New products: English wine gets canny

By James Beeson

- Last updated on GMT

Common goal: The Uncommon is aiming to become the most sustainable wine brand in the country
Common goal: The Uncommon is aiming to become the most sustainable wine brand in the country
Cans are now the de-facto small-pack option of choice for craft brewers, but now winemakers are getting in on the action.

It is a concept that would probably send pretentious wine snobs into a frenzy, but thanks to Peckham-based The Uncommon, English sparkling wine in a can is now a reality.

Buoyed by the UK’s impressive wine credentials, founders Henry Connell and Alex Thraves have developed a lightly sparkling dry white wine from 100% hand harvested Bacchus grapes, and packaged it into single serve 250ml aluminium cans.

The Uncommon is aiming to become the most sustainable wine brand in the country. The single-serve aluminium cans will help to reduce the billion litres of wine thrown away each year in the UK, and are endlessly recyclable and lightweight, meaning their carbon footprint is 80% lighter than glass.

One billion bottles of wine are imbibed in the UK annually, and Britain is the second largest consumer of Champagne (after France). We also put away one third of all Prosecco produced, and hence The Uncommon hopes to tap into the need for a for a light, convenient and easily recycled option in the sparkling wine category.

The cans are quicker to chill than bottles, and designed for single serve in bars, restaurants and drinks at home. They have a recommended retail price of £5 per can.

Or you could try: Chapel Down Bacchus

If wine in a can is just a bit too weird for you, then you should consider this fresh, crisp and citrussy English white made from Bacchus by Chapel Down. The Bacchus grape, named after the Roman god of wine, produces a fresh and crisp wine with excellent citrus fruit characters and a refreshing finish.

Best of the rest

Ghost Ship goes alcohol-free – ​Suffolk-based brewer and distiller Adnams has launched a new alcohol-free version of its best-selling Ghost Ship Pale Ale. Created to meet the rapidly growing demand for low-alcohol beer, Ghost Ship Alcohol Free is brewed with pale ale, rye crystal and cara malts, using Citra and other American hop varieties to create bold citrus flavours.

Organic Lemon & Mint Cordial - ​Belvoir Fruit Farms has unveiled a new Organic Lemon & Mint Cordial to add to its range of organic drinks. Made simply from a delicious blend of sweet, fresh organic lemon juice, organic sugar, and aromatic garden mint, it has a refreshing cool taste and clean, crisp finish. Each 500ml bottle makes around 22 glasses at the recommended 1:10 ratio.

Premium Rye Vodka ​– Whitley Neill’s Rye Vodka is triple distilled in copper stills and made almost exclusively of winter rye, which is widely regarded to produce the smoothest tasting vodka. It has a clean aroma, with subtle hints of black pepper, vanilla and liquorice. Its hero ingredient ensures a very smooth and silky finish, rounded off with the perfect hints of sweetness and spice.

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