Canned Wine, Take Two

Tonight I continued in my quest to find a widely-available canned wine that's worth drinking. In my previous post, I called out Field Recordings' Alloy Wine Works for putting good wine in a can. Clearly, it's not the packaging that's the problem--the problem is marketers who are trying to pass off questionable bulk wine on unsophisticated consumers.

First up tonight was a can of "Oregon Grown" Underwood Pinot Gris. It doesn't have a lot of character, but there are no notable off aromas and it's inoffensive on the palate. It's wine, it's drinkable, and it comes in a convenient 12 oz aluminum package. With the Oregon connection, I thought maybe they'd go for a slightly fruitier, sweeter style, but it's pretty dry. Truthfully, it's very reminiscent of a lot of inexpensive Pinot Grigio. It's pretty much what gets derisively called "girl vodka".  It's not bad, but it's not particularly good, either.

Next up was a Mancan Fizz sparkling white. They seem to be winning the canned wine advertising wars at the moment. As for what's in the can? Well...it's fruity, fizzy, and slightly off-dry. There's a little bubblegum and banana on the nose, and it has a slightly odd, bitter finish. I guess it gets points for having more complexity than the Underwood Pinot Gris, but those more complex characteristics aren't especially pleasing.

If I had to choose between the two, I'd pick the Underwood Pinot Gris to drink. Ice cold.

So what's that third can in the picture, you say? That was a train wreck from a previous tasting. Cool packaging with the tagline "Ridiculously Good Wine in a Can". No, no it's not. It comes in a 4-pack of 250ml cans. Really cool form factor. Slightly fizzy rosé. Despite the fact I really wanted to like this, I keep pouring it down the drain.

I'll keep searching, but so far I haven't found any canned wines I'd buy again other than Alloy Wine Works.