We had never tried canned wine before this week. Up until recently, we hadn’t really given them much thought. We would see new canned wines emblazoned with eye-grabbing artwork on shelves in stores and wine bars around town, but never felt compelled to try them. Eventually we got curious. After digging in a little and trying a few, we’re no longer on the fence.
On a recent trip to Stanley’s to fulfill our monthly cheesesteak quota, we noticed they were selling a Jean-Pierre Robinot wine in a can. If you’re not familiar with the name, he’s probably best known to some American millennials from sharing the screen with Action Bronson on the Vice television show F*ck That’s Delicious. Jean-Pierre Robinot is a French natural winemaker with a cult following, known to produce incredible wines. It was surprising to see that these wines are now in canned form. We had to try them!
Canned wine has been around since at least 1936. But it never really caught on. They tried and tried again, but it wasn’t meant to be. Not just yet.
The United States saw the dawn of a new age in canned wine come in 2004 with film director and winemaker Francis Ford Coppola’s Sofia Mini. The Coppola Family had planned to debut their new Sofia sparkling wine in a single-serve bottle. But, when unable to find the perfect glass solution, they eventually settled on the can.
A small handful of other brands share the distinction of being early adopters of the advancing technology in packaging. Although they seem to be finally having their day in the sun now, canned wine producers were experimenting and innovating with closures decades before screw-top bottles upended the market. Some of the largest wine producers in America were deeply invested in the canned wine business in the 1980s. But it wasn’t their time yet. Canned wines just didn’t taste that great.
An inner coating was essential to provide a barrier between the wine and the reactive steel packaging of canned wines’ early iterations. The only problem was, the acidity and alcohol content of the wines ate away at the protective layer, bringing the liquid into contact with the metal. You combine that with the poor taste of low-quality wines, and they seemed to be doomed from the very beginning.
1959 brought the invention of a new, less corrosive, rust-free aluminum can. But they still hadn’t cracked the code. Decade after decade, it was the same old song for canned wines. Companies claimed to have solved the inner coating problem, but customers were still hating it — complaining of nasty flavors, terrible odors, and metallic notes in the smell.
Over the course of two decades, packaging companies would innovate and develop new processes with linings and upgraded cans for overcoming the stanky taint problems once and for all. Since then, winemakers have had time to reflect, perfect, and amend their wine-making processes to properly ensure canned wine doesn’t taste tinny or flat.
According to Nielsen data, canned wine sales jumped between 2012 and 2020 from 2 million to more than 183 million annually.
Pros of Canned Wine
Now let’s talk about the Pros and Cons of canned wine, starting with the Pros.
Does wine have a branding problem? Maybe. Say you’re new to wine and weary of spending $20–$30 on a bottle sight-unseen without ever trying it before. If you bought a pint of beer and didn’t like it, no big deal, right? You just order something else next time and don’t get it again. But a bottle of wine is different, it’s a bigger financial commitment for a newcomer to the world of wine. Maybe canned wine is the answer to this dilemma. A “gateway” wine, if you will. People can figure out what they like without shelling out as many greenbacks. That’s always good.
Canned wines are much better for the environment. The carbon footprint of canned wine is around 60% less than traditional bottled wine. Glass bottles are much heavier than an aluminum can, leading to higher costs to transport and more carbon emissions to transport the bottle from where it is made, to where it will ultimately be consumed.
Cans are almost 400 times lighter than bottles, reducing the emissions created from shipping by up to 80%. Most of the glass bottles you see on the wine shelves in stores were actually made in China.
This plus, aluminum cans tend to have a higher recycling rate than traditional glass bottles. Estimates show up to 69% of cans ultimately end up being recycled compared to only 30% of glass bottles. Aluminum cans can be recycled infinitely, without losing quality. Glass bottles, in contrast, can be recycled only a few times before a degradation in quality starts to occur, making them much less sustainable.
Unfortunately, most glass is usually “down-cycled” when it’s recycled, meaning the glass bottle in your bin will not become another glass bottle. It might be repurposed into another product or application, but when it’s time to make new bottles (which let’s face it, is always), this new glass is sourced by taking sand from beaches, etc. This is not the case with aluminum cans. In less than a month the entirety of the can will be a whole new can again.
Another advantage to canned wine is portion control. A standard bottle of wine is 750 milliliters. One serving of wine is five ounces, so one bottle is roughly five glasses of wine.
If we’re being honest, when we open a bottle of wine it usually doesn’t go back in the fridge with a cork. We almost always feel compelled to finish it. These canned wines can help to temper that consumption just a bit. You can open a canned wine without the mental pressure of having opened a whole bottle.
This also helps with wastage. How many times have we put a wine in the fridge and forgotten about it for a few days, rendering it undrinkable? The benefits don’t stop there. What if you like a red wine, and your friend prefers a white? No problem. You can each enjoy your preference without someone compromising their tastes.
Another benefit of canned wines is no “cork taint.” About one in twelve bottled wines with corks is affected by “cork taint,” which occurs when mold and fungi start to grow within the cork and creates unfavorable flavors and smells within the wine. Canned wines don’t risk getting corked or suffering from oxidation since there’s no way that oxygen can penetrate the can.
Like walks down by the river? Enjoy time at the beach or out on a boat? The convenience and portability of canned wine can’t be beat by traditional bottles. No corkscrew, no glasses. Just get to it. Sounds great, right?
Cons of Canned Wine
Wine is always going to taste better being enjoyed from a wine glass. The convenience of the small portable can is a huge selling point, but if you’re at home, you might want to pour it in a glass if possible. The glass will provide a better connection with the wine and allow room to enable us to get the full experience of the wine we’re trying.
It’s better out of a glass, but the point is to enjoy these canned wines when a glass and a bottle opener aren’t around or ideal. These wines are meant to be enjoyed “young” and aren’t viable candidates for aging like many traditional bottled wines.
The biggest con to me is the lack mystique. Each bottle is a story. A family’s legacy. A proud product of decades and even generations of trial and error. There’s magic in these bottles. No getting around that.
But the world is in trouble. Climate change is affecting wine growers and the wine industry as a whole, so wherever progress can be made to reduce our carbon footprint, it should be examined and explored thoroughly.
I definitely prefer wine from a bottle, but if someone were to give me a blind taste-test, I don’t know if I could tell the difference. How you like to enjoy your wine is up to you, and really not that serious.
But the issue of climate change however is quite serious, so if I had to give up bottles forever, wine would still find its way into my life and mouth.
Does the mystique suffer from the presentation? Sure, maybe a little. Do we care when weighing out the other factors? No, not really.
We decided to try some canned wines from around town. The first thing we noticed was the accessibility and how easy it was to get our grubby little hands on some great options. We went to wine shops, grocery stores, restaurants and convenience stores to find canned wines. Not just any canned wines, but good canned wines of quality with excellent reviews.
Jean-Pierre Robinot Still Chenin Blanc
First we tried two different Chenin Blanc wines from Jean-Pierre Robinot. This legendary winemaker fell in love with wine when he was only 22 years old. He later opened one of Paris’ first natural wine bars, L’Ange Vin and started an internationally renowned natural wine magazine called Le Rouge et Blanc. Robinot began to feel the only way for him to truly understand natural wine was to make it himself. After over a decade of running his wine bar and magazine, he started making wine in the Loire Valley. Robinot’s “no rush” mentality allows his wine to stay in old oak barrels until fermentation is completed which could be years. Robinot’s passion and knowledge make him an incredible producer and a popular icon amongst natural wine aficionados.
Robinot’s still Chenin Blanc in a can is light and mellow with hints of yellow apples, pears, marzipan and golden kiwis. It lands on your tongue like a soft fluffy blanket before it slips off in a gentle fashion with hints of smokiness. This canned wine is listed under Wine Enthusiast’s ‘Canned Applause: The RTD Wines We’re Loving Right Now’.
Jean-Pierre Robinot Sparkling Chenin Blanc
The next can we tried from Famille du Vin x Jean-Pierre Robinot, this time it’s a sparkling Chenin Blanc. When we first opened the can, it smelled like Haribo gummy bears and tropical fruits like starfruit. It has sharp bubbles that hit your mouth as fast as it leaves. This wine has notes of white tea, lilies and apples with hints of pineapple. Acidic body with the bitterness of a grapefruit.
Inversa Peach & Basil Spritz
Though this is a wine spritz, we wanted to try it for variety and its popularity in Richmond as many places were throwing spritz parties this summer. We picked this up at Oxford Cellars. This is Inversa’s take on a peach and basil prosecco spritz. It is herbaceous, sweet, floral and crispy with notes of peach gummies and honeydew melons. This felt more like a light refreshing cocktail which is perfect on a hot day. We were 50/50 on this one. Too sweet for me, but Gomez felt it was quite nice.
Roots ‘Klee’ Pinot Noir
This is another contender in Wine Enthusiast’s ‘Canned Applause: The RTD Wines We’re Loving Right Now’ article. Made by Oregon-based winemaker Chris Berg, who we had the pleasure of meeting recently. Berg is a jovial man, whose wide-ranging intelligence and contagious passion for wine can be sensed instantly. We have tried his Roots ‘Klee’ Pinot Noir wine before and it was a surprise to see it in a can at Ellwood Thompson. This was delicious chilled as it released notes of black cherries and plums while still remaining soft and delicate.
Lubanzi Rosé Bubbles
The design of the Lubanzi’s Rosé Bubbles caught our curiosity. Forbes wrote an interesting article about the founders and their passion to share South African wine with the world. This wine company also gives 50% back to the hands that make their wine in South Africa. This easy drinking wine is dry and crisp with notes of strawberries, cherry blossom and a hint of tangerine. At 375ml it weighs in as the largest of the offerings we tried. This one is a half of a bottle of wine. Let the good times roll!
Margerum Sybarite Sauvignon Blanc
Gomez loved this one. Crisp! Refreshing! Vibrant! Notes of honey, white flower and pears. Margerum Sybarite Sauvignon Blanc was recommended to us by a friend who sang its praises. And my oh my, I’m in love. Send me to the James River with a can and a good book. Weighing in at 355ml, the Margerum was almost a half of a wine bottle worth of distinctly delicious pleasure. This is available for purchase at Click Wine Bar.
The Takeaway
Our takeaway was that not only are canned wines not bad, they can actually be quite good, and are being produced by some of the best winemakers in the world.
It’s no surprise that people would be apprehensive about enjoying wine from a can. The “screw-top,” also known as Stelvin Enclosures, has been around since 1976, and despite catching on and being around for decades, there are still people who cringe in disgust when they see one now.
Like boxed wines, canned wines haven’t always been appealing to the pickier palates amongst wine drinkers and connoisseurs. But the changing environmental aspects have created an ever-growing incentive to embrace alternative forms of packaging in order to avoid the larger carbon footprint of glass bottles.
Many high-quality producers are looking to cans with sustainability in mind, leading consumers to a wide abundance of newer higher-quality offerings. This could potentially be the future of wine.
There will always be bottled higher-end wine, but canned wine will most likely take over in a lot of the “budget” wine segments. Cheaper to transport with higher profit margins for less and better for the environment? Seems like a no-brainer.
The younger generation doesn’t drink as much wine as previous ones so this might also be a more suitable and approachable way to buy and explore different wines. So, let’s set that PBR+Rail Whiskey city-wide special, hard seltzer or macro-lager craft beer aside for a moment, and give canned wine a shot. We don’t think you’ll regret it.
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