Food & Drink /Drink

Flash in the Can

Pint-size potables are having a moment: reach for these top picks.

By: Laura Robinson

POV: you’re going to meet your friends at the park. You want to have a couple of cheeky bevvies but don’t want to haul an entire wine bottle you can’t finish, since sharing with pals is out of the question in COVID times.

Haloed by beams of sunlight lies the answer: canned wine. Shedding the pretension and pomp of its bottled big brother, this tiny yet mighty vessel retains nearly all of the flavour of a regular bottle but slips right into a tote bag. Because wine can’t age in a can like it does in a corked bottle, most varieties are of a younger, fruitier variety—making it the ultimate juicy refreshment on a sweaty summer’s day.

Babe Grigio the Bubbles

Babe Wines

Made in California, available in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto drinkbabe.net

This is the champagne of canned wines: we’re talking a mouthful of a million sparkling little bubbles, with a sweet melon flavour. Babe Wines counts Emily Ratajkowski as Official Chief of Taste and Instagram meme king The Fat Jew (Josh Ostrovsky) as one of its founders, pretty much making this bubbly internet-famous.

2019 Charles Baker Riesling

Charles Baker Wines

Made in Ontario, available in Calgary, Toronto, ships to Vancouver charlesbaker.ca

Fans of fruity libations should reach for this classy can. This riesling is on the sweeter side because of its highly ripened grapes, making for a sumptuous nectar-like taste. Grown in Niagara, we’re picturing this sip on a sunny day at the lake, with charcuterie.

Merlot

Castoro de Oro Estate Winery

Made in B.C., available in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto castorodeorowinery. com

Park rip at four, family dinner at seven? Bring a few of these. Teeny and cute enough to stealthily sip outdoors yet sophisticated enough to offer to Mom. This merlot sacrifices zero of its full-bodied red wine flavour to its compact size.

Lola Blush Sparkling Rosé

Pelee Island Winery

Made in Ontario, available in Calgary, Toronto, ships to Vancouver peleeisland.com

Easily crushable, this sultry watermelon and spice-hued frizzante slips down smoother than silk. Pop a few of these in a cooler, head to the backwoods and call it glamping—just don’t get too carried away. The alcohol content in canned wine makes beer drinkers look like lightweights.

Pinot Grigio

Bodacious

Made in B.C., available in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto arterracanada.com/brands

You won’t find this pinot grigio in a sommelier’s cellar, but let’s appreciate it for what it is: an affordable, sticky-sweet vino that’s co-hosted many a great college house party. This Bodacious goes down just as easily as the full bottle but comes with fewer regrets.

XOXO Rosé

XOXO Wines

Made in Ontario, available in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto xoxowines.com

This alcoholic juice box carries notes of strawberry and white cranberry—essentially the liquid form of rosé candy gummies. We recommend freezing it until it becomes a slush, then squeezing it out as a refreshing frozé.