Try some canned wine
Wine in cans may be here to stay. The package more commonly associated with soft drinks has been increasing its shelf space in the wine section since about 2014. Sales of wine in cans rose 43 percent yearover-year from June 2017 to June of this year, according to market research firm BW166.
To be sure, this increase is from an incredibly small base: Wine in cans accounts for only about 0.2 percent of all wine sold in the U.S. But a new survey of consumers and producers suggests that the can format resonates with wine drinkers because of its convenience, affordability and sustainability.
“Wine in a can is not a fad,” says Robert Williams Jr., assistant professor of marketing at the Sigmund Weis School of Business at Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania. “It represents a significant new wine category that is finding a permanent, positive place in the overall wine market.”
During the past two years, Williams and colleagues Helena Williams and Matthew Bauman from Texas Tech University have surveyed consumers and winemakers about their attitudes toward wine in cans. Williams noted that wine was first canned in 1936, but its quality suffered because the technology was inconsistent. Better packaging developed over the past decade or so has allowed the format to grow in popularity. The survey (of nearly 1,000 respondents ages 21 to 88, with an average age of 34) suggests that cans are allowing winemakers to reach new audiences, rather than eating away at existing sales of wine by the bottle.
Williams and his team have compiled a database of more than 450 wine-in-a-can offerings from 130 wineries. The most popular sizes are 250 milliliters, followed by 375 and 187 milliliters. These sizes, compared with a 750-milliliter bottle, are part of the attraction. They allow portion control, without the drinker having to deal with leftover wine.
Cans also allow wine to go where no wine has gone before, at least without some inconvenience. Picnic areas, parks and concert venues that ban glass bottles, for example, or boats, where glass is discouraged.
Williams’ research is interesting because it gives insight into generational shifts in wine consumption. Millennials are receptive to cans because they can buy individual servings — great for singles — but also for the environmental aspect. Aluminum cans are 100 percent recyclable, unlike bottles (with their labels, foils and corks), boxes or other wine formats. “Millennials, especially, are passionate about sustainability, so they rank this high,” Williams says.
Cans arren’t just for cheap wine. Williams pointed to Sans wine, which markets a Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon for $25 for a 375-milliliter can — the equivalent of half a standard bottle. Wine Enthusiast magazine gave it 90 points out of 100.