What's cooking this week: Is Bonang's bubbly in tins worth trying?

Adding a sparkle to life, effervescent celeb and businesswoman Bonang Matheba is full of surprises. Her latest is a new addition to her top-selling bubbly brand, House of BNG. Called Nectar, it's a duo of sparkling wines in cans.

Nectar Blanc and Nectar Rosé are NOT to be confused with spritzer — a wine mixed with sparkling water — these are the real thing. They were crafted together with acclaimed Cape Wine Master Jeff Grier.

In writing this on a hot deadline day, I crave a bubbly break on the patio. I’m visualising sipping ice-cold Nectar Rosé in a beautiful Champagne flute — what a good sparkling wine deserves. It would be convenient not to have to open a whole bottle just to enjoy a glass or two.

The tins would also work well for a picnic or a BYOB get-together with friends. Does one really need an occasion?

The only niggle, for me, is that the ceremony of drinking champers is an occasion. People come together to pop the cork and watch as the froth of bubbles rise to the top, then there’s the rush to fill the flutes so as not to waste a drop, and finally the all-important toast. Opening a can just doesn’t fit this scenario.

That said, this is no ordinary can. Nectar comes packaged four 250ml tins to a box, which for all the world could be a designer handbag. This four-pack is available from Woolworths for R199, so that’s R50 bucks a pop. Worth it? Yes, just for the fun of it.

PS. Don't forget that tomorrow, Friday, is your last chance to get some bubbly for the weekend under the current Covid alcohol restrictions.   

Here’s what else has been cooking in the world of food, wine — and our food editor's kitchen — this week: