Canned wine has come a long way. There was a time when I would have turned my nose up at a can of wine. Those days are long gone. Now, the best canned wine can go head to head with the best bottled wine! Okay, that’s not quite true. But it certainly can hold its own against reasonably priced bottles you can find at your local Target.
This taste test brought me home. I come from Sonoma County—California’s superior wine country—so wine is in my blood. It certainly was after this taste test, at least. (Just kidding, we are very responsible when it comes to tasting alcohol in the office.) I admit I can be a bit of a wine snob, but only regarding good tasting wine. I firmly believe that you do not have to pay a ton of money for a great wine. (That said, if Chateau Yquem or Dom Perrignon wanted to send me some samples for consideration, please do reach out.) So, I was looking for wine that tasted good, plain and simple. It didn’t need to be layered and complex. It didn’t need to have nuanced tannins after spending six months on the lees. All it needed to do was not taste like soda or carbonated juice. It needed to taste like good wine that you could drink from a can or pour into a glass and enjoy without thinking that you were settling for subpar swill.
Focusing on nationally available brands, we cracked open 20 different cans in search of the very best wine in a can. We’re talking canned sparkling wine (for those special but not that special occasions where you can’t have glass), canned red wine, canned rosé wine, and canned white wine—we found the best canned Chardonnay. Here are the best canned wines to buy at the grocery store.
- House Wine Rosé
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If you have fond memories of Franzia’s Chillable Red, perhaps from your college days, then you will really enjoy this fruity, berry-forward canned rosé wine. This does not taste like a light and dry Provencal rosé. Instead, you’re getting more of a new world-style rosé—think: Chile, South Africa, Oregon. It’s rich and bold, and the best wine in a can for sipping on the lawn at some outdoor performance.
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- House Wine Rosé Bubbles
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This sparkling canned rosé wine is fruity at first but ends crisp and dry. The bubbles are extremely small and delicate. For me, this is the best sparkling wine in a can to pair with a cheeseboard. It’s a little too dry to drink on its own, but sipped with a creamy brie or tangy cheddar? Now that’s living.
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- House Wine Chardonnay
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If you like a buttery, oaky Napa Chardonnay, then this is the best canned Chardonnay for you. Don’t worry, it doesn’t go overboard with those oaky notes. Over-oaked Chards give me an instant headache, but this one was an easy sipper for me. The buttery flavor is balanced with some bright lemony notes, so you can keep on drinking without getting overloaded with oak.
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- Sofia Blanc de Blancs
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This is certainly the best canned wine if you’re concerned with packaging. Each tiny, adorable, bright magenta can comes with its very own straw so you can drink it without messing up your lipstick. Okay, it’s not the most environmentally friendly packaging, to be sure, but it really is fun to drink sparkling wine through a little straw. This is also the sparkling wine in a can that came the closest to tasting like a Champagne-style sparkling. It smells very toasty (like classic Champers) and tastes zingy and zesty with delectably small bubbles.
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- Underwood Pinot Gris
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If you go for Sauvignon Blancs or Pinot Grigios, then this is the best wine in a can for you. It’s slatey and flinty. It’s dry and lime-zesty. It’s crisp and clean and citrusy. But it has some heft to it as well. It smells almost like fall spices. It’s the best canned wine to drink on a brisk fall day. Take a walk around the neighborhood with this wine in a can and admire the changing leaves. (Don’t tell the cops I told you to drink in public.)
Credit: Merc / Total Wine
- House Wine Red Blend
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A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, this red blend is deep, dark, and rich with notes of black raspberries and currants. Even though it’s on the heavier side, its fruitiness means it can be served chilled or at room temperature. So it’s some of the best canned wines to take camping when refrigeration is hard to come by but there may be the option of chilling the can in a stream. If you like fruitier red wines—especially Merlot—this is the best wine in a can for your palate.
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- Underwood Pinot Noir
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I really love this wine. I’m a sucker for minerally red wines that are better out of the fridge and that’s exactly what this canned red wine is. It has a lot of rich cherry flavors on top of that wet stone flavor. (It’s a good thing in wine, really.) This is the can of wine I’ll be taking along on picnics or cracking in my evening shower when it’s been a long day and I just really need some time to myself. Hey, other toddler parents, I know you get me!
Credit: Merc / Total Wine
- Underwood The Bubbles
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The fact that this canned sparkling wine comes in such a big can is dangerous. It is very, very drinkable. If you like Cava or Prosecco, then this is definitely the best sparkling wine in a can for you. But even if you aren’t typically a sparkling wine drinker, I think you’ll enjoy this one. It has the slightest toastiness and hint of lemony tang. It’s perfectly balanced and it simply goes down real easy. It’s the best canned wine to have on hand for pretty much any occasion. Pizza? Totally. Beach day? For sure. Engagement? Why not? Stock up and never be far from the best canned wines again.
Credit: Merc / Total Wine
Best Rosé
Best Sparkling Rosé
Best Chardonnay
Best Champagne-Style
Best White Wine
Best Fruity Red
Best Light Red
Best of the Best
Other canned wines we tried: House Wine Brut Bubbles, Bonterra Bubbles Brut, Sofia Brut Rosé, 14 Hands Unicorn Rose Bubbles, Out Spoken Bubbly Rosé, Avaline Rosé Wine, Archer Roose Rose, Out Sporken Rosé, Dark Horse Rosé, Underwood Rosé, Out Spoken Pinot Grigio, Dark Horse Pinot Grigio
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!