Canned Wine: Recent Fad or Here to Stay?
Canned Wine: Recent Fad or Here to Stay?
A Skeptic’s Guide to Canned Wine
Canned wine. Just the name feels like an oxymoron in my mouth. It conjures up images of the college game “slap the bag”, slamming beer at tailgates, or of Danny Davito in “it’s always sunny” pouring boxed wine into empty diet cola cans. Aka. Not classy.
Wine is so often synonymous with luxury, snobbery, showmanship… but those aren’t the things I love about wine. I love the story, the people, the way it brings humans together over a good glass. So I had to ask myself… could there not a place for canned wine in my life?
As it turns out, after a summer of sampling canned wines, I’ve found some that I actually love. While a canned wine will never be luxurious or age in the same way that it can in a bottle, there’s a time and a place for it. And in our growing busy lives, it’s nice to have an option “to-go” that isn’t beer. It’s nice to be able to throw it in a cooler for the beach, hike, or summer picnic. It’s nice that it eliminates the fear of breaking glass bottles or needing cups or corkscrews. Again, I’m not advocating for taking this to your next anniversary dinner or buying a six pack to age… but there are some great-tasting options for drinking in the moment. The right moment.
I will say, I prefer whites or rosé in a can (dry reds somehow feel “wrong” and usually don’t fit the “moments” that I’d reach for canned wine like sipping on a hot beach day), and I loooove it when they have a nice “sparkle” or fizz to them. We’re used to drinking things like soda out of a can after-all, so it seems only natural to have some overlapping elements. Based on these credentials, check out some of my recommendations below!
Here are my top three faves:
Better Wine Co
With a background in sustainable farming and winemaking, Better Wine Co’s inspiration is nature, resourcefulness, and an active lifestyle. Combine these and BAM! They’re on a mission to re-imagine the wine spritzer.
What I really like about these wines are that they’re lower alcohol at 6%abv (so you can sip them all beach-day-long), have nice-feeling bubbles, and have no added sugars. They’re up-front on their labels about their ingredients and have super-cute packaging. My favorites are the dry rosé cider and white wine spritzer. They also offer a dry red spritzer which was quite tasty and easily would be a good late summer/early fall choice as the weather gets crisp (football games, anyone?) and a nitro rosé spritzer.
You can purchase here from their website and use code “WINEWITHPAIGE10” for 10% off your order!
They also list on their website where to buy near them.
Obsession Wines
California-made, Obsession wines just rolled out their canned wine this year. I love their White Symphony; offered in both a bottle or a can, this wine is made from Symphony grape which isn’t found as the main varietal in many other wines. It has beautifully seductive notes of honeysuckle, gardenia, and jasmine, followed by more tropical flavors such as pineapple, juicy peach, and honey suckle. It’s the perfect wine for summer pool-side sipping. I’m madly in love with this one!
Obsession Wines also rolled out a rosé just for their canned selections and also offer a red blend.
Bridge Lane
By far the most extensive lineup I’ve seen for canned wine, Bridge Lane offers something for everyone– a whole rainbow of wines! I’m in love with their packaging and they make beautiful wines produced in Mattituck on the North Fork of Long Island, NY. Their wines are offered in bottles, cans, boxes, and kegs. They seriously try to cover all their bases! My favorites from them are the White Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc.
As stated on their site… Bridge Lane produces 5 wines – a white merlot, unoaked chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, dry rosé and red blend – all in a fresh, light, dry, fruit-forward style. The wines aren’t meant to be studied and drunk in fancy glasses. They’re meant for casual sipping and sharing with friends.
Aka… perfect summer sippers! You can purchase from their website.
Other great options include the below wines. Click their names to head to their sites and purchase online or see where to buy in stores:
Drink Bev – Designed specifically for a can by an amazing woman entrepreneur, DrinkBev is a great dry rosé
Mancan – A simple lineup designed to bring simplicity to wine drinking, ManCan offers the basics… red, white, rosé, and a sparkling white.
Right Now Wine – Right Now allows you the freedome to go anywhere… and take your wine with you. 😉 They love the advantage canned wine brings!
Nomikai – In Japan, Nomikai are drinking parties where friends and colleagues come together to drink and celebrate. Their small cans are incredibly portable and easy to take everywhere. They’re “miniature” compared to a typical soda can!
Butternut Wines – With roots that stretch from Nashville to Napa and across generations (they have a 4th-gen winemaker!), Butternutt Wines is dedicated to creating wine that is great tasting and affordable but doesn’t lack integrity. They’re a fun brand that offers wine in both bottles and cans.
