Happy New Year!

December 31, 2005 10:56 AM

"Champagne" in a can. An offer you can refuse?
posted by CunningLinguist (65 comments total)

Not just champagne, "Sofia" in a can.

The jokes write themselves.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 10:58 AM on December 31, 2005

Be careful not to let the pop top hit you in the eye.
posted by StickyCarpet at 11:00 AM on December 31, 2005

Champagne comes from Champagne.
posted by Protocols of the Elders of Awesome at 11:00 AM on December 31, 2005

Yeah, Sofia is a blanc de blancs. Also, Sofia Mini isn't new; It was definitely around last year.
posted by amarynth at 11:07 AM on December 31, 2005

Do you have Sofia in a can? Better let her out! BWahahaha!
posted by furtive at 11:10 AM on December 31, 2005

Champagne comes from Champagne.

I think that fact got lost in translation.
posted by Rothko at 11:14 AM on December 31, 2005

Nice one.
posted by CunningLinguist at 11:14 AM on December 31, 2005

In a can? Finally, something that will fit in my car's cupholder.
posted by geoff. at 11:14 AM on December 31, 2005

I don't know about Sofia in a can but I seem to remember something about Helena in a box.

Without the characteristic "pop" of the cork, isn't it just sparkling wine? Its alot less celebratory if there's little chance of hitting someone in the eye with a flying cork.
posted by fenriq at 11:15 AM on December 31, 2005

Finally, rednecks can now celebrate the new year, and begin slowly working their way out of the mid-1900s.
posted by Rothko at 11:20 AM on December 31, 2005

Champagne in the can? Why not -- I already hide vodka bottles in the toilet.

Nobody's gonna make me stop drinking.
posted by maxsparber at 11:20 AM on December 31, 2005

Mmmm...Champagne in a can.
posted by slow, man at 11:21 AM on December 31, 2005

Cheap champagne is NOT worth drinking.

It's like smoking fabric hemp for a buzz.

Buy something GOOD or get wine instead.
posted by HTuttle at 11:24 AM on December 31, 2005

Cheap champagne has little to do with taste and mostly to do with getting laid, IMHO.
posted by bardic at 11:32 AM on December 31, 2005

How do you know it's not good - why not try it and then comment?
posted by evilelvis at 11:32 AM on December 31, 2005

"They want to demystify wine."

And then, cold fusion.
posted by Gator at 11:35 AM on December 31, 2005

from here:

Answer: Persons who drink beer with a straw are possibly already drunk, obiter dictum. It is indeed correct that when you drink beer with a straw you get drunk faster compared to when you drink beer in a regular way. When creating a vacuum while sucking on the straw, the boiling point of alcohol drops (in normal circumstances 79 degrees Centigrade) and alcohol vapours are created in the straw. These vapours are inhaled in the lungs, and via that way the alcohol gets into the blood much faster than the alcohol that ends up in the stomach by drinking it the normal way.
Moreover, beer gets into the mouth by means of a straw in very narrow jets, as a result of which it has a larger surface in the oral cavity. As a result of this more alcohol can evaporate before it is swallowed. The palate (with a loot of blood circulation inside) already absorbs part of the alcohol vapours. Also this is a shorter way for the alcohol to get into the blood and to make you drunk faster.

I can see the point of promoting Sophia as a chick drink.
posted by MonkeySaltedNuts at 11:37 AM on December 31, 2005

ah, Ms. Sophia Soppola must be so proud.
posted by shmegegge at 11:39 AM on December 31, 2005

COPPOLA. christ.
posted by shmegegge at 11:39 AM on December 31, 2005

it sounds like an alcopop for teens.
posted by amberglow at 11:51 AM on December 31, 2005

Shocking fact about Coppola's wines: they're generally delicious, and a bargain. I have no idea if Sofia's any good, but his other wines are just fine.
posted by digaman at 11:52 AM on December 31, 2005

COPPOLA. christ.

(Psst....no more can champagne for shmegegge.)
posted by HTuttle at 11:52 AM on December 31, 2005

Cheap champagne is NOT worth drinking.

From the article our paper ran this morning on Sofia (marketing buzz anyone?), this stuff is $5 per 6oz can, so a few mefites seem to be confused as to its target market.
posted by Wingy at 12:01 PM on December 31, 2005

No drinking the bubbly till you're comfortable popping the cork, I say.
posted by tula at 12:02 PM on December 31, 2005

Ok, upon looking, same article.
posted by Wingy at 12:03 PM on December 31, 2005

I believe that's pronounced, "sham-paggn."

and "less expensive"?! christ. I can get an amazing cava or prosecco for $8. if these things were $1/can then that might be worth it. but still probably not.

also, haven't they tried this marketing ploy every new year's eve for the last few years?
posted by dorian at 12:04 PM on December 31, 2005

I am a dedicated fan of Coppola's regular wines, but the Sophia in a can is fairly nasty. The wife and I snuck two cans into a movie on our anniversary. Who says romance is dead?
posted by daveleck at 12:08 PM on December 31, 2005

The wife and I snuck two cans into a movie on our anniversary

see now that I have no problem with. and yeah, coppola made a rosé last year that I was drinking all this summer and it was damned tastey.
posted by dorian at 12:15 PM on December 31, 2005

I bought some of this at trader joe's but they were mispriced and only cost $2.50 a 4-pack... so i bought 2. I gave them away as christmas presents.
posted by cusack at 12:21 PM on December 31, 2005

"It's a very cool presentation of a decent wine," said Maria Elena Gutierrez, 28, sipping Sofia at Mie N Yu, a swanky Georgetown club full of handsome young people in dark clothes.

Well then sign me up for a box, er, hexagon.
posted by A dead Quaker at 12:50 PM on December 31, 2005

It seems something that would adequately complement Ritz crackers covered in spray cheese.

Also, why is sold in a hexagon if there are only four per pack?
posted by clevershark at 1:11 PM on December 31, 2005

I'd try it just for novelty's sake, but then, I'm not much on champagne anyway, even though I've drunk the allegedly good stuff.
posted by alumshubby at 1:23 PM on December 31, 2005

ah, Ms. Sophia Soppola must be so proud.
...
COPPOLA. christ.

SOFIA. christ.

I know a Sofia who was given one of these a couple of days ago. She declared it "vile".

If you're really jonzin' for alcohol, I guess you could spike egg nog with it...
posted by Aknaton at 1:33 PM on December 31, 2005

Champagne is a trademark, I guess thats agreed by all. It can only be made from three grapes - Chardonnay, Pinot Noir & Petit Meunier - and only in the Champagne region. Anything made by the champagne method (we're not even allowed to call it methode champenoise anymore, god forbid!) - is sparkling wine. Plain & simple - trade protectionism sadly trumps customary nomenclature, I'm afraid.

As you probably all know - England produces the best sparkling wine in the world. Hahaha!

I know, I found it unbelievable too!
posted by dash_slot- at 1:33 PM on December 31, 2005

It's not at all bad champagne, and it's much easier to sneak into a movie theater than a full bottle. We took some to see King Kong because we were celebrating some Big Life Decisions.

I bet you people laugh at Bonny Doon vineyards for producing wines with screw caps too.
posted by freebird at 1:37 PM on December 31, 2005

"You're drinking champagne out of a can with a straw. It's different. So you're different," Bennani explained. "What's in the can almost doesn't matter."

There you go.
posted by languagehat at 1:39 PM on December 31, 2005

Shouldn't this actually be called Canpagne?
posted by fenriq at 2:12 PM on December 31, 2005

I seem to remember something about Helena in a box.

Isn't she normally found in a handbasket?
posted by George_Spiggott at 2:23 PM on December 31, 2005

I bet you people laugh at Bonny Doon vineyards for producing wines with screw caps too.

There's nothing like the tone of a waiter when he asks "shall I unscrew it for you?"
posted by clevershark at 2:50 PM on December 31, 2005

clevershark writes "There's nothing like the tone of a waiter when he asks 'shall I unscrew it for you?'"

I've actually been served a Bonny Doon wine from a corked bottle in a restaurant. I imagine some restaurants just insist on it, so they've gotta supply it....
posted by mr_roboto at 3:01 PM on December 31, 2005

Coppola anagram for alcopop!
posted by Merlin at 3:04 PM on December 31, 2005

Nice packaging and name not sure about drinking champagne from a can though.
posted by Chimp at 3:05 PM on December 31, 2005

So begins the Rapture.
posted by rob511 at 3:05 PM on December 31, 2005

merlin! : >
posted by amberglow at 3:17 PM on December 31, 2005

i've had it - about a year ago at a dive where some garage band was gigging. the bar was handing it out free. it's great if you like your bubbly sweet and tinny. i opted to pay for better booze.
posted by lapolla at 3:26 PM on December 31, 2005

Well, I did go out and scout the three liquor stores within 5 blocks of here, including the one that had a big display of this about 7 months ago. No luck.

They said "Oh, I wish I could get my hands on that!"
posted by StickyCarpet at 3:31 PM on December 31, 2005

Champagne comes from Champagne.

Le Champagne comes from la Champagne
posted by StickyCarpet at 3:42 PM on December 31, 2005

I'm not a big fan of Champagne, or sparkling white wines for that matter, but I tried this earlier in the year and thought it was pretty decent. The portability makes it nice for picnics or drinking in other public places; the can looks like it contains an especially girly energy drink, so no one's the wiser.
posted by lunalaguna at 4:27 PM on December 31, 2005

Finally, rednecks can now celebrate the new year, and begin slowly working their way out of the mid-1900s.
posted by Rothko


as a redneck i find that remark terribly rude sir. ;)
posted by nola at 4:57 PM on December 31, 2005

Just bought some--strictly as a novelty, you understand. We'll have to do a blind taste-test with the other (equally cheap) sparkling wine I bought.
posted by sacrilicious at 5:05 PM on December 31, 2005

It is indeed correct that when you drink beer with a straw you get drunk faster

Hmmmmmm. Assuming a 6" straw, a vacuum of about 9mmHg from ambient pressure is required to drink ethanol. This results in boiling point change 0.3C (78.3 to 78.0) and at a frosty beer/Sofia temperature of 4C would still require an additional 735mmHg vacuum to achieve the vapour presure (the point at which ethanol will boil at 4C). I'm guessing that the reason people get drunk more quickly while drinking from straws is that they drink a greater volume in a shorter period of time.
posted by area45 at 5:13 PM on December 31, 2005

Would be perfect for making Mimosa's on the go.

Sign me up.
posted by Ynoxas at 5:39 PM on December 31, 2005

Sometimes you just want cheap booze in a can. Deny it all you want, but it's true.
posted by _sirmissalot_ at 6:24 PM on December 31, 2005

In Australia the snobbery about screw-top wine is diminished by the fact that many wines, both white and red, come with screw-tops. They seem to have replaced the plastic corks that have been common recently.

As lager beer tastes better from the bottle, I would be supprised if sparkling wine was not similar in this regard.

Good on RidgeView, must check some out!
'RidgeView’s Merret sparkling wines are named after the 16th century Englishman Christopher Merret who recorded making traditional method sparkling wine in London with the Royal Society 30 years before Dom Perignon in Champagne.'

I have idly wondered what a mimosa was since being introduced to it via US comedy-dramas with homosexual characters. So it's Bucks Fizz, or Babycham to those of us who remember the 80's. Another mystery solved thanks to those pesky kids at Metafilter.
posted by asok at 7:52 PM on December 31, 2005

I have idly wondered what a mimosa was since being introduced to it via US comedy-dramas with homosexual characters.

I have been told that "mimosa" means "I don't want to wait until noon to get hammered."
posted by mek at 3:29 AM on January 1, 2006

Yeah, Sofia is a blanc de blancs.

Isn't blanc de blancs 100% Chardonay grapes? This is a blend.
posted by fixedgear at 4:06 AM on January 1, 2006

In Australia the snobbery about screw-top wine is diminished...

They have snobbery in Australia?? I thought the whole point of Australia was not having to put up with snobs.

By the way, if any of you (like myself) can't afford the real thing, I highly recommend the cheap fake-champagne made by these guys; we had it last night and it was newyearlicious.
posted by languagehat at 4:44 AM on January 1, 2006

We buy Sofia all the time, and absolutely recommend it. It's really tasty. We love sparkling wine, but it's hard to pound a full bottle without actually setting out to do so: with the single serving cans, there's no guilt popping one open on a Thursday morning with OJ and waffles.

Plus, there's a bendy straw attached to each can! Who doesn't like straws? Commies, that's who.
posted by eamondaly at 7:29 AM on January 1, 2006

I seem to remember something about Helena in a box.

Isn't she normally found in a handbasket?

Helena is in Montana.
posted by blue_beetle at 8:13 AM on January 1, 2006

Dosen't anybody remember this stuff?



I saw some of the "pink" flavor at a liquor store in a strip mall in Bridgeport, CT a few years back. The radio happened to be tuned to an oldies station and was playing "Baker Street." I almost ran outside to make sure I hadn't fell into some sort of wormhole.
posted by jonmc at 9:03 AM on January 1, 2006

Don't blame hyperdimensional physics where a simple blackout will suffice as an explanation.
posted by Rothko at 11:19 AM on January 1, 2006

Wow, that Champale shit looks nasty.

And yes, even though the label states otherwise, Sofia is not technically Blanc de Blancs; the article states that it's a blend of pinot blanc, sauvignon blanc, and muscat canelli. Though I doubt that the darkly-dressed hipsters to whom this is marketed care.
posted by youarenothere at 1:59 PM on January 1, 2006

No Prince Albert?
posted by Smedleyman at 12:37 PM on January 2, 2006

Over the past few years manufacturers of "sparkiling wine" have been targeting a market -- women, and particularly those who are interested in fashion. At many of the major fashion shows (Paris, New York) models have been enjoying the "bubbly," sipping it through straws, often from "splits" and "mini-bottles."

Pommery was one of the first to come out with a product targeted at this demographic -- Pop. Niebaum - Coppola was soon to follow.
posted by ericb at 8:35 PM on January 2, 2006

Pop is worthless with a straw - the straw keeps floating to the top (and falls out). Just guzzle it.
posted by dabitch at 4:43 AM on January 3, 2006