Drinking Wine Out Of A Can Is Officially Classy Thanks To Jordan Salcito

As a celebrated sommelier and founder of RAMONA, the cult favorite colorful canned wine company you've no doubt seen, sipped and loved, Jordan Salcito's life is a brilliant blur of work and pleasure.

With the height of spritz season just around the corner, we caught up with Jordan to chat everything from why organic wines are the way to go to her favorite cocktail hour snacks and more!

How did the idea for RAMONA first come about? 
For a very long time, as a non-beer drinker, I saw an obvious void in the market for a beverage that tasted delicious and met my value system in casual moments. I was always surprised, as a sommelier, that organically-farmed, ethically-sourced and additive-free beverages were essentially non-existent in a portable, single-serve format. The options always seemed to promote “fun” at the expense of everything else I believed in. I didn’t act on building the idea for RAMONA until I was on maternity leave as Beverage Director at Momofuku. The time and space from restaurants gave me the clarity to realize I was well positioned and very motivated to fill this void in the beverage world.  

Where did the name come from?
RAMONA is named after my youngest sister’s mischievous childhood alter ego (she was a big Beverly Cleary fan as a child)!

At what time of day does it officially become acceptable to pop open a can of RAMONA?
Ah, we always say RAMONA is #winewithoutrules so no judgments on my end!  Personally, I drink RAMONAs in the evenings, while prepping dinner as a casual sort of aperitivo hour.  But it’s also delightful at brunch, during the day (especially on weekends, in warmer weather!) and it’s also quite perfect as an Apres-Ski option.  

Name four reasons we should all be drinking more canned wine.

• No Velcorin! We actually moved our production to Italy because the chemical lobby in the US is so strong that they mandate the use of Velcorin - a neurotoxin - as a preservative, and it does not have to be disclosed. In Italy, we just pasteurize our cans in warm water - no secret neurotoxins in our recipe!
• All of our grapes are organically grown, which is better for you, better for the workers who farm our vineyards, and better for the planet.
• Our Dry Grapefruit is only 90 calories per can at 5% alcohol by volume, our Dry Sparkling Rose is Keto-friendly at less than 1g/sugar (the other flavors are 7% abv and 110 calories per can).
• “It’s absolutely delightful” according to The New York Times, and it is also the only canned beverage to receive recognition from The James Beard Awards as well as two Double-Gold Medals from the San Francisco International Wine Competition (e.g. RAMONA is delicious but don’t take my word for it!).

What are some things people would be shocked to learn about non-organic wines?
Non-organic wine, also known as “Conventionally Farmed,” is made with “Roundup,” or glyphosates. It’s worth knowing that Roundup is both a carcinogen and a neurotoxin, created by chemical behemoth Monsanto, and was derived from Agent Orange. In addition to killing weeds, Roundup is being linked to everything from widespread cancer to infertility. Roundup is also water-soluble, making it especially nefarious as it is ending up in our water supply.

**Another reason we produce in Italy - Italy banned the use of glyphosates in 2016, one of the first countries to do so worldwide. Other European countries are following suit, but the United States uses Roundup widely.

What's your ideal cocktail hour snack setup?
Castelvetrano olives, salted Marcona almonds, and pan con tomate with Sicilian anchovies. 

What's a fun, easy way to dress up a glass of your Blood Orange Spritz?
Add a sprig of rosemary and a blood orange wheel!

What's the toughest part of being a sommelier?
Editing the selections on a list. A good wine list should have a point of view, and every wine should serve a purpose and offer something different than every other wine.  

Dumb question, but do your wine spritzes go bad or get better with age?
All a matter of personal preference but I like ‘em fresh!  

Straw or no straw?
Eco-friendly straws, only! But personally, I drink most of my RAMONA’s over a large ice cube in my favorite Aurelie Bidermann x Paul Arnold glass. 

Ice or no ice?
A large ice cube that doesn’t melt quickly! Or if you’re on the go, straight from the can. 

If you could only drink one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Mineral water!

What are you most excited for next?
We're debuting a new flavor, the Amarino Spritz, this July - “slightly bitter,” as the name suggests in Italian. The balanced, yet slightly-bitter Italian spritzes were the main inspiration for RAMONA and I can’t wait to launch our organic, 90-calorie version.