Lifestyle Trend: Canned Wine

The times where quality wine was exclusively poured from bottles in tinted glass with corks seem to be long gone. Plenty of packaging alternatives have conquered wine markets around the globe now offering the matching solution for just about every need.

A trend also arriving in Europe from the USA is canned wine. Generally containing no more than 250 millilitres these cans with their easy-to-open Stay-on-Tab closures render corkscrews superfluous and are particularly well suited for out-of-home consumption. These small cans protect wine and the like from light and oxygen – important factors when it comes to shelf life.

Traditional wine drinkers may still have reservations when it comes to tin cans. But there is one thing they should consider: at least canned wine can never taste corky. And even bottled wines are not all matured in wooden casks. However, there is no denying the fact that canned wine has a completely different feel to it.

And this look and feel is precisely what appeals to the young target group of 25 to 35-year old women: hip, young, cool and relaxed – always ready for the next party. No doubt about it: cans are handy. They fit into every woman’s handbag, cannot break and are lighter than glass containers and easy to portion. On top of that, they are 100% recyclable. No wonder sales of canned wines in the US have soared by a striking 125%.

A prominent example of this trendy lifestyle target group is hotel heiress Paris Hilton, who graced the Austrian brand campaign for a canned prosecco with the befitting name “Rich”. Although coming from a completely different age group US film director Francis Ford Coppola also seems to have a flair for this It-beverage. In his Francis Ford Coppola Winery he also offers exquisite wines in small cans now bearing the famous family name or individual family members’ names and integrates the straw into packaging right away.