There is beer in a can, coolers in a can, mixed drinks in a can, and now, … wait for it … wine in a can!  Reading through the summer edition of Food & Drink magazine (courtesy of the local LCBO) I came across 2 different ads promoting wine in a can.  The wine comes in a 250 ml sized can, which is the equivalent of 2 smaller size glasses. 

So the question is how would one go about consuming this wine?  I suppose you could down it like a beer; after all there is no re-corking it once you flick that zip top.  I just can’t imagine drinking it straight from the can.  Even when they introduced wine in a box, or ‘cardbordeaux’ as it has been jokingly referred to, it enables you to dispense it one glass at a time.

I am thinking that the advantage of packaging wine in a can is to allow it to be tossed into a backpack or food hamper and transported to your favourite picnic location.  After all, the cans would be a little less weight to lug along and if you drop it, it is less likely to result in a catastrophe.  However, the wine (especially red) still needs to aerate before drinking, which means it still should be poured into some sort of drinking vessel before consuming.  Therefore, at least an acrylic or plastic glass should be included in the picnic basket.

So who is the target of the new marketing idea?  Apparently it isn’t the picnickers and hikers but the millennials.  Marketers are taking aim at these time-pressured souls who need more conveniences, accessibility and approachability when purchasing consumer goods. 

You can expect to see lots of promotion of this new trend in the weeks to come as marketers hope to turn this novelty into a summer staple.  Canadian vintners, unlike some of their European and U.S. counterparts, are not yet as committed to this new endeavour, though there are a couple on the horizon and will be available very soon, if not already.

No matter what country the canned wine originates from, they are all the ‘drink me now’ varieties.  There are no keepers in this bunch.

Call me old fashioned or just simply old, but I for one will not be seeking out any canned wine anytime soon.

Sláinte mhaith