|  Desperate times need desperate measures to sell wine - France is no exception. Following on the trail of Spirit Airlines in the US, which recently announced selling canned wine in its cattle-class flights, a Paris based wine company, Winestar, released at Sud de France Pavilion at Vinexpo last week three wines from the award-winning Château de l'Ille in Languedoc-Roussillon in southeastern France. AnAOC Corbières red, white and a rosé have been released. The wines were offered in standard bottles, magnums and cans for the drinkers to judge if the taste was any different.
Packaged in aluminum cans of the airline size quarter bottle (187 mm) the wine would traditionally be a low-end wine but the co-founder Cédric Segal insists that these wines are good quality AOC wines (supposedly the highest in the quality ranking hierarchy of French wines.) He believes there is a €1.3 million market and he wants to grab a piece. The winemakers are led by Pol Flandroy with more than three decades of experience in the field and more than 200 medals testifying to his expertise.
http://www.thelocal.fr/20130617/french-wine-to-be-sold-in-cans
Wine canners believe that the Coke drinkers can be more easily persuaded to shift to wine if it is served in the similar looking cans-besides easier storage and being environmentally better because of high recyclability. In the world of fast-foods, this would be the equivalent of Nespresso of wine, according to Segal. Cans are easily portable in a ladies’ purse, handbag or backpack and sell at €2.50 each.
The colour of the rim will indicate the type of wine inside- a pink rim signifies a rosé, for instance. The current versions of red, white and rose are called Cuvée Andréas, Emilie and Alexandre respectively. ‘We will regularly release new wines, our Best Selection called "Crus Etoilés". These wines, located in more confidential areas, will be remarkable because of the exceptional talent of their winemaker, or for the unique qualities of the soil and grapes. The range will include wines from Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhône, Provence, Beaujolais, Loire, Alsace, and Languedoc,"says the website. It also states that the can has an extra layer on the inside to protect the wine from coming in touch with the metal.
Segal says he got the idea when he was travelling in Asia and saw that Australia was selling quality wine in cans. About his nouveau young clients, Segal says, ‘they particularly like having a drink in places that correspond to their nomadic party lifestyle - a picnic on the beach, a walk in the forest, or even when you snatch a bite to eat on the hoof.’
Given a choice, I would pick up the can of diet coke next to the Winestar can in the pic above - editor
Tags: Vinexpo, Winestar, France, Spirit Airlines, Cédric Segal, Pol Flandroy |