In these series of interviews I will interview many enthusiastic people who are involved in the canned wine business.
WITH WHOM DO I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF SPEAKING?
Simon Rollings, CEO & Founder of Canned Wine Company.
WHAT IS YOUR BACKGOUND IN WINE?
I was originality educated as a professional in supply chain management, operations, innovation and performance marketing. But like many others I was caught by the ‘wine bug’ and driven by my previous work experiences with food and drink start-ups like Hello Fresh.
I first launched Canned Wine Co. in summer 2019 together with wine buyer Ben Franks. Who is passionate about finding the next big thing and focuses on introducing new, truly unique wines.
HOW WOULD YOU DESRIBE YOUR WINES IN A CAN?
Our focus is on sourcing fantastic quality wines from some of Europe’s top producers. It is our aim to showcase the best of unusual varieties, not the same wines you can find everywhere. We source single vintage and single varietal wines that excel in cans. For example take our Grüner of Niederösterreich in north-east Austria. It’s a juicy white wine and a fantastic introduction to just how good Grüner Veltliner can be.
TASTING NOTES The Americans also affectionately call this grape Groovy and Groovy it is! The look and feel of this can really reflects the content. It’s modern, unique, wonderful branding. Great greenish color with flavors of fresh citrus, typical white pepper, refreshing lemons and a light creaminess. Definite a high quality wines with pleasant fresh acidity and a character of his own.’’
WHY ARE YOU IN THE CANNED WINES INDUSTRY?
We want to remove the barriers in the traditional wine market that stop people from buying better wines. Providing high quality wines in a portable 250ml format gives more people the opportunity to try exciting wines without having to spend more. We want to encourage people to drink less but better and increase customer confidence to try something new. We also aim to incorporate sustainability. From sustainable viticulture at the wineries we source from, to transportation, packaging and recycling. ‘‘We only work with smaller independent wineries to source the very best wines we can. Each wine is a limited run by nature, all single vintage and single variety.
HOW DO YOU SEE THE FUTURE OF CANNED WINES?
Ultimately, I think we are moving towards a similar reality as the ‘bottle market’. A diversification from high-end to basic canned wines. The ‘less but better’ thoughts within the wine drinker generation will become more and more important, as will the call for sustainability. The established wine producers will embrace this innovative and multipurpose packaging and more wine will come available in a can.
MULTI AWARDED WINES! Their design of the cans and the quality of the wines are rewarded with medals from several international wine competitions.