Over three hundred canned wines from all over the world flexed their aluminum muscles at the third annual International Canned Wine Competition held July 20-22 at the Mendocino County Fairgrounds in Boonville, California. Wines from seventeen countries, including France, Italy, Spain, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, England and even India, competed with their compatriots from all corners of the United States.
Noticeable in 2021: "an explosion of wine-based spritzers and seltzers," according to competition founder and organizer, Allan Green. Judges awarded gold medals to 85 of the 335 wines entered.
Along with the wines, the package design competition showed how creative designers and marketers have become with the new canned wine medium.
Best of Show honors for 2021 went to:
Kiss of Wine winery from Britain won four medals, taking sweepstakes honors for the most medals.
The competition judges came from academia, marketing and the wine trade. Judge Randy Schock, winemaker at Handley Cellars, commented on the creativity of the canned wine category and the wanderlust brought on by the Covid pandemic: "the creativity and ingenuity of the canned wine segment brings renewed life and excitement to the party. So much room to create and explore old and new regional culinary and lifestyle expressions makes the idea of travelling and sampling exciting again."
Plans are already in the works for the fourth annual International Canned Wine Competition, which will be held in July, 2022. Competition director Allan Green promises it will be "aluminating!"
Complete results and photographs are available at www.cannedwinecompetition.com.