Episode 156: Oh Yes We Can! Chillin’ With Wine Coolers & Bringin’ the Mayhem
This episode explores canned wine beverages, and features the craft wine coolers of St. Mayhem. Those of us who came of drinking age in the ’80s & ’90s? Well, these are not the wine coolers that we were drinking in our acid washed jeans, spiral perms, and parachute pants. Actually, those wine coolers of synthesized music days gone by were a whole different category of beverage, and we suss that out here as well. The St. Mayhem styles and flavors surprised us, and we hope you’ll enjoy learning about them.
Some of us remember the wine coolers of – eh hem – decades gone by. Well, dear listeners, the craft movement has made its way to the cooler category. In this episode we’re popping open some cute little cans sent to us from the cool folks at St. Mayhem. And can we just say, it’s about to get crazy up in here? [Sponsored Content] [Language]
Saint Mayhem Craft Wine Coolers (1:25)
We connected with Kat McDonald from Art + Farm Wine in Napa back in November of 2017, and she shipped us a selection of their new experiment – St Mayhem craft wine coolers in cans.
We love their marketing material and these slogans all over the glasses and stickers that were in the box of joy with the cans of more joy:
- Find Your Tribe. Love Them Hard.
- Don’t Be a Dick.
- Don’t Believe the Hype.
The St. Mayhem twitter page says “Doing Whatever the Fuck We Want Since 2015” and the Art + Farm Wine twitter page says “The World’s Most Dangerous Winery.” These people know how to have fun! And that’s what we’re here to do, by cracking open these cans. We go from Zen AF to spiked, spicy deliciousness in this wild ride.
In our Glasses/Cans/Straws – Flavors & Commentary (6:20)
“Tao of Mint” Fizzy rosé wine with Mint, Raspberry and Matcha tea. The ingredients in this adorable 250ml can are spearmint, matcha green tea, raspberries and sparkling Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. It has the strength of regular wine at 13% abv. St Mayhem’s owners, Kat and Rob McDonald, call this “the lovechild between a rosé and a mojito.”
“Ginger Loves Company“ Chardonnay with Peaches and Ginger. This sexy black can is filled with Chardonnay from Napa and Clarksburg and blended with organic peaches and freshly ground organic ginger.
“Huckfest” Red Wine with Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Orange Peel, Almond Extract, Cloves and Blueberries: It is a twist on mulled wine, and a collaboration with Napa vintner Andy Erickson (credits include Mayacamas Vineyards, Ovid and Screaming Eagle). Ingredients in this flavor are cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, orange peel, almond extract, cloves, blueberries and a 2015 Amador County red blend of Syrah, Mourvedre and Grenache.
“Spcy Lil Fkr” Fizzy White Wine with Jalapeno and Habanero Peppers. This flavor might kick you in-the-pants! Fresh cut jalapenos and habanero peppers are married with sparkling Lake County Sauvignon Blanc.
But Wait, There’s More! (24:57)
…. There’s also a new Sangria, that we unfortunately didn’t have in front of us, with pounds of fresh basil and pineapple. Looking forward to trying that flavor too. All four of these flavors we tried have national distribution and are available all year-round except the Huckfest which is a limited winter release. The shelf life of the cans is a couple of years, according to Kat from St Mayhem, in case you’re wondering (we were). 
Your Take (25:52)
via FaceBook Community Page on 3/6/18 Ash posted: “New product testing for work. Our beer-&-wine guy gave me these craft wine coolers (YES, craft wine coolers: it’s a thing now!) as a free sample to determine if the store should carry them as a product line. We weren’t big fans of the spicy one tbh (although we are both big wimps when it comes to spice anyway, so there’s that to consider). But I was pleasantly surprised by the rosé-mint-matcha one. The abv is a little steep for my taste, as well as the sweet factor, but the flavor profile is fantastic. Could definitely see where some people might be a fan.” Also via FaceBook Community Page on 3/24/18 Brita asked us for our opinion on wine in cans… how timely.
WinoRadar (27:20)
Other craft wine coolers or canned wine & just in time for summer fun on-the-go! (These aren’t ads, just part of the conversation.)
Pampelonne sparkling wine cocktails from France! They come in 237ml cans and 3 flavors -Pampelonne Rosé Lime, French 75, and the Blood Orange Spritz. Find them at retailers on the east coast and follow them on social media @enjoyPampelonne. Please let us know if you’ve tried them, since we are way out here in the wild, wild west!
Our friend, Patron and Girls Gone Grape lady, Cathie just blogged “Canned Wine – It’s Good!” on March 8th. She tasted 3 different Pinot Noir rosés – The Great Oregon Wine Company, Underwood, and Alloy Wine Works. The one she said stood-out as the best was Alloy Wine Works from Paso Robles. Check out the Side Hustle Wino blog for the full story with descriptions and commentary. You can also follow Cathie on twitter @sidehustlewino.
Other timely mentions of canned wine came from Sharron McCarthy from Banfi Vintners on LinkedIn on March 28th. Sharron said, “Love Story wines and Eufloria cans…you can definitely put them in my Easter basket…keep up the sipping!” Eufloria from Pacific Rim winery in Washington now packages their aromatic white and aromatic rosé, both frizzante, in 375ml cans.
One more link to more wine coolers to try on the website UPROXX and their article titled “Wine Coolers are Back and Here are a Few Worth Trying.”
Factoid (34:39)
Wine coolers got their start back in the 1980’s. The formula is pretty straight forward – wine + fruit flavors + carbonated water. Think of it as a wine spritzer. But some of you may have disturbing memories and flashbacks of the your acid wash denim days.
These “wine coolers” from the 1990’s are still around today. Those aren’t really wine and some might say they aren’t cool either. They are made with malt liquor (think malted barley like beer) and therefore have a lower alcohol content. Tons of sugar is added and with the combination of low quality alcohol, those “wine coolers” give the gift of a mean hangover. Happy to know that things are changing and high quality wine is the backbone of the new-and-improved wine coolers of today!
Shoutouts (39:06)
Thank you, Kat and Rob McDonald, co-owners of St Mayhem Craft Wine Coolers. We love all the swag you sent us! – buttons, tattoos, stickers, a coaster with seeds in it to plant in our garden – whoa! Visit St. Mayhem on their website, Instagram, and Twitter @StMayhemWine and use the #BringTheMayhem. We’ve also included a link to a story about St Mayhem in the Napa Valley Register from December 2017. Enjoy the read.
And on to our newest Patrons, Antti in Georgia and Chip & Katie in Pennsylvania!
Patreon Love (54:27)
Thank you to our Patrons who support us on our Patreon crowdfunding platform!
“Riserva Superiore Supporter”
- Robin from Girls Gone Grape
“Riserva Supporter”
- Antti in Georgia!
“TENacious Tasters”
- Jeff E from the award-winning We Like Drinking podcast
- Sebastian of Sassi Italy Tours
- Jen in Maryland (and the world, according to her Instagram feed)
- David and Lisa in Illinois
- Ann Marie in Virginia
“It’s not five o’clock and we don’t care” Listeners
- Meg in South Dakota
- Clay in Arizona
- In California – Jon, Andrew, Aswani
- Chantel in Ontario, Canada
- Mary Lou in Pennsylvania
- Cathie in Georgia
- In Colorado – Chris and Janet, Diane
- In Illinois – Steve, Renee
- Cathey in Tennessee
- Ashley in North Carolina
- Sean in Ohio
“Tastemaker Listeners”
- David in Scotland
- Carole in Kentucky
- Karen in California
- Chip & Karen in Pennsylvania
- Danielle
Speaking of Patreon Love
Steph’s tequila cocktail with Spcy Lil Fkr is in the Patreon post for this episode, along with a picture of the finished drink.
Connect: (42:03)
Between each weekly chat you can find us on the social spaces @WineTwoFive, and we encourage you to join our private FaceBook group called Wine Two Five Community! Connect with Val on Twitter @WineGalUnboxed and as Vino With Val on Facebook, Instagram & Pinterest.
Connect with Steph on online as @TheWineHeroine.