We’re thrilled to introduce you to the Heritage Collection, our newest offering of fine wines that celebrate historical regions and their terroir. We’ve partnered with two winemakers for our launch, Javier Sanz in Spain and Lionel Gosseaume in France. Each wine is a story of the people and the place that makes them. Let us introduce you.
Meet our Verdejo
Our debut white wine under our Heritage range is a 2022 Verdejo from Javier Sanz. This vibrant and zesty wine was sourced from Rueda, Verdejo’s homeland, where the vines are deep-rooted into the clay and limestone soils. Many of the vines are old vines, typically over 25 years old, cropping concentrated and flavourful berries that make for fantastic wines. They are also dry-farmed, perfect in Rueda’s climate, which stresses the vine a little and results in more of its energy going to the fruit, rather than the leaf canopy. This ensures we get a beautiful balance of ripeness as well as acidity. That fresh acidity is thanks to Rueda itself, a plateau 700-870m above sea level in northern central Spain that enjoys cooling winds that moderate the heat of the region.
The winemaking family, led by Javier Sanz, are sought-after producers of Verdejo, having worked with the variety for over 150 years. Through five generations they’ve perfected Verdejo winemaking, intervening only when they need to, so that it reflects Rueda’s unique terroir and tells the story – the Heritage – of the region. The grapes are sorted and selected, then crushed and soaked on their skins at low temperatures to extract texture and depth of flavour. After, the grapes are gently pressed and settled, and then fermented in stainless steel tanks to ensure the fruit is preserved in the wine.
Our Verdejo is a great introduction to fresh Spanish white wine and an exciting alternative for Sauvignon Blanc lovers looking to try something new. Crafted exclusively for retail, we wanted to make sure that when you picked up a can of our Verdejo from the supermarket shelves or online with Ocado, you’re going to love it – and see that the future format of cans can be truly exciting.
So, what does it taste like? Our Verdejo is bursting with lemon, juicy tangerine and moreish orchard fruit. The electric acidity and fresh aromas make it hard to resist. Enjoy it lightly chilled as it comes, or try it alongside a seafood paella or bang bang chicken noodle salad.
Meet our Gamay
The newest red wine in the Canned Wine Co. family is the 2021 Gamay from Lionel Gosseaume’s estate in the heart of Touraine in the Loire Valley, France. Gosseaume is excited to work with wine in can, a first for him, saying: “Canned Wine Co. is clearly focussed on providing quality wines to its customers above everything else. Creating quality wines I my raison d'être too.”
As with our Verdejo, Gosseaume’s Gamay is a celebration of place. The unique make up of sandy soil over tuffeau limestone and siliceous clay from the Paris basin forces the vines to root deep underground and soak up the minerals in the subsoils below, while pushing the vines to concentrate their fruit thanks to plentiful drainage – an important feature in the Loire where it rains a little more often than it does in the Spanish Rueda. In order to further concentrate the flavour and character of his grapes, Gosseaume leaves the grapes to ripen a little longer on the vine and harvests them late by hand as whole bunches. This gives more fruit to the final wine, making it very easy to enjoy!
These whole bunch grapes are fermented in stainless steel, again at cool temperatures to bring out the fruity character and retain fresh acidity, before being aged for 6-9 months in tank to help the wine come together. It is light on process on purpose, so that Gosseaume can reflect the true terroir of where the grapes are grown but also to illustrate the character of the vintage itself.
For lovers of Pinot Noir, fresh Beaujolais, lighter Chianti wines or even Barbera, this Gamay is going to hit the spot. Expect layers of strawberries, cherries, dried cranberries and spice with an underlying freshness and a lift on the finish. Bring out the fruit more at room temperature, or serve the wine lightly chilled for a fresher take if you’re enjoying it on its own. Food pairing wise, try our Gamay with pan-fried duck, a cheesy moussaka, or mushrooms stir-fried in soy sauce.
Ready to give our new Heritage wines a taste?
We’re very excited to be launching the new Heritage range at Ocado just in time for Christmas. Why not add a couple of cans to taste to your Christmas delivery? You can find our 2022 Verdejo here and the 2021 Gamay here. If you do taste them, let us know what you think as we’d love to hear your thoughts.
We hope the wines will transport you to Spain and France, while showing you a little of the love that Javier Sanz and Lionel Gosseaume have put into their wines. Cheers!
