Wine—typically found in a bag, box, or bottle—now has a new provenance: the can.
It started in 2004, when the canned wine movement’s unlikely patron saint, Sofia Coppola released the “Sofia Mini.” Her creation, from the Francis Ford Coppola Winery, was the first label to find any success persuading wine drinkers to sip California white out of an aluminum vessel.
Now, more than a decade later canned wine is finally trending. National retailers like Whole Foods (WFM) and CVS (CVS) are carving out shelf space. Big wine producers including E&J Gallo Winery and Terlato Wine Group are jumping on the bandwagon too.
That’s because canned wine dollar sales soared 170% over the past year versus a 5.9% jump for the more established box wine business, Nielsen reports. Canned wine is now the fastest growing segment in the U.S.
Why? Credit (or blame) millennials. Younger drinkers are in experimental mode. And can wine producers have astutely marketed their anti-wine connoisseur brands as a perfect fit for the beach, the golf course, and picnics.
But wine producers beware: some warn of a fad. “As consumers’ palates evolve, they will want something more,” says wine industry expert Rob McMillan. The simple wines that go in cans these days might not be a sustainable blend.
Read more: These Are the 10 Best Wines Under $15
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A version of this article appears in the November 1, 2016 issue of Coins2Day with the headline “Forget Stemware. Behold the Rise of Wine in a Can.” We’ve included affiliate links in this article. Click here to learn what those are.