I shared a press release recently on canned wines. Suffice it to say, most of the comments, mine included, were biased against canned wines. Most of us didn’t care for the presentation – just like the people that resist screw capped wines for their lack of romance – and some questioned if there was a metallic taste. Got a lot of discussion in one of my Facebook posts and prompted the powers that be at Bonny Doon Vineyard to send me some canned wines to sample.
The two cans I tried below did turn me around. There was no problem with the flavor in these lighter-styled wines sparkling wines:
Fizzy White
AKA La Bulle-Moose Blanche
100% Vermentino
Color: Dried hay, and a little fresh green grass.
Aroma: Pineapple, lemon hard candy, kiwi, wet concrete, cantaloupe and honeydew melon.
Flavor in a wine glass: tingly, Prosecco-like, that same lemon but not as sweet, more like a light lemonade, paler melon fruit, green apple.
Flavor from the can: Same, of course, maybe more fizzy but that may just be perception.
Fizzy Pink of the Earth
AKA La Bulle-Moose de Cigare
57% Grenache, 18% Grenache Blanc, 9% Mourvèdre, 6% Roussanne, 5% Carignane, 5% Cinsaut
Color: Peach, rose gold.
Aroma: Bruised strawberry, yellow peach, raspberry, lemon-lime, akin to sparkling wine.
Flavor in a wine glass: overall light nuances of fruit cocktail, pear and peach with a medium finish.
Flavor from the can: same.
Conclusion
Basically: Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. The company sent me two of each flavor and my husband liked the idea of keeping the two we didn’t open in the fridge to have on our porch before dinner some night soon. I liked the idea of just splitting a can of wine before dinner, and before moving over to cocktails or a full bottle of wine to pair with our meal.
I also felt that both of these would also lend themselves well in a Sangria with fruit, and maybe a little rum or spirit of your choice.
I would probably have a harder time being convinced of the merits of a heartier or higher quality wine served in a can. I also can’t imagine moving people with strong opinions for cork closures to try canned wines any more than they would accept screw-capped wines. It’s just too much change…for the present. Who knows how wines will be served in 100 or so years? Everything may be canned soon enough.
Side note, I’m not a fan of wines with names that do little to tell you what grapes they’re made from. Every time I get served a Rose I find myself asking what grapes they’re made from, so this may just be my pet peeve. Plus I’m not attracted to puppies or kittens or a moose on a label though I know other people do select their wines based on a cute label, so I get the desire. Maybe it’s just me?
Click on cans for details –> https://shop.bonnydoonvineyard.com/Shop/Cans
Eve Bushman has a Level Two Intermediate Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET), a “certification in first globally-recognized course” as an American Wine Specialist ® from the North American Sommelier Association (NASA), Level 1 Sake Award from WSET, was the subject of a 60-minute Wine Immersion video (over 15k views), authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and has served as a judge for the Long Beach Grand Cru and the Global Wine Awards. You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits.
