My First Can of Wine
No, I didn’t lose it. The title of this post actually makes sense. To the date, I had the wine from the bottles of all forms and sizes. I had the wine directly from the stainless steel tanks and oak barrels. I had the wine dispersed by the machine. I had the wine from the keg. Yes, I had a boxed wine (and it was just fine). But – until yesterday, I never had wine from the can.
Yesterday I did. The Fall club shipment from one of my absolute favorite wineries, Field Recordings, included a can of wine. Not just any wine, but once again, one of my most favorite wines, Fiction (my personal wine of the year in 2011). When I saw a notice about the upcoming club shipment, which included a picture of the can, my first though was – hmmm, interesting. Really curious to try it.
Wine shipment arrived last week. After I opened the box, first thing I noticed was that the cans appeared a bit wrinkled. You know, when you hold the can of beer or any beverage, the surface is typically very smooth under your fingers – this was not the case, with the tiny, but noticeable ups and downs, the wrinkles (may be there is a better term to describe it, but I hope you got my point). Okay, it is the content what matters, right? It is obvious that the wine in the can is not intended to be stored or admired for the long time on the shelf – with its appearance it technically says “drink me now”.
Talking about cans, I had two other interesting observations. First, the can was 500 ml in size (somehow based on the picture I was expecting the full 750 size). And then instead of the short story which appears on the bottle of Fiction, the can’s “back label” contained the following tasting note: “Heady aromas of blueberry pie, luxurious suede couches, ham paninis and unlit menthol cigarettes. Firm tannins anchor flavors of grilled meats, cherry cola, sweet carob and black licorice chews, all cased up together conveniently in a cigar humidor. Drink tonight“. An interesting description, don’t you think? As I also got a bottle of Fiction, I was relieved to see the old a familiar story on its back label…
Okay, let’s get to “it” – let me tell you what I though about the wine. 2013 Field Recording Fiction Red Wine Paso Robles (14.9% ABV, $10 for 500 ml can, $18/bottle, 20% discount for catalog members; 31% Zinfandel, 26% Tempranillo, 15% Mourvedre, 10% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 8% Touriga Nacional) – in a word, the wine was delicious. It took about 10 minutes for the wine to open up and round itself up in a glass (I didn’t dare drinking it straight from the can, I think it would eliminate half of the pleasure – but feel free, of course). I didn’t find grilled meat or suede coaches in the wine. But it had beautiful, ripe blueberries and sweet cherries, some vanilla dusting and may be a touch of mocha and sweet oak, all impeccably woven into a tight bundle of pleasure, sip after sip. This wine was on par with all the previous releases of Fiction, sans the aromatics. I couldn’t find the mind-blowing aromatics the 2010 Fiction was showing, but nevertheless, this was a silky smooth and delicious wine which I would gladly drink again. But I would honestly prefer to pour from the bottle. Drinkability: 8-
Did you have the wine in the can? What do you think about the wine you had and the concept as a whole? Cheers!
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Talk-A-Vino 
I didn’t know wine came in cans and what luck that they sent your favorite. Pretty cool idea I guess but call me old fashioned I love wine from a bottle. I guess the cartons and cans have their uses.
If you are still a catalog member, you should receive the same? Yes, this was interesting. I guess I can accept wine tin the can, but one should really use a better quality material and make it look good.
Never had canned wine and I doubt it would have any sort of success in Germany because most people here don’t buy canned beverages anymore.
Glad to hear that the wine was still delicious though!
Cheers!
Definitely an interesting experience – I don’t think I would object to the can too much, but it should be of a higher quality.
Fascinating & clever. I generally don’t like anything out of a can because I can always taste the aluminum. I would think in this case the aluminum would influence the delicate balance of the wine but in reading your notes it doesn’t sound like it impacted the flavors at all. I’d sure be interested in giving it a try. Cheers!
Don’t think I had any influence of aluminum – but then only a blind tasting can answer that…
I’ve had Sofia sparkling wine from can and i think I was too turned off from the experience to enjoy the wine. In other words, I’m sure the wine was the same but it ruined it for me.
But I think this will be the wave of the future. Michigan is one of the top microbrew states and we are seeing more high quality beers in cans. There isn’t a difference in taste. Breweries like it because it’s easier to work with and cheaper to transport. Even better – there are mobile canners that make it easier and cheaper for them to enter te market. So it might be cool to see smaller independent wineries pop up.
I agree – I think we will see more wines in the cans. I would, however, appreciate better quality of the product (the can) – similarly as the wine appreciation starts from the bottle, the can is equally important to the way we perceive what is inside…
Happy Thanksgiving.
Thanks you Laurie! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!
I might have missed this, but did you drink it straight from the can? Or pour it into a glass first?
14.9% ? Whoa. It sounds like the alcohol was not a problem, but it is rare to see it listed that high (since it is taxed at a higher rate at 15%). Still, sounds like fun–I’ve never had wine from a can….
This level of ABV is absolutely normal for the Field Recordings and Carlisle wines – 14.9% would be the lowest, with a lot of wines getting up to 16.5% – but it is never a problem on the palate, the wines are usually super smooth and super balanced – I generally notice the ABV only when I write the blog post…
Interesting. I haven’t seen wine a can yet, but I will keep an eye out for it. Thanks for sharing.
Hmmm… I’ve never had wine in a can, but I’m a bit skeptical. I like soda in a can, but not beer in a can or juice in a can. If find that they taste like aluminum, and it isn’t very pleasant. But, if I had a can of wine, I suppose I would have to try it!
yes, exactly – I’m sure you would try it if you would have it. Meanwhile, I tried the second can of the same wine, and I can’t say I was very happy with the – the finish was not smooth… I will have to give it a bit of time, and then have my last can – and then compare it with the bottle.
We sell a French Rose’ in a can [our only canned wine so far] but interestingly enough not too many have commented or complained about the can itself. In this case its portability for picnics, pool parties, beach etc seems to be the selling point.
Happy Holidays!
I don’t have an issue with practicality of the wine in the can – but at the same time, I would like to see a bit higher quality of the can material itself. In any case, we will probably see more of the wines in the can, however, I don’t think this is a beginning of the revolution 🙂
Glad you liked the new vintage. Just thought I would chime in on the can material. At the time of the club shipment we hadn’t got things dialed in for the shipping of the cans. Unfortunately since the wine is not carbonated, it wont have the body of a soda/beer can. It will always have a little give. Since the slots in those shippers are made for wine bottles, the cans got dented up pretty good with the wiggling around. We have since eliminated that issue with a new special box for shipping cans. Fiction White and Pink will be coming in cans as well. Looking to have those released around 4/1. Thanks! Andrew
Gladly appreciate the comment, Andrew. I was talking to one of my friends who pointed out to the fact that carbonation is what helps the can to keep its shape. Glad you have a solution for shipping and looking forward trying the new wines!