If there’s any uncertainty that packaged wines should have their place at the dinner table let’s get real — canned wine is just as good as the bottled stuff.
In addition, canned wine is a picnic basket perfect. Unlike the usual glass bottles, cans are portable and non-breakable. There are some impressive options out there that will quickly get you on board with the trend.
Portability is the biggest advantage here: There’s no fear of broken bottles, needing the corkscrew, or avoiding beaches and parks that ban glass. The aluminum cans impart no residual taste, and really good canned wines are nearly indistinguishable from their bottled counterparts.
We all know there is more variety in the glass bottle category, but canned wine is typically more affordable, portable and you don’t have to worry about it going to waste if you only want a glass or two. If you don’t know where to start on your canned wine journey, these 7 brands are a sure bet.
Here are our picks of the best-canned wines available in no particular order.
1. Underwood Rosé
Portland-based Union Wine Company has the coolest packaging. The fact that it’s a great tasting rosé that will convince you of the drink’s post-summer potential.
Rosé tends to either be cloyingly sweet and overly fruity or smooth with a touch of sweetness — Underwood Rosé is the latter.
Sophisticated without being pretentious, this is a great wine to bring to a housewarming party with you want to impress, toss in your bag for a picnic, or even rock out with at a concert. Basically, a wine made for what the company calls, “action lounging.”
2. Dark Horse Pinot Grigio
Dark Horse may very well make one of the best-canned wines — rose, white, or red. This specific varietal, the 2018 pinot grigio, earned a 92-point rating by wine review online in March 2020. This California white wine is crisp and clean with tart apple and juicy citrus notes.
3. House Wine Chardonnay
This isn’t your mom’s oaky chardonnay. House Wine makes one of the best-canned wines with this vintage, which smells of apple and citrus and has notes of peach, pear, and toasty vanilla.
This dry red blend is filled with fruity flavors like berries and dried fruit, with a hint of pepper to add some depth. It’s got about 12.5% ABV per can and pairs well with both plates of pasta and cheese, great for those summer picnics you’ve got planned.
4. Ramona
Jordan Salcito knows her wine. As an award-winning sommelier, she oversaw the beverage program for Momofuku and passed the Eleven Madison Park Master Sommelier blind tasting exam on her first try.
She launched Ramona in 2016 to bring quality, organic RTD beverages to the masses with the philosophy that even life’s most casual moments deserve to be delicious. And the price is right – at $20 for a pack of four, Ramona cans are the most affordable on this list.
5. Una Lou Rose
Will Whelan, certified sommelier and vice president of wine at Winestyr, lists Una Lou Rose from Scribe Winery in California as his favorite canned wine for its “summer vibe.” The rose of pinot noir is “super high toned with bright wild strawberry aromatics” and pairs with anything, he says.
6. Cool Cat
Cool Cat isn’t a regular wine spritzer — it’s a cool wine spritzer. Cooler than the kinds typically seen at college dorm parties of yore, and certainly cooler than anything that was canned up in the Nineties. This is wine’s answer to hard seltzer, a bubbly mix that’s light on ABV (a respectable 6.9% ABV), but brings in bold flavors, all in one extremely sippable 12 oz package.
7. Las Jaras Wines Waves
You might know Eric Wareheim for his sense of humor, but his love for food and wine can’t be denied. So he founded Las Jaras with winemaker Joel Burt, and their wines are some of the most delicious on this list.
Their yearly Waves release is a collection of three canned wine blends – a white, a red, and a rosé – with eye-catching labels from optical artist Jen Stark.
These cans will impress even the most discerning connoisseurs, and we love them paired with a great meal or simply enjoyed solo anytime the mood strikes.
