A new way to drink wine from the Williamsburg Winery has made its debut.
Introducing: Canned dry rosé.
“It’s really rewarding to see the idea come to life,” said Michael Kimball, vice president of marketing for the Williamsburg Winery. “The response has been incredible.”
The Williamsburg Winery is selling the new canned wine at all Virginia Wegmans stores, the winery tasting room, Gabriel Archer Tavern, the Merchants Square Wine Bar and on the winery website for shipping, the winery said in multiple posts and comments on Facebook.
The 12-percent alcohol by volume rosé was announced in a winery Facebook post April 18. It became officially available for sale April 26.
The wine is “100 percent Virginia,” according to the colorful can label, meaning it is made from all Virginia-grown grapes.
Kimball said the idea to can a Williamsburg Winery product came up about two years ago. The winery already offers a bottled rosé, but this new dry rosé will be sold exclusively in cans.
In recent years, the culture of wine has changed from a formal atmosphere to include more casual environments.
“The culture of wine drinking is changing,” he said. “There’s a lot more people drinking wine.”
(WYDaily/Courtesy of Williamsburg Winery Youtube)
A wine in a can lends itself more to casual environments, like the pool or beach, Kimball said.
Kimball added the bright, whimsical can art is designed to reflect the casual, summertime nature of the rosé. The art was created by Virginia Beach native Reba McConnell.
What makes the new dry rosé different than the winery’s bottled rosé?
The original rosé, the Wessex Hundred Dry Rosé, is a “complex” Cabernet Franc-based wine with flavors of strawberries, rhubarb and tart apple. It is inspired by a Provence-style rose, Kimball said.
On the other hand, the new canned dry rosé uses Chambourcin grapes and has predominant flavors like bright tangerine and strawberry — a “very fruit-forward” wine.
Because wine production relies on a season’s crop of grapes every year, there is a limited amount of the new rosé available for sale this year.
Kimball said the winery plans to sell it as long as it’s available this year, then produce more next year.