Pindar To Package Popular Wines In Cans

NORTH FORK, NY — Summertime, and the livin's easy — and now Pindar Vineyards in Peconic is making it even easier to enjoy two of their most popular wines, whether on the beach or at the pool, at festivals or on a picnic: Beginning April 1, Pindar will offer both their Winter White and Summer Blush wines in cans.

According to Pindar Damianos, owner and general manager of Pindar Vineyards, he and his sister and brother discussed introducing the idea of canned wine, a concept that's grown in popularity in California and in the wine industry. "We decided we didn't want to reinvent the wheel," Damianos said. With cabernet sauvignons and roses already "out there" on the market, they decided to focus on their own two most popular choices.

The chosen pair, he said, "have a strong customer base," and are already well-known and loved.

Of choosing to offer the wines in canned form, Damianos said: "Really, it was just a convenience. It wasn't meant to take away from the bottles." Both Winter White and Summer Blush come in bottles, as well, he added.

The vision was to give customers, who might come in on boats or be headed to the beach or the pool, an alternative to glass. Sometimes, Damianos added, a client forgets the bottle opener and has to run back to the car or ask around on the beach.

The new cans, he said, can easily be popped into a cooler and taken to an outdoor concert, hiking in the Adirondacks, or to a sunny day spent at the beach.

Not only that, he said, but a four-pack of cans equals two bottles of wine.

"It's deceiving, because you have to remember that this has a higher alcohol content than beer, at 12%," Damianos said.

The cans also make it easier to store the wine in the refrigerator, compared to storing a bottle, he said.

Also, Damianos said, "You don't have to drink it out of the can. You can still bring beautiful plastic wineglasses." Customers heading out for a day on the sun-splashed beach don't want to be lugging fine stemware, he said.

The wine will be available both at Pindar Vineyards in Peconic, at the Port Jefferson tasting room, and at local wine shops, including Peconic Discount Wines & Liquors in Cutchogue and Michael's Liquors in Riverhead, with more to come.

"We've gotten a very good reception from the wine store owners and as we continue to do the legwork, more stores will be taking it," Damianos said.

And those opting for the convenience of cans won't have to trade on taste, Damianos assured. "Whether you bought a bottle or a four-pack of Winter White, it's the exact same blend. And it's the same with the Summer Blush — whether you bought a bottle or a four-pack of cans, the taste is exactly the same. We made one big blend, bottled it and left some behind, and then bottled the cans with that exact same blend. The same taste," he said.

The cans are representative of a new approach to wine, Damianos said. Gone are the days when a day of wine-tasting meant a stuffy atmosphere that some found daunting or prohibitive. Today, wine is enjoyed by anyone out to embrace all that summer has to offer — in all the places memories can be made, whether on the water, at the beach, or in the backyard by the pool, he said.

Cans are gaining huge traction in popularity among customers in their mid-20s to 30s, Damianos added. "People just love it, for the ability to put it in the cooler," before heading off to a night under the stars, listening to music or a day in the summer sunshine.