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| The contenders... |
A couple of our neighbors recently invited The Sweet Partner
in Crime and I out on their boat for some fun in the sun out on the Mighty
Ohio. I brought along some beer for myself, but the SPinC prefers rosé for her
day drinking.
Bottles of wine pose their own unique portability issues, so
on my load-up trip to Big Wine Store, I ambled by the “bulk” section to see if
there were suitable containers. That’s when I discovered that the
powers-that-be have gifted us with rosé…in easy-to-boat-with aluminum cans.
I’ve covered the idea of wine-in-a-can in
this space before. My initial experience with Underwood Pinot Noir led me
to purchase a couple of cans of their rosé for our trip. But I noticed that
there were several other companies joining the canned wine – and specifically
canned rosé – movement. And judging from the state of the shelves, it seems
like these are becoming more popular options.
As a note, there’s nothing inherently wrong with a can as a
storage system for wine…at least for wine that’s designed to be drunk in a
casual manner. Wine cans are lined, like beer cans are, to avoid direct contact
with aluminum and juice. That said, I’d suggest pouring the wine into a cup or
glass. Drinking wine (or beer, for that matter) straight from a can eliminates
much of the flavor, because there’s no olfactory component other than “can
lid.” While this “no smell” effect might be useful for your summertime case of
PBR or Beast Light, it defeats the purpose for wine or craft beers. Pour,
dammit!
A few thoughts on these metal-clad pinks, starting with good
ol’ Underwood:
Underwood 2016 Rosé
Wine – When I first wrote about Union Wine Company’s Underwood wine in a
can, they were still rolling out their pinot grigio to go alongside their pinot
noir. But we’re here to talk about the rosé. Their can clocks in at 12% ABV and
is produced from a proprietary blend of Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Riesling,
Muscat, Chardonnay, and Syrah. The tasting notes printed on the can read
“Strawberry. Watermelon. Peach.” – which is pretty much exactly what you’ll
get. There’s a fair amount of body to this wine, which is straightforwardly
fruity all the way through. It’s easy enough to drink without thinking and made
for a perfectly suitable quaff while we were out on the water.
Underwood now produces five different canned wines – the
three I’ve previously mentioned, along with two carbonated wines: “Bubbles” and
“Rosé Bubbles.” They’ve also rolled out a “Riesling Radler” – a carbonated wine
cooler made from of Riesling and grapefruit juice that sits at around 6% ABV,
the same range as an IPA.
Essentially Geared
Wine Company (NV) Rosé Wine – “Seek the Everyday Uncommon” is Essentially
Geared’s slogan. The website clearly caters to folks who are outdoorsy, on the
go folks, and the can design was the most interesting, in my opinion, of the
wines we tried here. It’s made from 100% Pinot Noir from Napa and suggests
pairing with “Pizza by the slice, barbecue brisket, and falafel” – which sounds
like an interesting evening’s menu.
Unfortunately, the wine itself wasn’t as interesting. In the
words of the Sweet Partner in Crime, the experience of this wine was “Pink.
Wet. Gone.” Honestly, it didn’t feel all that much like drinking wine. There
was an initial burst of watermelon and strawberry to let you know “Hey! You’re
drinking rosé,” then a little alcohol and “wine-ish” taste, and not much of a
finish. The note on the can said, “Think: Pink Starburst and 80’s Punk Rock,”
but I didn’t get a lot of Clash, Misfits, or Buzzcocks here.
Essentially Geared also produces a California Chardonnay and
a California Red made from Merlot, Zinfandel, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Alloy Wine Works 2016
Central Coast “Everyday Rosé” – Another California entry, but in a larger
format. Most canned wine that I’ve seen comes in a 375ml can – so the
equivalent of a half-bottle. Alloy’s rosé (a product of Field Recordings
winery) comes in a 500ml can, so think of a tallboy next to a standard beer
can.
There’s a French rosé called La Vielle Ferme which I’ve
reviewed here many times. It’s basically my “house” rosé – a simple, relatively
light, minerally-but-fruity pink bottle of goodness. I expected more of a
California thump from a wine in a big can, but I was pleasantly surprised to
find a lighter-styled, very French, pinkness therein. Their tasting note is
“Tastes like: strawberry, grapefruit, mint and guava, Sour Patch Kids, and rose
petals.” I don’t think it’s quite that complex, but it does have strawberry and
citrus with a refreshing minerality on the finish that I liked quite a bit. It
was quite reminiscent of good ol’ LVF, and I certainly recommend it among the
three here – for value and for flavor.
Alloy also produces a Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, a red blend
they call “Fiction,” and a dry-hopped sparkling chardonnay made from ale yeast
called “Weissland.”
All of the above wines run around $5-7 per can. Costing that
out for bottle price comparisons, that equates about $10-15 a bottle, depending
on the can size.
While these are marketed as “everyday” wines – I likely
wouldn’t stock my fridge with them on a regular basis. However, a bottle of
wine runs about 2-3 lbs, while two cans are about a pound and a half, and are
much less likely to shatter if you happen to drop your backpack. As long as you’re
not looking for high-end juice, these will be just fine for you in the wild.
