I Am a Wine Snob.

Period.

I believe in foil capsules, real cork, glass bottles, wine cellars, corkscrews, Coravins, vintages, crystal glasses with thin rims and stems, food pairing, and tastvins. I believe in blind tasting, analysis, sniffing, swirling, tasting, and spitting. Okay, spitting, not so much. Swallowing is better.

On more than one occasion, my nose has been known to tip upward a degree or two.

My wine certifications declare my devotion to the magical liquid, and I love to talk, breathe, feel, and drink wine. I’ve learned to live with screwcaps, love glass closures, loathe synthetic corks, and think stemless glasses are suitable for little more than cocktails. Ugh.

I received a shipment of three sample wines from Oregon.  All in cans. What am I supposed to do with this stuff?

I’d received the cans about the same time that I broke my leg. Bad timing. Now that I’m catching up on long-delayed tasks, I finally put off procrastinating about the cans and decided to tackle the chore of tasting <<shudder>> *canned* wines. Here we go.

Joe to Go (by Wine by Joe) wines are 100% Oregon wines.  The Pinot Gris and Rosé have 100% Stainless Steel stamped on the cans, and the Pinot Noir has seen some oak. All three of the wines, if poured into a glass after opening, seem to have an Alka Seltzer character until swirled or allowed to sit in the glass until the very tiny fizzy bubbles dissipate.

Pinot Gris

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a “thing” against Pinot Gris or Pinot Grigio. I call it distilled water with a squeeze of lemon, but not necessarily wine. Ew.

Imagine my surprise when I poured a little of this into a glass and was greeted by actual aroma. Who knew. A little citrus, green apple, and Bosc pear. On the palate, the flavors were the same as the aromas, and also reflected surprising acidity. Actually kinda good! I would easily rate this one a B+.

Rosé Wine

I love Rosé wines, but I can’t say that I loved this one. Light essence of watermelon and strawberry with a surprising lemon presence, I found that if it was poured in a glass (which you’re not supposed to do with canned wines), the flavor tended to be a little too light for my taste. Pretty wine, though. I’d rate it a B-ish.

Pinot Noir

I stick by my self-described name of “Pinot Ho” because, except in the case of badly or differently made Pinots, like a heat-seeking missile, I can find Pinot Noir anywhere. When I tried this particular Pinot, however, I was a little disappointed. Admittedly, the last Pinot Noir I had was a 2013 Williams Selyem Sonoma Coast Pinot, so the Joe had quite a bit of competition for my tastebud approval. That said, I found that its light cola, fig, and cherry notes weren’t bad, but it needed a bit more depth for me. Once again, I’d rate this one a B.

This is not my first experience with canned wine, but it was decidedly better than my first which made me pucker and spit, and not in a good way since grimacing was also involved.

The Verdict?

Overall, these wines weren’t bad, and I actually liked the Pinot Gris. The Rosé was lighter than expected, and after having had the WS just a couple of days prior, the Pinot was nice but didn’t have the Pinot character that I prefer. I feel comfortable giving these wines a B overall. These are made for a relaxing, casual time, not for, say, a steak dinner in a high-end restaurant. As always with reviews, YMMV.

Wine by Joe, by the way, makes the same varietals (and more) in bottles. They seem to be a budget-friendly wine for those of us with, um, *limited* budgets but who still like to drink wines! I haven’t tried the bottles yet, but I’d like to in order to see the difference between the bottles and the cans.

Stay tuned!

These are made for a relaxing, casual time, not for, say, a steak dinner in a high-end restaurant. As always with reviews, YMMV.

I went to the grocery store earlier and was sidetracked looking at the boxed wines. Truthfully, I think that I prefer the boxed wines to the canned if I were looking for a “porch pounder” or looking for something that would provide just a glass of wine for sipping or for cooking if I wanted. Like most people I know, I have several wines that fit into the “daily drinker” category, and I believe that boxed wines are more conducive to that than canned wines. That said, canned wines would be far better at a picnic, and would fit into a cooler way better than boxes!

Whatever style of “daily drinker” you decide that you like, remember the most important thing about wines that even we wine snobs know: wine is for enjoying, no matter the occasion. So enjoy!

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Wine by Joe

240 SE 5th Street
Dundee, Oregon 97115
Phone: 503-538-1141
Fax: 503-538-1244
Email: info@winebyjoe.com

MAILING ADDRESS
PO Box 517
Dundee, Oregon 97115

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