Joie puts award-winning wines in cans

Photo: JoieFarm winery on Naramata Road (courtesy of JoieFarm)

This month JoieFarm Winery of Naramata trumpeted that it had won to gold medals for the second consecutive year at the International Canned Wine Competition in Mendocino. A canned wine competition? Who knew? In fact, I should have known. This is one of the hottest wine packages in recent years. Wineries all over the world have begun to can wines. The Mendocino competition attracted entries from 20 countries. The competition was launched in 2019 by Allan Green, who has run the Mendocino County Fair Wine Competition for 40 years. He would have noticed that an increasing number of producers were putting wines in cans.

British Columbia wineries are relatively recent entrants to this category. Bench 1775 Winery, as an example, has just launched two wines in cans: a sparkling Pinot Noir and a canned version of Chill, the winery’s white blend. “With the technology improving over the years,” the winery says, “canned wine is really taking off at BC wineries and we wanted to be at the forefront of this industry trend.” Okanagan Crush Pad Winery has just launched two, a sparkling wine and a rose, under its Bizou+Yukon label (named for two vineyard guard dogs). Meadow Vista Honey Wine has just released Stinger, a sparkling peach-flavoured mead in a can. Perhaps wineries were discouraged from canning BC wines because, so far, they are not permitted to put VQA on the package even if the wines inside qualify for VQA when sold in bottles. One of JoieFarm’s gold medals was for a can of 2021 Noble Blend. This has always been one of the winery’s flagship whites, qualifying easily for VQA when packaged in glass. JoieFarm also won gold for a sparkling wine called Tiny Bubbles. Both wines also won gold medals at last year’s Canned Wine competition. As well, JoieFarm Rosé was best in show last year. In total, JoieFarm now offers five wines in cans. “A few years back, we saw that there was a perception of wine in a can that we felt needed to be overhauled,” winemaker Karl Duda said in a statement. “The format of canned wine is a natural and perfect fit for the lifestyle of so many Canadians, with the ability to take them with you on any outdoor adventure and with the sustainable nature of the packaging format. We decided to be leaders in this category by producing the same high-quality wine in cans as we do for our bottles.”

Richard Charnock, JoieFarm’s co-winemaker and vineyard manager, observed that wines under screw cap closures are widely preferred but once also were regarded as inferior. In fact, the VQA symbol once was not allowed on BC wines with screw cap closures. The story may be apocryphal but the B.C. Wine Institute, which then administered VQA, is reported to have dropped the prohibition at the insistence of Mission Hill Family Estate. The winery had just landed an order with Tesco, the British retailer, which insisted on screw cap closures. Mission Hill threatened to leave the wine institute of the ban stayed in place. Canned wines owe a debt to the burgeoning number of craft breweries whose need for canning facilities created the infrastructure for this packaging technology.

Currently, most of the wines are canned by Vessel Packaging Co., a Vancouver company with national operations. The company was formed in 2013, purchasing a mobile canning line from the U.S. to package craft beer. After the business grew beyond the wildest expectations of founder Matt Leslie, the company was taken over early in 2022 by TricorBraun, a U.S. packaging giant. Vessel still operates as standalone company with Leslie as chief executive. “All our canning is done by Vessel,” says Jan Biega, sales and marketing manager at JoieFarm. “Most of it was done on-site here at the winery but Tiny Bubbles was done at Artus. They use a mobile line, so they can set up wherever. I think there are a couple other companies offering canning services but my understanding is the 250 ml format is a little trickier to work with and less common (given that breweries - the most common canning clients - use 335 ml or 500 ml). We’ve seen vast improvements in the efficiency year over year and this past canning run was a breeze. We really enjoy working with Vessel.” Artus Bottling Ltd. is the leading contract bottler in the Okanagan, based in Penticton. President Norman Cole says the company is sourcing a permanent canning line. Until that is in place, Artus uses a contract canner to provide a service for which there is increasing demand. Wineries offering canned wines in addition to Joie and Bench 1775 include Stag’s Hollow Winery, Mayhem Wines, Corcelettes, Castoro de Oro, Chaberton Estate Winery, Lake Breeze Winery, Kitsch Wines, and Seaside Pearl. 50th Parallel Winery has released three wines under its Glamour Farming label – a Gewürztraminer, a Pinot Gris and a Pinot Noir Rosé.

The pricing and distribution formats for canned wines are a work in progress. JoieFarm sells its cans in flats of 24 for $195 a flat. It has just released mixed flats of its award-winning wines. 50th Parallel sells four packs at $36 a pack ($40 for the rosé). Seaside Pearl Farmgate Winery sells its Daffodil Sparkling Wine in six packs for $41.65 or nine packs for $61.20. Lake Breeze’s The Spice Jar is $8.50 a can on the winery’s website. Corcelettes Estate Winery sells it Santé en Cannette sparkling wine for $7.50 a can. “Our sparkling wine in a can has been even more popular than we expected,” says Jesce Baessler, Corcelettes’s sales and marketing manager. “We are flying through it, both in our wine shop and via retail stores. We actually don’t even sample it in our shop very often. Overall, we would call it a smash success and will be increasing production of our “Santé” next year.” Angela Grant, a sales representative for Mayhem Wines, says the winery released a Merlot rosé in cans from the 2020 vintage but did not have enough wine in the 2021 vintage to make another. “If we have a good harvest this year, we are allocating two tons of rosé to cans,” she says.

The cans clearly fill a niche in the wine market. “It seems to be quite popular for more ‘activity’ oriented purchases, like golf, camping, boating, and beach visits in particular,” Jesce Baessler says. “We have definitely noticed people who are active love the cans for camping, boating, golfing, picnicking, BBQing, beaching, etc.,” says Erica McIntosh, sales and marketing co-ordinator at Stag’s Hollow. “Plus, customers who are sustainability-focussed in their decision-making appreciate the cans. People who are looking to celebrate an anniversary or a special occasion are still looking for the bottles.”

“The cans have been a fascinating case study as far as both sales and marketing go,” JoieFarm’s Jan Biega says. “Our initial assumptions have been challenged in a number of ways. First off, there seems to be no clear demographic consensus - they appeal equally to very price-conscious customers (who prefer not to have to pay for an entire bottle) as well as those that buy them specifically to enjoy on their yachts or country clubs. Likewise with age and gender - it’s impossible to generalize.” “Another surprising factor with the cans,” Jan adds, “has been the onboarding of new, unexpected wholesale accounts: bakeries, microbreweries, cafés, mobile caterers. It’s really opened up additional avenues beyond the traditional restaurant and retail channels. Heck, our cans will soon be served on-board BC Ferries!” Here are notes on the JoieFarm wines.

JoieFarm Tiny Bubbles 2021: The blend is 58% Viognier and 42% Sauvignon Blanc. This is a bright, refreshing sparkling wine with enough spritz to dance on the palate. There are aromas of pineapple and lime and flavours of pear and guava. 90. JoieFarm A Noble Blend 2021: This is an aromatic blend of Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Pinot Auxerrois, and Muscat. It has aromas of spice, melon, apple and citrus which are echoed on the palate. In bottle, this is the winery’s signature white blend. The canned version does not let that legacy down. 91. JoieFarm Un-oaked Chardonnay 2021: This wine has muted aromas and flavours of apple and citrus. Soft acidity lets the wine down. Unoaked Chardonnay should be crisper. 87. JoieFarm Picnique Rouge 2021: This is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Gamay. Dark in colour and juicy in texture, the wine begins with aromas of cherries and plums. There are plenty of berry flavours on the palate – cherry and blackberry – mingled with a touch of pepper. This eminently quaffable wine is best when lightly chilled. 90. JoieFarm Rosé 2021: This dark hued rosé is also packed with aromas and flavours of cherry and plum. 90