NICE wine boxes

During December we've been trying one of the newly launched wine boxes from London-based, female-led wine startup, NICE.

NICE began producing wine in a can in 2019 – at first offering a pale rosé and a Sauvignon Blanc in recyclable cans, then adding a Malbec to the range a year later.

The company is now the fastest-growing canned wine brand in the UK, with the red, white and rosé varieties stocked in major supermarkets.

NICE wine was also served up at over 65 festivals during 2021, as well as being supplied to Wimbledon Tennis, Chelsea FC, Lords Cricket Ground and The Brighton Fringe.

The new trio of boxes features the same delicious wines and offers the flexibility and convenience of having wine on tap.

Each box is equivalent to three bottles and lasts longer than bottled wine, as the packaging keeps it airtight to prevent oxidisation. This means that the wine will stay fresh for six weeks – great if you only want an occasional glass or two, as it avoids wasting wine from half-consumed bottles.

We were sent the pale rosé to try – a delicious, crisp wine from near Montpellier in the Languedoc region of the south of France. This was one of the nicest rosés we've had: dry and refreshing, with a beautiful colour and an aroma of sun-kissed fruit. It's the sort of wine that can be enjoyed on its own or with a range of dishes – we found it to be fantastic with spicy food and fish.

The wine stays fresh for six weeks, but we drank it all in three! It was indeed fresh until the last drop – with no diminishing of flavour or nasty aftertaste developing. In comparison, we usually find bottled wine no good after a week – even when it's had the air pumped out of the bottle.

We love the eco-credentials of these wine boxes. The box can be recycled in the cardboard section of your recycling bin, and the bag inside can be recycled along with supermarket bags and other filmy plastics. All NICE wines are also vegan.

And, refreshingly, NICE is a female-powered brand – 90% of the team are women.

We will certainly be ordering the NICE pale rosé wine again – and are looking forward to trying it al-fresco in warmer weather, perhaps with a picnic.

We're also keen to try the other varieties – a Sauvignon Blanc from the Cotes de Gascogne region of France, and a medium-bodied Argentinian Malbec from the Mendoza region.

NICE wines is a brand to watch, and we'll be following the company's progress with interest. Given the excellent quality of the French rosé we tried, we'd particularly like to see a European red added to the range.

For more information about NICE wine boxes and cans, including gifting options, visit www.nice-drinks.co.uk.