Suntory Launches White Wine Sour "<Shiro no> Akadama Punch"

Suntory, one of Japan’s major beverage makers, launched a canned white wine sour, “ Akadama Punch”, in Japan on 13 October 2026. The new product joins the existing “Akadama Punch” series and is based on the company’s sweet wine “Akadama Sweet Wine White”. It comes in a 350 ml can with an alcohol content of 5%, and is sold at an “open price”, meaning the manufacturer does not set a recommended retail price. The Japan Food Journal (Nihon Shokuryo Shimbun) reported the news on 3 October.

A Sweet Wine Mixed with Sparkling Water in a Can

In Japan, a “sour” is a light, easy-drinking canned drink or cocktail made by mixing a spirit, wine or other alcohol with fruit juice or sparkling water. Canned sours, readily available at convenience stores and supermarkets, are a staple of drinking at home in Japan, and each company launches new flavours every season. What sets this new product apart is that it is built on wine rather than a distilled spirit. For European readers, it is easiest to think of it as a spritzer, wine mixed with sparkling water, in a can.

Substantial Body and a Clean Sweetness

According to the manufacturer, the aim is to combine two qualities: the substantial body that is characteristic of wine, and a clean, refreshing sweetness. The aroma is described as fruity, with white grapes to the fore. At 5%, the alcohol content is roughly the same as that of an ordinary beer, so it is designed to be lighter to drink than a glass of wine. By using a sweet wine as the base, the product appears to aim for an approachable, dessert-like taste, quite different from a dry spritzer.

What Japan’s Canned Drinks Market Reveals

In Japan, rather than opening a bottle of wine as an everyday habit, more people are enjoying wine casually from a can. A sour with wine at its heart can be seen as an attempt to draw people who like the aroma and sweetness of grapes to canned-drink shelves that are dominated by beer and highballs. The fact that a major manufacturer is using its own classic wine to propose a new style offers a useful insight into product development in the Japanese alcohol industry.

The product is currently on sale in Japan only, and no plans for sales in Europe have been announced. Even so, the taste is easy to recreate at home. Pour chilled sweet white wine into a glass with ice and top it up with roughly the same amount of sparkling water, and you have a light, lower-strength drink. The next time you see a canned sour in a Japanese grocery shop, it is worth checking what the base spirit is. It shows how Japan’s canned drinks interpret an everyday ingredient such as wine.