23 Jun Please The Palate Wine of the Week: Two Shepherds 2020 Canned Wines (Bucking Luna, Maximus Piquette and Natty Pets Pet Nat)

Did you know that this week (June 21-25) is Take Your Pet to Work Week®? It is a week to celebrate our pets and one winery who celebrates their pets is Two Shepherds in Sonoma. All of the Two Shepherds wines have their various farm animals on their wine labels, as do their newest canned wine releases! Bucking Luna, Maximus Piquette and Natty Pets Pet Nat are the three canned wines  inspired by variety of animals they have on their farm. With their creative, colorful, and humorous labels, their environmental ethos, and the delicious wines inside the cans, the Two Shepherds 2020 Canned Wines are the Please The Palate wines of the week.

In 2019, Two Shepherds released their first canned wine. Wanting to make sparkling wines, William and Karen found producing sparkling wine in bottles to be cost prohibitive and not environmentally friendly. Instead, 100% recyclable and light weight, cans provide an affordable, environmentally friendly option. In 2019, they released one canned wine and in 2020, they released three.

2020 Bucking Luna Sparkling Cinsault-Carbonic Carignan – Organic ($11)

Inspired by the surprise birth of their mini baby donkey Luna Donata four days before the 2020 shelter-in-place began, the 2019 ‘Bucking Luna’ Sparkling Cinsault had the image of Luna Donata kicking Covid on the label. A year later and the 2020 Bucking Luna has Luna Donata bucking both Covid, as well as the well-deserved head of someone, “bidding farewell to all the 2020 pains in the ass”. The 2020 Bucking Luna is a sparkling blend of 53% carbonic Carignan and 47% rose of Cinsault made from organic grapes.

A bright and translucent cranberry red color, the wine has pretty red fruit aromas of rhubarb, wild strawberries, wild raspberries, and black cherry. Super fresh on the palate with a lovely mouthfeel and tart cherry on the finish, it is very easy to drink the entire can of wine.

2020 Natty Pets Pet Nat Sparkling Picpoul ($11)

Natty Pets Pet Nat is a sparkling white wine that celebrates all of the Two Shepherds pets. There are 3 goats, 3 donkeys, 2 dogs and 2 cats that make up a “natty” bunch. The wine is 100% organic Picpoul sourced from the Windmill Vineyard in Yolo County. 80% is fermented in stainless steel and 20% spends 12 days on skin contact.

Except for the name, there is nothing natty about this pet nat. The nose has notes of lemon, white peach, apple, and white flowers. A textured wine, it has a savory acidity that keeps you coming back for more sips!

2020 Maximus Piquette, Sparkling Piquette – Organic ($7)

Their small but mighty kitten Max is the inspiration for Maximus. Piquette is a traditional drink enjoyed by French and Italian vineyard workers due to its low alcohol. Made from the skins of Cinsault and carbonic Carignan grapes, Maximus is only 7% alcohol. It is a deep cranberry color and has subtle aromas of cranberry and rhubarb. The wine is bright, fresh, delicately sparkling, and dry on the palate and at only 7% alcohol, is easy to drink while sitting by the pool on a hot day!

Drink from the can or pour it in a glass, all of these wines are perfect for the summer. Canned wines are perfect for trips to the beach, hiking, camping, or any outdoor (or indoor) activity. And remember, one can is half a bottle of wine! If you have any hesitation about canned wine, try these! The Two Shepherds canned wines are tasty and fun but also organic, minimal intervention wines.