Why it’s Time to Pop the Top Off Canned Wine

There is a perception among wine drinkers that cans do not provide nearly the quality and experience a bottle offers, and for some luxury vintages that grow better with age, there is some validity to that idea. But, for the 58%, revealed by Nielsen in 2020, who consume their wine the same day they purchase it, proper aging conditions are not a consideration. What is taken into account is portability, sustainable sourcing and packaging, taste, and company ethos.

Much like the craft beer industry did a few years ago, wine producers are looking for alternative packaging that can offer fresh products that are easy to recycle, distribute, and consume. Outdoor recreation is more popular than ever as people seek adventure where they live. If you're going kayaking, hiking, or even just to your pool, consumers are seeking convenience. According to Nielsen, canned wine grew 61 percent in 2020, and predictions are that trend will continue.

History

The first canned wine in the United States came in 2002. It was the Sofia Mini Blanc de Blancs from Coppola. Named after the famed director’s daughter, it was sparkling packaged in an attractive pink can with an attached straw. It was not immediately embraced, but they persevered.

Underwood Steven Mortinson for Union Wine Company

Nielsen reported a 125 percent increase in canned wine sales from June 2015 to June 2016. Canned wine went from $2 million dollars in sales in 2012 to $14.5 million in sales by June 2016. Some of that can be attributed to more producers entering the market, like The Infinite Monkey Theorem https://theinfinitemonkeytheorem.com in 2011, and Underwood in 2012. The “Pinkies Down” campaign by Underwood spoke to the idea of making wine more approachable, and less pretentious for the curious drinker. Director of Marketing Darin Dougherty elaborated, “The idea of cans came to life when Ryan, our owner, would listen to stories people would tell us about the amazing adventures they were having in Oregon’s outdoor playground, and wine was never a part of the story...A key component to our company and our brand is to not take ourselves too seriously, and that we care more about what goes into our wine than the container it’s in.”

 Infinite Monkey Theorem (IMT), an urban winery based in Colorado and Texas, initially looked to the outdoor enthusiast as their target consumer as well. Nicki McTague, CEO and President, added,”[In Colorado] it seems everyone is out biking, hiking, camping, swimming—they're always outside. So we thought, what about a single-serve idea where people can take an aluminum can with them. You don't have to worry about glass. You don't have to worry about a cork. You literally can pack in, pack out, and enjoy quality wines, still doing all the activities you love.”

Process

Part of breaking the stereotype of canned wines as poor quality begins with the steps companies take in the production process. Some own their vineyards, some contract with farmers, but all of the wineries I spoke to were adamant about crafting and canning delicious wine.

For IMT it is even a step further into the realm of honoring the landscape where they do business. McTague explained, “We don't own any vineyards. We partner with a vineyard out of Palisade, Colorado. And then we truck the grapes into the city of Denver where we do one hundred percent of production in our winery. For Austin, we use grapes from the Texas hillside region and bring the grapes into our Austin facility [for production]. It is important to us to support the agriculture in the States where we founded our wineries.” McTague added IMT would only expand if they found similar agricultural conditions in other underrepresented wine regions so they could again showcase the fruits of the state.

Dougherty described a similar operational model for Underwood. “We own some land, we lease some land, some of it is harvested by the farmer, but in all cases, we pick the fruit, process at our winery, and package in our own facility. We don’t purchase bulk fruit or use any fruit from out of state. Our relationships with our farmers are extremely important to us.”

Packaging

Dear Mom Wine

Robert Karmin and Jonathan Canter, founders of Dear Mom Wine have a product unique to the canned wine field, a 187 ml can that is equal to a standard six-ounce pour of wine. Most other producers are packaging in a 375 ml portion, about 2.5 glasses of wine. Single-serve is a big attractant according to Karmin, “it's portable, it's light, and it's easy to recycle.”

Regardless of serving size, there are a lot of advantages to aluminum packaging, and often it is part of the company’s mission. “Aluminum cans are about the easiest recycled package consumers use. They can go from sitting on the shelf to being purchased, processed, and back on the shelf again in 60 days,” Dougherty said.

 Environmental impact is an espoused value for IMT according to McTague. “We’re all so aware of the recycling and waste movement, trying to be more conscious of how we're spending our dollars. To recycle these cans, and then get that aluminum back on the shelf is amazing.”

No matter how eco-conscious a company is, the product has to be high quality to be adopted by consumers. Karmin provided an analogy using the craft beer can explosion, “When the beer industry began transitioning to cans 10 years ago, there was a lot of pushback from beer aficionados who didn’t want to drink good beer out of a can. But, if you think about the cleanest way to serve good beer, the brewers realized first, cans are lined with a film, the liquid never touches aluminum, and second, light is the enemy of all beverages so even a brown bottle lets some in—cans keep light out a lot better than glass. On top of that, it keeps oxygen out, another enemy of all alcoholic beverages. It is a very safe and secure way to store your beverage before it goes to a customer.”

From the restaurant sector, Daniel Williams, owner of Kingfisher http://www.kingfisherdc.com in D.C. agreed, “we were looking at how to be environmentally friendly, and aluminum is way more energy efficient in terms of the recycling process. Glass either gets ground up and put into some other form or if you melt down the glass bottle and make a new one from it, so much energy is being used versus what you save. Cans are the greener of the options.” Williams found the environmental benefits, and storage efficiency was great enough to create his whole wine list with canned products exclusively.

Audience

Kingfisher

Kingfisher is not the only restaurant offering canned wine on their menus, but Karmin pointed out many other venues are already flush with the product, “Dear Mom is in a bunch of hotels, golf courses, concert venues, sporting arenas like The Barclay Center, and breweries. We definitely found our niche there. It's such a convenient product for them to work with.”

And of course, the outdoor recreationist crowd cannot be ignored. McTague added, “we honed in on very active lifestyles, but as we started to grow and expand nationally, we've learned that it's not just about these extremists that we have in Colorado. It's people who want to have a glass of wine and don't want to open a bottle, or you like a white varietal, but I like a red varietal so let's buy a four pack of cans. We each enjoy what we want, and we're not wasting anything.”

Future growth thoughts

Gotham Project pinot Grigio

So, canned wine makes sense for the environment, is easily portable, can be bought in single-serve sizes, and has seen exponential growth over the past few years, but what does the future hold? Bruce Schneider from the Gotham Project believes, “can wine is definitely increasing. It's lighter, so a lower carbon footprint to transport it, it's very portable and convenient. If you are heading outdoors, it is easy to pop a can in your backpack—it weighs so much less than glass. It's a great option.”

Dougherty agrees cans are on the rise. “Canned wine and the Ready To Drink (RTD) category are seeing huge growth, and the trend is only growing. The millennial category, who are more open-minded towards beverages in cans, loves the idea of purchasing smaller portions. There is an increase in outdoor activity and [consumers] enjoying beverages [while recreating]. There is also overlap between the environmental values in the millennial group and the opportunities cans bring.”

At Kingfisher, Williams observes the reaction of consumers towards canned wine firsthand, “There's a real excitement at the novelty of drinking wine out of a can. The mental stigma against cans has grown out the way wine has been presented to us over the years, but now I see cans at people’s houses, in stores, and I think it’s becoming almost ubiquitous.”

For an industry dominated by one medium, the corked bottle, for centuries, the future seems bright for canned wine. “Late gen-xers and baby boomers may hold on to tradition, and we know younger generations will celebrate tradition, but the portability aspect of cans...is not going away any time soon. Once you experience it, it’s hard to go back,” Dougherty said.

With fresh, quality wines being canned across the nation, it is hard to not acknowledge the can is just the delivery vessel for the same delicious wine you get from a bottle.