Why not wine in a can?

We’re all itching to go out and do something. Anything. Am I right?

And our current pandemic directive is to do our socializing – within the current health orders – outside.

The Okanagan, and most of our province, is a perfect haven to get outdoors. Picnic season is coming, after somewhat of a retro resurgence last year. At one point in 2020 reasonably priced picnic gear was hard to find, along with yeast and home exercise equipment.

But let’s look forward to adventuring out in 2021, with a glass of wine in hand. Where permitted, of course.

Or maybe a can of wine instead?

Inevitably, packing for a culinary escapade at the end of hike means:

• Coping with the extra weight of a wine bottle or two
• A debate over proper glassware (fashionable non-tipping reusable plastic glasses are fine in my book)
• The wine getting too warm
• Blaming who brought wine with a cork and no corkscrew.

Wine-in-a-can may not have the same panache of uncorking a bottle, but we made it through 2020. Let’s cut 2021 some slack with these choices.

JoieFarm Winery offers several options. Its aromatic blend of Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Auxerrois, and Muscat, known as A Noble Blend, is available in cans for the 2020 vintage.

The 2020 Rosé, made from Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris, and its Sauvignon Blanc-Viognier sparkler Tiny Bubbles, are also convenient for a cooler with a cold pack.

Mayhem Wines has both its Pinot Gris and Rosé in 12-pack cans. Sidenote don’t forget to play a game of “Springo”; get a playing card at https://www.mayhemwines.com/club-events/, order takeout or dine in at select restaurants and enter a draw. Their cans of wine and takeout could wine you some tasty prizes (wine purchase not necessary to enter).

Castoro de Oro introduced three wines in cans last year, and The View Winery has had its Bling — an aromatic white blend and a unique rosé available in cans for a few years.

There are a few non-B.C. canned wines out on store shelves, but let’s support local. Several of these options were recently spotted at the B.C. Wine Information Centre in Penticton, but you can also order most in bulk packs or flats directly from the wineries.

It’s convenient, provides a newly discovered chilled option on a hot day by the pool, is environmentally friendly, and is on trend … or so I’m told.

And the “psssch” noise of opening a can of wine is just as satisfying as a beer, cider, or soda.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.