Wine Advisor/WTN: Would you drink wine in a can?

[Robin Garr]

(From today's 30 Second Wine Advisor)

Would you drink wine in a can?

Twenty years or so ago, a lot of people were still deeply suspicious of wine in a bottle with a metal screw cap.

Now most of us know better, recognizing the benefits of this sturdy and clean closure even on pricey wines.

Boxed wine is gaining consumer confidence, too, at least for picnic and casual enjoyment. Ane even the beer-bottle-style crown cap no longer surprises us on a light white wine or Prosecco.

Does all this change mean that it's time for us to take a fresh look at the idea of wine in a pop-top can?

Looking down Memory Lane, I remember reviewing a line of wine in small, single-serving cans back in the 1980s. At that point, canned wine was an idea whose time apparently had not come. I remember it with a marked lack of fondness, a white distinguished only by neutrality, and a red that came close to being actively vile.

But the times they are a'changing, and a surprising number of producers are mustering new canning technology - the same technology that has fostered a quick surge in canned artisanal beers - to put forward canned wines of surprisingly good quality. Earlier this year, Wine Enthusiast magazine published a favorable-to-glowing tasting report on 11 Canned Wines For A Thirsty Crowd, and found a lot to like. "The overall verdict," they concluded: "Yes, we can."

The other day in a good local wine shop, Old Town Wine and Spirits, I noticed a couple of wines in cans, attractively priced at $8.99 each, tucked away among the rows of more traditional glass bottles. Assured by the savvy proprietor, Gordo Jackson, that they were "solid," I brought them home, chilled them in the fridge for a couple of hours, and opened them with dinner.

Guess what? They're pretty good. A Central Coast Chardonnay and an Edna Valley Grüner Veltliner (yes, that's what I said), both labeled Alloy Wine Works from Paso Robles-based Field Recordings Wine, were credible and varietally correct, enjoyable with dinner if not so inspiring as to make you hear choirs of angels sing. That doesn't happen often, after all.

The back of the Chardonnay can briefly summarizes the producer's intent: "Alloy Wine Works is the perfect balance of inventive spirit and rural charm. In this can is pure craft wine. Not because we want to seem 'hip' or 'relevant,' but because we want to."

I'd buy them again.

Two canned wines from Alloy Wine Works ($8.99)

Alloy Wine Works (Field Recordings) 2015 Central Coast Chardonnay ($8.99/500ml can)

Clear straw color. Fresh scents of pears and green apples and yeasty rising bread dough lead into a tart and tangy and very slightly sweet flavor highlighting lemony citrus and, yes, pie crust, with meyer lemon hanging on in a very long, acidic finish with warm 14% alcohol. I would never have expected a wine this balanced and well-made to come from a can. It's not my favorite style of Chardonnay, but I'd score it well on points in wine judging. (June 29, 2017)

Alloy Wine Works (Field Recordings) 2016 "Hans Grüner" Edna Valley Grüner Veltliner ($8.99/375ml can)

This wine surprises me on two levels: It's a much better wine than I would have ever expected to find in a can, and it's a much better Grüner Veltliner than I would have ever expected to taste from a vineyard that's far from Austria. It's a clear, light brass-color wine, with fresh white-fruit and green herbal aromas that I expect from a good GV. The same goes for the flavor, which shows clean, crisp white fruit, snappy citrus and a distinct touch of stony minerality with a light 12.1% alcohol. Zippy lemon-lime persists in a very long finish. (June 29, 2017)

FOOD MATCH: Mild white fish or fresh oysters or clams would make a natural match with the "Hans Grüner", but its snappy acidity and balance make it a natural with a broad range of fare. The Alloy Chardonnay worked very well indeed with Italian sausage sauteed with green peppers and onions.

WHEN TO DRINK:
I'm not prepared to pontificate about aging potential for canned wines, but even with their surprising quality, I'm not going to suggest cellaring right now. The Chardonnay can briskly expresses the winery's intent that you buy it, open it, and drink it: "Enjoy by tonight, tomorrow and this weekend." We're sure it will last longer than that, though.

VALUE:
Remember that these cans are smaller than standard wine bottles. The 500 ml Chardonnay can is two-thirds of a bottle, placing it in competition with a $13.50 Chardonnay; it's certainly more than reasonable at that price point. The 375ml Grüner Veltliner can is one-half of a bottle, working out to an $18 full bottle, which again is competitive with a good everyday Grüner but not a fancy single-vineyard model. Both prices seem fair.

WEB LINK
These links will take you to the web pages for Alloy Wine Works with its canned wines, and Field Recordings, Alloy's parent company, which also has many other wine-making properties.

FIND THESE WINES ONLINE:
Click here to review vendors and prices for all of Field Recordings' wines including the Alloy Wine Works cans.

Alloy Wine Works sells its wines directly to the consumer in four-packs.

[Robin Garr]

A fun response in a picture from longtime Wine Advisor reader Bob Henry ...

CAN-O-LAFITE.png

[David M. Bueker]

In a can? No.

From a can? Maybe.

[Robin Garr]

In a can? No.

From a can? Maybe.

Pedant. Would you drink wine that is currently residing in a can?

[David M. Bueker]

Depends. Is it a legal, permanent resident?

[Robin Garr]

Don't ask, don't tell.

I wouldn’t drink wine from a can, but I’ll have no problem pouring wine from a can. What would concern me is the material of the can and the liner.

Salute

[Robin Garr]

Bingo! That's why I used "in" and not "from."

I'd like to know more about the liner, too. It's the same technology used in modern craft-beer cans, but beer is generally lower in alcohol and has a shorter shelf life, so I don't know what difference that might make. I'll try to find out more.

[David M. Bueker]

Actually, with July 4 right around the corner, drinking it straight from the can would be more 'Mercan.

[Robin Garr]

Okay, I've done extensive Googling this morning, and it appears that the can and lining process are proprietary, patented, and presumably quite secret. "Trust us," says the Australian firm Barokes whose Vinsafe can seems to be the leader of current technology:
http://wineinacan.com/vinsafe/

The LA Times had an interesting article that I missed in yesterday's article, but the reporter touches on the issue by saying it's safe without supporting evidence:
http://www.latimes.com/food/drinks/la-f ... story.html

Here's a good article from Wired about Ball Canning, the dominant can producer. Apparently producing neutral, sturdy can liners is an established technology. They don't mention wine, but can lining is invariably epoxy, in a specific form tuned to whatever the can is intended to contain.
https://www.wired.com/2015/03/secret-li ... rn-marvel/

Probably the best we're going to get comes from The Grapevine magazine, a business-to-business pub for the viticultural industry, which addresses the question and admits that the industry is serious about the issue but not going to give away the details: "Wine cans have a proprietary lining that was developed through extensive research."
http://thegrapevinemagazine.net/article/wine-in-cans/

In other words, we're not going to find out, but color me naive, I'm pretty sure wine cans aren't going to poison us in the short term. In a deregulated market where just about everything we eat and drink has hormones, additives and who knows what, I'm going to stop worrying about it and let the wine in the bottle - er, the can - speak for itself.

[David M. Bueker]

Secret? Obviously poison then. Probably uses GMOs.

[Robin Garr]

Also, I realized that I've had contact over the years with an Aussie gent from Barokes. I've reached out to him and will post any info that he's willing to share.

[Jenise]

I bought a canned pinot noir and a chardonnay once upon a time when the local Whole Foods had a big display. Both were on the wan side, tasted of the grapes they were supposed to be, but both were noticeably one-noted and dilute. Wouldn't do it again.

[Robin Garr]

I bought a canned pinot noir and a chardonnay once upon a time when the local Whole Foods had a big display. Both were on the wan side, tasted of the grapes they were supposed to be, but both were noticeably one-noted and dilute. Wouldn't do it again.

How recent was that? There's apparently been a sea change, and while you still won't find great wine in a can, it appears from my small experiment and from the LA Times and Wine Enthusiast articles that a range of decent stuff, at least everyday stuff, is beginning to appear.

I absolutely agree that canned wine wasn't doing the job some time back - I still remember that red in particular with horror. But if you're talking about more than four or five years ago, you might try again for the sake of science.

No, we're never going to find really excellent wines in cans, or in tetra packs or in boxes. That's not their market. But the fact that these options have moved from undrinkable to palatable is worth noting. My theory is that as quality wines continue to increase in price, with little good stuff out there under $10 and not much under $15, if alternative packaging can satisfy a lower-end market for less, there may be a growing market for them. And that goes double if they can produce wines less boring than the old "fighting varietals" of the '90s and early '00s, which were just plain boring to me even in glass bottles.

Take this GV in a can, for example. I'd drink it in a minute before Yellowtail and its competitors.

[Jenise]

Nope, this was about a year ago. Sue Courtney was visiting and we decided to take one for the team, as we'd both just read articles about how this is The Next Big Thing. We were not swayed--definitely wasn't even up to the quality of, say, the $10 Fetzer Sundial chardonnay Bob and I tasted yesterday. .

[Robin Garr]

Nope, this was about a year ago. Sue Courtney was visiting and we decided to take one for the team, as we'd both just read articles about how this is The Next Big Thing. We were not swayed--definitely wasn't even up to the quality of, say, the $10 Fetzer Sundial chardonnay Bob and I tasted yesterday. .

Yuk! Do you happen to remember the brand? In an emerging technology, I imagine the individual producer's commitment to quality makes a difference.

[Jenise]

Actually, I didn't remember the brand when you asked this morning, but I had to make a TJ run in the meantime and saw the same canned wine there (though we bought it at Whole Foods). Underwood, out of Oregon.

I should have looked at the alcohol level. Considering the size of the can (beer can size) it would make sense for them to water it down somewhat so that someone's able to handle more of it.

Local winemakers, Dos Cabezas, do an annual release of a sparkling GSM rose in a 700ml can. It's pretty delightful.