Getting back to my backlog of posts from Hong Kong trip last week… During the trip I had the opportunity to try several other wines made in China that I just can’t muster the strength to write about. I rarely ditch an entire bottle of wine after just a few sips, but had to do so a couple of times during this trip.
On the second night, I was suffering from the +13 hour time difference and fatigue from traveling every week this year so I opted to stay in and order a simple dinner with a simple wine. I ordered a cheese and herb pizza and a cup of crème of mushroom soup from the hotel restaurant along with an Australian Sparkling Rose (the only rose on the menu). And here’s what I got…

Surprise… it’s a sparkling rose… in a can!
The menu didn’t mention the fact that the wine was in a can so I called downstairs to see if there were any other regular Roses… like the ones that come in a bottle. Although they told me no, the pleasant restaurant lady was nice enough to let me know that my minibar fridge was full of wine if I needed more. I quickly open up the minibar and sure enough just as she said, more wine for me – about 10 mini cans of Australian wine.
I will drink anything once with an optimistic, open mind… but I was really having my doubts about this one. Perhaps this is yet another example of how behind the times I am – Sunday night marked my first experience with wine in a can – I’ve had wine from a bottle, wine from several kinds of boxes, wine from a tetra pack, wine from a fountain, wine from a mason jar, but never wine from a can.
Barokes Bubbly Wine – Bin 382 Rose
This is labeled as a premium Australian Wine. $55HK per can ~ $7US. 13% alcohol. Sealed in a bright aluminum can with orange highlights. I found it interesting that the color of the can seemed to match the orange hue of the wine (hard to see the similarity from this photo). I expected some type of aluminum or metallic aroma or taste, but there were none that I could pick up. On the nose I found watermelon and a sweet dark berry aroma. Carbonated mouth feel along with tastes of watermelon. Just what I wanted for the night – a simple wine and another new experience.
There were four different types of canned wines in the minibar made by Barokes - Bubbly Cabernet Shiraz Merlot blend, Bubbly Rose, a Chardonnay Semillon blend and a bubbly Chardonnay Semillon blend. Imagine my delight. I tried the Bubbly Cabernet Shiraz Merlot blend – and it tasted like I would expect a bubbly Cabernet Shiraz Merlot to taste.
The maker of this wine, Barokes, has a ‘clever’ website that I would encourage the curious to visit – it’s called www.WineInACan.com. If you have not yet tried wine in a can, I would certainly recommend it for the sake of trying it.
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