Can-do attitude
Wine in a can? Why not? It can be very good value and it also helps to push up recycling rates.
They are light, easy to chill and carry around, perfect for picnics and travelling, so why has it taken the wine industry so long to catch on to cans? We have been drinking soft drinks out of cans for decades, but there is a little snobbery about wine in small packages. Can it be as good as the wine you buy in a 750ml bottle? In general, the answer is yes. I have tasted dozens of cans available right now and, while some are definitely better than others, there is good quality wine available in cans. Of course, everyone buys cans to drink fairly quickly. I really would not keep one over six months but for stocking up for the summer hols, they are just perfect.
One real consideration is the size of the can. Many contain 250ml, which is the same as a third of a bottle of wine. This is not an excessive amount, but you may not want to slurp quite so much from a can, so be prepared to pour your wine into glasses and share with a friend.
A great advantage of cans is that they are totally recyclable and apparently we are better at recycling cans than glass, with almost 75 per cent of all cans ending up back at the recycling plant.
“The demand for wine in cans has grown enormously this year,” said Shaun Bastin, who set up his company Bottled and Canned in the Devon town of Newton Abbot only last year. “We used to order wine in 1,000-litre containers, but now we have 20,000-litre trucks turning up to fulfil the orders. We started out canning two brands for supermarkets, but now we have eight different brands going through the fillers.” He doesn’t disclose which supermarkets send their wines to his small, sleek, well-equipped canning plant to be packaged, but I suspect that several of the major names do. “We have a technical team on site who monitor all the criteria to make sure that the wine stays stable in the can.”
From a bargain £1.49 to around a fiver, there is plenty of wine in cans to choose from. Here is my selection of the best.
Rosé Fizz, 200ml, Aldi, £1.49: Good value, easy quaffing strawberry fruit with an edge of sweetness.
Vin du Can Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand, 187ml, Sainsbury’s, £2: You may think that this dinky little can is giving you short measure, but it is around a quarter of a bottle. It has bright zesty citrus and passionfruit flavours.
PinotPinot Pinot Grigio Pink Fizz, 200ml, Sainsbury’s, £2.25: A party-style, pink fizz that will go down well as the music starts.
Isla Negra Sauvignon Blanc, Chile, 250ml, Tesco, £2: Soft, tropical fruit with pineapple and passionfruit notes among the lime zest.
Most Wanted Pinot Grigio Fizz, 200ml, Tesco, £2.50 with multibuy deals for Clubcard holders: A lively fizz with white blossom aromas, ripe pear and crunchy apple fruit.
Barefoot Pinot Grigio, California, 250ml, Tesco, £2.50: Ripe melon and pear fruit, enough citrus to give freshness and a rounded texture. Good value.
Mirabeau Pret-à-Porter Rosé, IGP Mediterranée, 250ml, Waitrose, down from £3.49 to £2.79 until August 24: Everyone loves a rosé in summer and this one is so elegant and convenient. Gentle strawberry fruit and enough texture to stand up to quiche and salads.
Small but Perfectly Formed Sauvignon
Blanc, New Zealand, 250ml, Marks & Spencer, £2.90: Kiwi Sauvignon just as it should be. Bright with zippy, gooseberryfresh flavours, this is required drinking for an afternoon by the river.
Small but Perfectly Formed Zinfandel Rosé, California, 250ml, Marks & Spencer, £2.90: Light pink with cherry and strawberry fruit, this has an edge of sweetness, but chilled down, when you need an energy boost as well as a little alcohol (10.5%), this hits the mark.
Lubanzi Chenin Blanc 2020, South Africa, 250ml, the Wine Society, £3.95: Full of delicious, ripe apple and melon fruit with hints of peach and a crisp, lemon finish. You have to join the Wine Society (£40) to get this gem, which could make it