These are medium quality wines, likely mass produced.
3) I mention the can keeps them nice and cold but for many wines its almost too cold. So let them warm up a bit once you pour them.
For those of you interested in can wine take the plunge. For the price, they make it easy to try out. Remember, you probably are not going to find 95 point wines in these cans but you will find some good every day drinking wines. Know that going in and have fun!
I'll leave you with this quote from my daughter, "If you're camping with can wine, it's glamping."