The man with the golden can

Canned is one of those wonderful onomatopoeiacal words with so many meanings: standardized, fired, pre-recorded, sent to prison, drunk…  Of course it also means packaged in a can which is one of the most environmentally friendly delivery systems.  So no surprises to read in the Daily Mail that in the USA, canned wine is all the rage.  So when kan we expect to see kanned Kanonkop? The SA first growth grievously overlooked by the anti-Afikaans and anti-Australian edition of Platter this year, even though the Paul Sauer 2009 was voted best Bordeaux blend in the world by the International Wine & Spirits Competition last month.

canned

As the Simonsberg winery burnt down recently, perhaps proprietor Johann Krige will replace the bottling line with a canning plant?  It should keep the Wine Lizard (below) happy as he seems to have a pathological hatred for corks – even claiming Portuguese producers send journos and potential customers to the cork forests of the Alentejo, economy class, while he demands First to accommodate his extravagant bolla.  Quite a larf to read him attacking his colleagues on the subject in Maverick, the organ of a Cape Town gentleman’s club, while he swans off to Burgundy on important commercial business, First Class.  Perhaps asking producers to switch the corked French wines he imports through his Reciprocal Wine Trading Company to screw caps?

wine_lizard1

Open-minded SA producers should consider cans for consumer convenience and a stylish offering. There is talk in the industry that Amarula will be releasing a non-cream version next year called Amarula Gold. A golden can with the sexy dimensions of Red Bull would seem to be a no-brainer and go down well at Mavericks.  Or up.  Forget James Bond and the man with the golden gun. Hipster with the golden can has a certain je ne sais quoi. Perhaps this is what KWV had in mind with their Golden Kaan brand. Perhaps they meant to say Golden Kan.