Why Canned Wine?
Fair question.
Hear me out. In this post, I am going to make the case for cans (caseS, actually) and, hopefully, get you excited about gettin’ your Groove on.
First of all, we are wine lovers. All kinds – white, red, bubbly, pink, orange – you name it, we are game. Much respect not only to the beverage, but also to the people who craft the wine and the farmers who tend the vines. Secondly, we do not believe that bottles should go away. We humans often like to frame things as black and white. All or nothing. With me or against me! The truth is, much of our existence is Grey.
Thought Experiment
Imagine you are an alien who just landed on the planet, free from all of our Earthling pre-conceived notions. The first thing in which you become interested is wine , so what makes more sense to you:
- A one size fits all carrying case, or
- Different sized vessels that can be tailored to your desire or occasion?
Imagine your disappointment when you discover that one size fits all is pretty much the way we do it in these parts. Being a highly intelligent lifeform who just piloted what must be a technologically advanced craft from a distant galaxy all the way to Earth, you are curious as to why this is the case. Well, one theory is that the standard wine bottle size is 750 milliliters because that was the average lung capacity of a 16th century glass blower. (I have no idea if this is actually true, but let’s run with it, if for no other reason than it is kinda catchy). Wait, whut? Yup, that is why you’re stuck drinking your husband’s Malbec when you’d prefer a Rose`, because Francois “Le Grand Ventilateur” Brodeur said so.
You see where I’m going here? A bottle is a vessel. A can is a vessel. These things just hold your wine until you are ready to drink it. Why not have options that fit your life instead of fitting your life to one option?
UT OH, I may have exploded some heads, there. No, bottles and cans are not exactly the same. There are important differences (discussed here). For the sake of this discussion, let’s focus on the fact that 90+% of wines purchased in the U.S.A. are consumed within a couple of weeks (Sources: an old saw and this). So, let’s say you are one of these people who just want to drink some delicious wine, on your terms. We think you should be able to do this.
Flexibility (no hot yoga required)
There are five standard (5 oz.) glasses of wine in one bottle. This means a 250mL can holds just shy of two glasses and a 375 mL can (a tiny bit larger than your standard beer or soda can) holds a HALF BOTTLE of wine. You read that correctly – a normal-size can contains a HALF BOTTLE of wine. Sorry about the math, let’s get back to the drinking….
So, what does this mean for you?
These smaller serving sizes give you much more flexibility in your drinking. Let’s say you get home late from work and feel like having a wind down glass, but you don’t want to open a whole bottle – no problem. You want Rose, your partner White? A smaller serving size allows you both to drink what you wish. Fancy something cold and bubbly while you’re working the grill outside, but prefer a Red with the burgers? Yep, that works, too. Or, say you are one of the 35.7 million single person households in the U.S. and you are really tired of having to choose between fatty liver disease or another partial bottle of wine going bad….maybe reach for a can? Lastly, let us not forget about those of you who, on occasion, prefer a bit of leisure time at the beach, pool, or (Holla!) on a boat. Cans travel, no accessories necessary.
What’s that you say? You don’t want to drink out of a can?
No problem – pour it in a glass, just like you would if the wine came from a bottle.
Quality & Convenience
But isn’t all box and canned wine hot garbage? Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but historically, wine in alternative packaging has been lower quality. This, however, is changing, and we at Groove Wines are excited to be a part of this movement. Our wines are hand made with fruit sourced from sustainable and/or organically farmed California vineyards. Delicious and intentionally crafted wines delivered right to your door. Wine on your time and your terms.
Which brings me to one last benefit of the can – more favorable shipping economics. If you have ordered wine online, you have likely been subjected to the sticker shock of shipping costs. Liquid is heavy, thus expensive to ship. Glass bottles do not help this situation – a single wine bottle usually clocks in between 1-2 pounds (just the glass!). Cans weigh almost nothing and are significantly less bulky than glass, reducing the overall shipping weight by approximately 33%. Shipping has been a significant challenge for wine enthusiasts, and let’s be honest, we have all been trained to expect cheap/free shipping. Let’s hop on the can train and become a better Version 2.0 of our wine drinking selves!
OK I lied, I have one more can positive. Sustainability. Both aluminum and glass are (obvs) recyclable, but the energy required to process glass is much greater than that of aluminum. Glass proponents will bring up “virgin” aluminum – yes, bauxite mining is an environmentally unfriendly process – glass recycling is greener than virgin aluminum. With that said, this one variable ignores the disparity between aluminum and glass recycling rates (aluminum much better/easier) and also the carbon footprint of shipping much heavier glass all across the globe. I’ll be honest, I am not smart enough to arbitrate this discussion, here, so I’ll hand it off to Jancis Robinson .
Have I stoked your interest in canned wine? We hope you will give it a try. If you have any questions or would like to discuss further, hit me up on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook (@groovewines) and don’t forget to sign up for our mailing list. For now, pop a cork, crack a can, or whatever makes you happy!
