Best Sangria to Buy

I am happy to say that the best Sangria doesn’t have to be made from scratch. You don’t have to cut up fruit and buy brandy and mix it all with wine and let it sit in your fridge for hours before serving it to friends in a pitcher with a spread of tapas (pronounced tah-path). Just buy the best bottled Sangria. Seriously, it’s just as good. 

But don’t just grab for any store bought Sangria. We tasted five Sangria brands and found three that made the cut. 

How we tasted the bottled Sangria

We chilled the Sangria down in the fridge, poured it into glasses, and sipped. We didn’t add any fruit. We didn’t pair it with any food. We simply tasted the Sangria from little paper cups. 

What we looked for in the best bottled Sangria

We wanted bottled Sangria that tasted like something you’d get from a restaurant: fruity, a bit sweet, but balanced with tannic, bold red wine. We didn’t want something that tasted like straight juice. Nor did we just want chilled red wine. The appeal of Sangria is how the flavors of fruit transform red wine into something summery and chuggable. If a bottled Sangria could do that without the need for actual fruit? That puts it in the running for the best Sangria to buy. 

Best bottled Sangria, ranked

Best Cheap Sangria

Rancho Alto Sangria

Instacart

You can get a 750ml bottle of this Sangria for just $6. That’s wild—especially considering how good it actually tastes. Is it as good as fresh Sangria from a fancy restaurant? No. But it is as good as the Sangria I’d get from the all-you-can-drink Sangria place I used to go to in New York City’s Upper West Side. It’s generically fruity, though it leans apple-y. And there’s a good tannic finish from the wine. If you’re looking for the best Sangria to buy on a budget, grab a bottle or two of Rancho Alto.

Credit: Merc / Instacart

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Runner-Up

De la Costa Sangria

Total Wine

Ever since trying this bottled Sangria for the first time for this taste test, I’ve started to see it everywhere—restaurants, grocery stores, my fridge. And that’s a good thing, because this really is some of the best Sangria in a bottle that you can get—and it’s a great bottle, at that. I love a re-sealable swing top cap! Bottle design aside, the Sangria itself is delicious. It’s rich and tannic and really red wine forward. If you think Sangria is often too fruity, this is the best premade Sangria for you.

Credit: Merc / Total Wine

Rating:

9.5/10

Sporks

Best of the Best

Real Sangria

Total Wine

If we’re talking about flavor alone, then Real Sangria and De la Costa Sangria are tied for the best Sangria to buy. And they’re about the same in cost, too. But Real Sangria is available in a big 1.5L jug as well as a 3L box and that gives it an edge, making it the best store bought Sangria. It’s ever so slightly fruitier than De la Costa Sangria. And, again, you can get a lot of it.

Credit: Merc / Total Wine

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

Other bottled Sangria brands we tried: 

• Franzia Sangria
• Carlo Rossi Sangria