Summer is coming, although it may not feel like that at the moment. Many of you will flock to a beach or park and enjoy wine in a glass or an insulated glass as I showed in my picture. Canned wines seem to be the go-to beverage to take on these outings, and many BC wineries are canning their VQA bottled wines. I have 2 wines from Stag’s Hollow Winery that come in cans, and can be purchased in 4-packs; their Muscat Frizzante 2021 and their Rosé 2021. Let me tell you about them.
As these are cans and are meant to be enjoyed in one sitting, I do not have any decanting notes.
My Wine Tasting Notes
Stag’s Hollow Winery Muscat Frizzante 2021 (4 pack – $8/can)
Appearance: A lighter bright straw colour with a light stream of bubbles streaming in the glass.
Nose: A medium-plus intensity nose with aromas of lime, green fruit, juicy fruit gum, black currant leaf, orange blossoms, and honey.
Palate: More than off-dry, higher acidity, fuller body, and more flavourful, with a spritzy biting bubbly texture. Juicy tropical fruit, lime, lychee, and touches of floral and orange, along with some bitter grape stem. Stony toward the finish.
Finish: Medium length, finishing off-dry with the acidic prickle to the finish. Orange, tropical fruit and some bitter grape stem.
Rating: 
Stag’s Hollow Winery Syrah Rosé 2021 ($7.49/can on sale at Everything Wine)
Appearance: A clear medium intensity orangy salmon colour.
Nose: Medium intensity aromas of red fruit, strawberries, and candied rhubarb.
Palate: Dry, quite smooth and round, with a thicker mouthfeel. A light acidic prickle. Red fruit, strawberries, candied rhubarb, plus tropical fruit and blackcurrant leaf. Very light tannins.
Finish: Medium length. Red fruit, rhubarb, and tropical fruit flavours, plus some blackcurrant leaf.
Rating:
Can vs Bottle?
I tasted the Syrah Rosé 2021 from a bottle and a can. I did not compare notes during the tasting, and the tastings were done several weeks apart. Did I notice any differences? Below are my tasting notes for the bottled version of this wine.
Stag’s Hollow Winery Syrah Rosé 2021 (BC $25, 750 ml bottle)
99% Syrah with 1% Viognier added. The grapes were hand-harvested, sorted, destemmed and pressed immediately to minimize maceration time, then transferred to a stainless steel tank to cold settle for 48 hours before being racked, warmed and fermented with a selected yeast strain. The wine was racked and chilled upon fermentation completion, then filtered and bottled. 180 cases were produced.
Appearance: A medium-minus intensity clear salmon colour in the glass.
Nose: Medium intensity aromas of rhubarb and strawberries. Same aromas but may be lighter in intensity after decanting.
Palate: Dryish, with a smooth, round, thicker mouthfeel. Rhubarb and strawberry flavours, orange blossoms, pink grapefruit, along with lesser tart red cherries, and then some tropical fruits toward the finish. Same smooth mouthfeel after decanting, and fruit flavours. The pink grapefruit though is more pink grapefruit pith with decanting.
Finish: A medium length finishing with tart red fruit, and some grape stem flavours. The wine has a bit more bitterness and some pepperiness with decanting.
Rating: 
– A brighter, lighter salmon colour. Medium intensity aromas of rhubarb and strawberries. Dryish, medium body with a thicker, smooth mouthfeel. It does have a light acidic prickle. Rhubarb, strawberries and tart red cherries on the palate. Some tart red fruit and bitter grape stem on the finish.
What’s The Difference?
The aromas are basically a match between the can and bottle. On the palate, I did note the smoothness and thicker mouthfeel of the wine. With the bottle, I noted the wine tasted slightly off-dry while from the can I noted a dry taste. I picked up more flavours with the bottle, noting orange blossoms and pink grapefruit. I also indicated rhubarb flavour for the bottle and candied rhubarb for the can. I also almost rated the wines the same. The can was 4 stars while the bottle was between 3.5 and 4 stars. Overall I would say that I did not note any major differences when I tasted the wine from the can and from the bottle. So buy whichever works with your plans for the day and then enjoy the wine!
Where Can I Buy These Wines?
You can purchase the 4-pack of the Muscat Frizzante cans from the Stag’s Hollow website. I did not see the canned Rosé on the website at the moment. Both wines are available in cans at Everything Wine.
