Wine in cans: white, red and rosé

On a visit to one of Spain’s most important wineries a few months ago, I was shown a marketing project featuring wine in cans. Although it was not really a new concept to me, it was rather novel, so let us take a closer look at just what is behind canned wine.

As is the case of other countries with a long winemaking tradition, Spain has been reluctant to try out alternatives to the classic glass bottle format for wine, such as bag-in-box or wine on tap, for example. New consumption trends and new consumer profiles have gradually made a niche for themselves in the sector, and more practical, profitable, organic options have come to light for the distribution and consumption of wine.

Those trends are headed up by the United States, and the rise is documented from the launch of Sofia sparkling wine in 2004 by the Francis Ford Coppola winery. The trend has undergone constant growth since then. It accounted for a value of 211.4 million dollars on the world market in 2020, and year-on-year growth of 13% is forecast.

The can: practical, lightweight and convenient.

If we think about drinking wine on-the-go outside of restaurants or opening a bottle at home, perhaps we should think about making it easier for consumers. Cans allow packing different amounts, and therefore making wine available for different moments. Cans are unbreakable - just think about conventional bottles, sometimes making it inconvenient to take them with us as they are easily breakable, we need a corkscrew to open them, and we only think about drinking wine from a glass. All of this is a hindrance for on-the-go wine drinking, as it requires a number of additional items.

Cans can be cooled quickly and keep their temperature. More often than not we decide to open a bottle of wine only to realise that it is not cold enough, or when taking it somewhere with us we have to wait for it to reach the ideal temperature.

Cans can be sold easily in shops that do not usually sell wine, as storing them is much easier, and we can even find them in vending machines. Just imagine how convenient it would be to buy it anytime, anywhere.

We can also take cans to places where bottles are not allowed: beaches, concerts, trips, transport... and what's more, they are recyclable.

Another matter though is if wine is suitable for drinking from a can. It is true that it will be hard to change serving exclusive, high quality wines from a traditional bottle to a can, what with the ceremonial uncorking and pouring process, a quality wine glass and the right atmosphere to drink it with the right meal all being part of the value.

Wines that improve by ageing in the bottle can also be excluded from cans. 

But young wines, sparkling wines, expressive rosés, sangria, etc., may be able to carve out a large market and wide segment of consumers who do not believe that this break from cultural tradition is so bad.

Some designations of origin in Spain have already authorised wines in cans. Could wine in a can be the future?