Take the can format. Canned wine in itself isn’t exactly new, whether it’s the Taylor Cellars cans seen on Delta airplanes in the 1980s, or the chic little mini cans of Sofia wine from the Francis Ford Coppola Winery in California that made their debut in the early 2000s.
But it’s a relatively new packaging for wine in France, and one that’s making a bigger and bigger splash in this world.
You might be surprised to learn that in France, a country where the sound of a cork being popped signals a moment of sharing drinks and edible tidbits among friends, nearly three quarters of survey respondents (72%) are ready to try wine in cans.
This was the unexpected finding of a study by the Maîtres Vignerons de la Presquîle de Saint-Tropez, carried out by OpinionWay in January.
The study not only exemplifies this trend in relation to format, it also served as a launch announcement for what could be a “must-drink” this summer: rosé in a can.
The Saint Tropez wine has been christened “Nomad 83”, with the number referring to the code for the department that is home to Saint Tropez.
It is a particularly fitting name: the point of this new packaging is to allow you to bring your wine with you wherever you go, to be enjoyed in a variety of settings – of course depending on, and in accordance with, an area’s laws and restrictions concerning consumption of alcohol.
Last year, winemaker Anne-Victoire Monrozier, better known as Miss Vicky Wine, embarked on the canned-wine adventure, calling the beverage in question from her family’s estate in the Beaujolais region “ô Joie” – “oh joy!”
Other ventures have followed, such as a range of organic white wines packaged in cans from the company EthicDrinks. The line, branded Tchin’On, uses a key selling point to appeal to young consumers: respect for the environment.
For Tchin’On, it is a matter of convincing consumers to choose a can that is guaranteed to be 100% recyclable and more environmentally friendly than a bag in a box or a mini glass bottle of wine.
The other argument for convincing consumers that wine in cans has potential is to promise an end to the taste of cork.
Although drinking wine in cans may seem like a crime to some French wine connoisseurs, this form of packaging is an actual trend in the world market. According to United States data firm Grand View Research, this market was worth US$211.4 million in 2020 and its growth should increase by 13.2% by 2028.
Meanwhile, a London company is offering a different way to cheer at happy hour, while respecting the planet. The startup When in Rome boasts of having developed the first-ever paper wine bottle.
Its aim: to replace glass and reduce the carbon footprint of wine.
A glass package may only be used once – unless the deposit system is reintroduced – while transporting the bottles contributes significant greenhouse gas emissions.
The UK retailer, which mainly packages Italian wines, launched its innovation in early spring and claims its eco-friendly bottle is made from 94% recycled cardboard, which would generate six times less greenhouse gas emissions than a glass bottle.
When in Rome has made alternative packaging its niche and even claims to be the UK’s leading company in the area. The company, which has managed to get its products stocked on the shelves of UK supermarket giant Waitrose, first sketched out its project around bag-in-box packaging made of cardboard.
The box deliberately contains the equivalent of three bottles of wine, and its production generates 10 times less carbon emissions than a glass bottle.
France is already on the ball when it comes to low-carbon-footprint wine bottles. In Toulouse, the start-up Green Gen technologies uses woven flax fibre, combined with biosourced resin, to design bottles that can hold your favourite red wine as well as champagne.
These innovations are not just for wine -the whole world of alcoholic beverages is getting into the spirit. The latest announcement is from Buen Vato, which promises to have packaged the first tequila in a cardboard bottle made from 94% recycled material.
The launch is scheduled for next month.