I am often a sucker for packaging. I freely admit that. And I'm fascinated by wine packaging in particular from labels to containers. We know that there is a push for the wine box. It's more environmental friendly than bottles and in theory I love the idea on many levels (the environment being just one). But I've yet to taste a box-o-wine (er... rather, "cask" as they call them in the industry) that has wowed me. Just when you think there's no where else for wine to go (except in your belly), you read about something like this: wine in a paint can.

Yes. A paint can.

Now I'm not stranger to the versatility of paint cans. A few years ago I was really into scrapbooking and other kinds of paper crafts. One of the more popular projects was altering paint cans to use for different purposes: recipe box, gift bag, etc. But as a wine container? Yeah, that's a new one. Paradocx Vineyards in Chester County, Pennsylvania is pushing the packaging envelope and releasing two varieties of paint can wine: Whitewash Pennsylvania NV (a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio) and Barn Red Pennsylvania NV (a blend of Cabernet Franc and Sangiovese). Two thousand cans of each were produced. According to Wine Spectator:

The cans are sealed with a collapsible lining, similar to those used for regular box wine, which is designed to keep the wine fresh for weeks. To pour the wine, just pull the spigot through a hole on the side of the can.

Sure the idea is cute, but cute only goes so far with me these days. The wine retails for $35 and will be available online at paradocx.com by the end of the month.