Until recently, canned wine was a category not really meant to be taken seriously by true wine lovers. The rash of “girlie names” may have been symptomatic of the alleged frivolity of the wines: Dear Mom Wine, She Can, Kung Fu Girl, Babe. While names like these may strike some people as playful and/or cute, I doubt they’ll entice even a semi-serious wine consumer into popping the tab on a can of wine. I urge you however, not to give up on this category, for canned wine appears to be advancing into a new sphere of seriousness as more producers acquire their own vineyards and make more important wines.
I thought about all this recently when I tasted two excellent new canned wines—a sparkling rosé and a Malbec, produced by Le Petit Verre, an estate in Mendoza, Argentina. French for “The Small Glass,” Le Petit Verre’s rallying cry is “Small Can. Big Flavor.”
Until now, sparkling wines seem to have dominated the canned category, with steadily improved selections recently being turned out. Le Petit Verre’s Bubbly Rosé is a good example of a balanced and dry sparkler, rather than monochromatic and sweet fizz. If Le Petit Verre’s Malbec is any indication of what today’s improved canned wine can achieve, I say bring on more reds!
In addition to increasingly appealing flavors, there are other reasons to like canned wine, including practicality and environmental concerns. Cans are more sustainable than glass, they cost less than glass to produce and to recycle, and they are easier to store. Furthermore, since a canned wine weighs less than a bottle, it is more affordably transportable. Cans are less apt to break than glass, and are more appropriate for informal activities such as hiking and picnicking. Here’s a specific example:
Domaine Bousquet, Le Petit Verre, Bubbly Rosé 2021
Mendoza, Argentina, Imported by Origins Organic
Fruit from the Uco and Tupungato Valleys
12% alcohol
$13 for a four-pack box, or $3.50 per individual per 250-ml can
The vintage is not labelled on the cans, but the wine is produced from the 2021 harvest
This wine is a good example of evolution of the best canned wines. Had I not opened the can and poured the bubbly into a glass myself, I don’t think I would have guessed it had arrived in a can. It is aromatic, fresh, and flavorful, dry rather than overtly sweet, and offers just the right intensity of small bubbles. It is made from a blend of certified organic fruit including 50% Pinot Noir, 30% Syrah, 10% Pinot Gris, and 10% Viognier. All the grapes were hand harvested. Like many wines from the Tupungato region, the fruit flavors seem especially fresh, apparently due to significant day/night temperature fluctuations and perhaps also because of the particular brightness of the sun over the Andes.
Domaine Bousquet, Le Petit Verre, Malbec 2021
Mendoza, Argentina
Imported by Origins Organic
$13 for a four-pack box or $3.50 per individual 250-ml can
The vintage is not labelled on the cans but the wine is produced from the 2021 harvest
The grapes were grown in Mendoza’s Upper Uco Valley at an altitude of 400 feet.
As was true of the sparkling wine, nothing about this Malbec’s aromas, flavors or texture would suggest that it had come in a can. Accented by fresh berry aromas and flavors, the Malbec was further enhanced by pleasing earthy notes and nicely balanced light tannins. Somewhat leaner than an average Cabernet, it will therefore a good partner for lamb, pork, burgers, or hearty grain-based dishes.
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