A fellow, wine enthusiast (twitter: @throughthewine) tagged me in a photo on twitter which sparked a good debate that I have since decided to research . She introduced us to “Canned wine” which was a first for me. While I consider myself to be an early adopter, I stated I was open to trying it because of its convenience. Others in the chat said no. Some loved the elegance and sophistication of the wine glass and simply couldn’t imagine drinking from a can and others like me would try it just to see if the can (metal) alters the taste in any way.

I started a quick Google search, only to find that as South Africans, we quite don’t like the idea yet.

“Wine in cans is currently seeing massive growth in the US: between June 2017 and June 2018 sales of canned wine grew by 43%, and the market is now worth $45 million(R675 million).

And this upward curve doesn’t look to be slowing soon, mostly thanks to millennials who prefer the cheaper and more portable packaging. It is also more economical: you don’t have to buy a whole bottle if you only want one or two servings.”

The article then went on to say that just like screw caps, the wine industry in South Africa is struggling to catch on to the canned trend.
South Africans still have a conservative attitude towards new wine packaging, as demonstrated by the perception that wine packaged in plastic bottles and boxes is of a lower quality.
In order for most wine varietals to be successfully canned, the sugar and acidity content would need to be increased slightly, changing the contents and altering the flavour and wine experience.

As long as it doesn’t change the flavour, I’m more open to trying canned wine. I can’t finish a bottle of wine and hate leaving it open, even if in the fridge, so a can would definitely be of convenience to me.

I also have this weird feeling that when you drink something from a can, it has to be sweet, like a cola, a premix or a cider. So here’s to changing my perception on can drinking!!

So far, I see that van loveren wanted to try canned wine but stopped the process but a producer I’ve never heard of ‘Ben Wren’ is first to jump on the bandwagon.

Let me know what you think. Can you try wine in a can?