Got over screw-tops yet ... then how about some canned wine?

Lock up the wine snobs - hot on the heels of the screw-top revolution comes the news that drinkers can now crack open a tinny of wine.

Australian company Barokes is bringing wine in a can to New Zealand, claiming it will deliver "premium-quality wine" in packaging that will appeal to younger drinkers.

The cans are 250ml, compared with the standard 750ml bottle, and Barokes chief executive Greg Stokes says they will be targeted at the "can generation" - people between 18 and 39 who have grown up with ready-to-drink spirit mixes. They are on sale from the end of next month, for $5.99 each.

Mr Stokes said as well as selling its own wines in New Zealand, the company was negotiating with several major wineries and wine regions which want to license the technology, called Vinsafe.

Canned wine comes four years after the introduction of screw-top wine - a revolution traditionalists initially turned their noses up at. Now about 80 per cent of New Zealand wines sell in screw-top bottles.

Villa Maria founder George Fistonich, the first to introduce screw-tops, said he had not been approached by the can inventors. But he would have the same bottom line as he had for screw-tops - that the wine tasted just as good.

"It doesn't appeal to me personally. I like the 750ml bottle. But it is a changing market, and cans could have potential in bars or night clubs where people are wary of getting their drinks spiked."

Alcohol Advisory Council deputy chief Sandra Kirby said she would be concerned if cans were marketed so they encouraged young people to drink.

She said older drinkers might find cans useful for events such as picnics or where glass was banned.

The cans, with a special lining inside aluminium casing to protect the wine, are suitable for only some wines. The technology took nine years to develop.

Barokes, which is sold in nine markets, sells its canned wine in four varieties - a cabernet shiraz merlot, chardonnay semillon, and bubbly versions of the above two. A New Zealand distributor is still organising outlets to sell it.