Wednesday's Wines: Friends Fun Wine

While the wine and the beer industries appear quite similar on the surface, they have lots of differences. One major difference is the discrepancy with creative products. Brewers can be some of the most creative beverage producers on Earth. There are almost an infinite number of beer flavors/styles. If you can dream something to put in a beer, a brewer has probably used it as an ingredient. Fruit and coffee seem to be common additions.

Winemakers tend to not be as creative. A long list of approved additives exist, but grapes are the primary ingredient in wine. Sure, oak is often used as a flavoring agent but you don't see other flavors added to the wine. Occasionally producers use different types of barrels to impart different tastes and textures. Recently, I've seen a few producers that use old bourbon barrels to add a bourbon-esque flavors.

Ben's Bubbly: Francis Ford Coppola Winery, Sofia Mini

Ben has really started to discover his voice. Rarely is there a quite moment in our house anymore. While he has babbled for quite some, he is learning how to adjust his volume. When mom and dad are talking and Ben is not included in the conversation, we usually are notified of the injustice by very loud baby noises. When we recognize Ben's presence (and usually pick him up), we get a smile and quiet from the little man. He also lets us know when he wants our attention by cruising the furniture and attempting to pull himself up our legs. He definitely makes sure that we don't ever forget about him!

Our sparkling wine (or at least the packaging) this week is also trying to insert itself in the wine conversation. Canned wine has been around for almost 75 years, but is recently seeing a resurgence. Last week, The New York Times, Palate Press: the online wine magazine (written by yours truly) and The San Francisco Examiner all published articles about the revitalization of putting wine into aluminum cans. Just as with Ben, canned wines are starting to discover their voice. I predict that we will start to see more wines in cans in the near future.

Francis Ford Coppola Winery, Sofia, Blanc de Blancs, California

This funky little can should fool you about what is inside. With less than 1% residual sugar, this is true sparkling wine and not a gimmick. This fruit forward bubbly also comes in a tradition glass bottle, but the straw-adorned travel-size cans add a bit of zestiness to the boring row of bottles on the liquor store shelf. This blanc de blancs (82% Pinot Blanc, 10% Riesling, 8% Muscat) is very aromatic with pear and flowers tempting your nose. The bombardment of fruit continues in the mouth with pears dominating the show, but golden apples and zesty lemons make a cameo. We drank it with the straw, from the can and poured into a flute. I definitely recommend using a glass. But, when you’re in the mood for something different, yet familiar, grab a can from this reputable produce and try drinking from a straw. You might have more fun than you think you can with wine. 11.5% abv Purchase $5 (187 mL) Good

‘Can’ Packaging from Beer World Work with Wine Too?

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but does an aluminum can always signal a low brow beverage? Less than ten years ago, canned beers were limited to low-flavor, mass-produced macrobrews. A small craft brewer decided to change that stigma. In November 2002, Oskar Blues Brewery in Lyons, Colorado launched its “Canned Beer Apocalypse.” Dale Katechis decided to can an assertive and flavorful Pale Ale, one can at a time. With an expanded lineup of bold and critically acclaimed canned brews, great canned beer is no longer an oxymoron. Now, over 130 craft breweries can beer, including Oskar Blues’ much larger neighbor to the south, New Belgium Brewery.

The company that helped Oskar Blues break the mold, Broomfield, CO-based Ball Corporation, thinks that they can (pun intended) do the same for the wine market that they did for craft beer. Dan Vorlage, Director of Business for Ball’s Beverage Packaging Division thinks, “canned wine offers an elegant way to deliver wine and ultimately allows consumers to have a ready-to-drink package that can go places where glass bottles can’t go.”

Continue reading at Palate Press: the online wine magazine.