Push that macro-lager aside, it’s time to make room in the cooler for canned wines. Though beer, hard seltzer, and cocktails traditionally rule the canned drinks space, there’s a rising number of exceptional wines hitting shelves in this format. The best part? No bottle opener or glassware required.
Similar to boxed wines, canned wines haven’t always had the best reputation. But there’s a growing incentive to embrace alternative packaging as drinkers become more aware of the environmental consequences of glass bottles. With sustainability in mind, many thoughtful producers look to cans to reduce their carbon footprint, leading to an abundance of new, high-quality options.
Some examples come from wineries like Two Shepherds in Sonoma or Prisma in Chile, which make canned wines to supplement their portfolio of bottles. But the movement toward alternative packaging has also spurred the development of companies that exclusively focus on canned wine production. Up-and-coming brands like Maker Wine and Djuce work with established winemakers to bring their already beloved wines to cans.
The increased attention to this category has seriously improved the quality of wines you can find in cans these days, and we tasted dozens to narrow it down to the absolute best. So whether you pour them into a glass or glug them straight from the can, here are 13 canned wines to drink now.
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Best Sparkling Canned Wines
Frico Lambrusco by Scarpetta
Though the summer of Lambrusco may have never arrived, it’s not a bad idea to keep a can of this fizzy red wine from Italy on hand in case the moment strikes. This expression has juicy black cherry and blackberry notes, a slight tannic grip, and is relatively low-alcohol at just 9.5 percent ABV. This wine was built to accompany a cheese and charcuterie spread.
Protector Cellars Pét-Nat Rosé
Protector Cellars is a carbon-positive winery. It sources grapes from certified sustainable vineyards and exclusively sells wines in cans. This format reduces the packaging portion of its emissions by over 60 percent. Protector Cellars’ pét-nat rosé has a lively effervescence and bright notes of red berries, white cherries, and minerals.
Two Shepherds Natty Pets Sparkling Orange Wine 2023
Sonoma’s Two Shepherds makes this playful spin on a pét-nat as an ode to the winery’s many friendly pets. The psychedelic can even features sketches of their farm’s three mini donkeys, five goats, three cats, two piglets, and two dogs. The wine is made with Picpoul — an acidic white grape common in the south of France but rarely seen stateside — with 75 percent of the grapes fermented on the skins for 10 days and the remaining 25 percent fermented in stainless steel. The result is a crisp, aromatic, and lightly sparkling orange wine with notes of green apple, pineapple, and honeysuckle. It’s wonderfully refreshing at only 10.7 percent ABV.
Best White Canned Wines
Barnard Griffin C’est Le Vin Sauvignon Blanc
This Sauvignon Blanc from Washington State is the ideal summer porch-pounder. It’s extremely light and refreshing, with soft citrus, melon, and apple notes. Looking for a canned wine to replace the pilsners in your fridge? This is a good option.
Bridge Lane Chardonnay
Long Island-based winery Bridge Lane was an early adopter of alternative packaging, offering all of its wines in bottles, cans, boxes, and even kegs since 2017. The winery’s unoaked Chardonnay showcases the crisp side of the variety, with notes of green apple, lemon, and minerals. Pair this can with oceanside seafood cookouts.
Underwood Pinot Gris
Oregon’s Union Wine Co. has long embraced the canned wine format under its Underwood label, believing that the contents are more important than the container. That comes through in this well-balanced Pinot Gris. It has notes of ripe peaches, pears, apples, and white flowers lifted by a refreshing acidity.
Best Rosé and Orange Canned Wines
Prisma Rosé
Prisma makes thoughtful wines from hand-harvested grapes grown on its estate in Chile’s Casablanca Valley. The winery’s rosé has vibrant notes of strawberries, peaches, and cream with a great texture. At 13.5 percent ABV, this isn’t the typical ultra-light rosé, but it still delivers a crisp acidity that makes it all too easy to drink.
Djuce Meinklang ‘Kontext’ Amber
Keep an eye on Djuce. This rapidly growing brand brings fun and delicious European wines to the canned format. The Europe-based company has both a core line of canned wines and a series of specialty collaborations with top producers, like this orange wine, which comes from a partnership with Austria’s famed Meinklang estate. It’s wildly aromatic on the nose, with aromas of lychee, rose, pineapple, and mango, and is juicy, tropical, and light on its feet at just 11.5 percent ABV.
Nomadica Orange
VinePair’s 2023 Next Wave Award rising drinks brand of the year Nomadica makes sommelier-approved wines more approachable with its beautifully designed cans. This skin-contact wine, made with organically farmed grapes, is bursting with floral aromatics. It has intense notes of rose petals, lychee, citrus, mango, and pineapple with a zippy acidity.
Best Red Canned Wines
Ah-So Navarra Red
This 100 percent Garnacha from a family estate in Navarra, Spain, is a fabulous food-friendly red for on-the-go pairings. The wine offers concentrated red berry notes with a hint of spice, and its refreshing acidity and subtle tannins make it the ideal partner for pizza in the park.
Broc Cellars Love Red
Broc Cellars offers Love Red as an easy-drinking, everyday wine. It’s a blend of Carignan, Syrah, Grenache Noir, and Valdiguié, each contributing to its bold, juicy flavor profile. Raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries fill the palate, while subtle tannins and lively acidity make this wine a great candidate for a slight chill.
Las Jaras Waves Red Wine 2022
It’s no surprise that the team behind everyone’s favorite Glou Glou bottling makes a delicious canned chilled red. This blend of organically grown Merlot, Zinfandel, Carignan, and Chenin Blanc from Mendocino pops with juicy cherry, citrus, and strawberry notes, and has an approachable, fruit punch-like palate.
Maker Wine Pinot Noir
Maker works with well-known winemakers across the U.S. to deliver premium wine in convenient and sustainable single-serving packaging. From a crisp Santa Barbara Albariño to a peppery and light red made from the rare Cabernet Pfeffer, the brand’s range of offerings is diverse, but this Pinot Noir from Handley Cellars in Anderson Valley, Calif., is a great place to start. It delivers the variety’s classic notes of cherries, cranberries, and baking spices, and lands on the palate with bright acidity.
