Summer is in the air, which can mean only one thing: it’s picnic time! So for all your al fresco sipping needs, we’ve rounded up the best canned wines out there.

This category has come on in leaps and bounds even since we last looked at it. There are now specialist companies such as Canvino, Kiss of Wine and the aptly named Canned Wine Company. There are some wines below that are genuinely superb, not just nice for swigging in the sunshine.

And why not? Canned wines aren’t just for picnics, taking on trains and festivals. Cans are handy for when you might fancy just a glass of something nice midweek rather than open a bottle. We’re just catching up with the Americans who have long been putting quality wines in cans. It helps that canning technology has improved hugely in recent years. You’re not going to get any odd metallic tastes.

Cans can be better for the environment, too. They weigh less and tend to be recycled more than glass. Most of these wines will have been transported in bulk to Britain before being canned over here which saves massively on energy.

A quick word on stockists. We’ve put in retailers including supermarkets but you can buy many of these wines direct from the producer, too, which is worth thinking about if you’re buying in bulk. We tasted each sample out of a glass and straight from the can. The sweeter, simpler wines tended to taste better well chilled out of a can whereas for the more complex ones, especially the reds, it’s worth pouring them into a proper glass.

More like this

For more, visit our reviews section and find more than 400 practical buyer's guides, taste tests of gin, vodka and more. For more summer drinks inspiration, read our round-ups of the best canned cocktails, best bottled cocktails and best rosé.

Best canned wines to buy at a glance

  • Best premium canned red: Coppola Pinot Noir, £7.20/250ml
  • Best premium canned white: Canned Wine Co. Viognier 2020, £5.99/250ml
  • Best premium canned rosé: Djuce Bibich Syrah rosé 2021, £24/3 x 250ml
  • Best crisp white wine: Kiss of Wine Sauvignon Blanc Crisp, £4.75/250ml
  • Best beaujolais: Château des Moriers Miss Vicky 'O Joie' Fleurie, £5/250ml
  • Best garnacha: Kanvas Garnacha Negra, £4.99/250ml
  • Best canned rosé: Bowl Grabber rosé, £4/250ml
  • Best canned sparkling rosé: The Uncommon Bubbly rosé wine, £18.99/4 x 250ml
  • Best canned sparkling white: Canvino Bianco, £2.50/200ml
  • Best chilled red: Vinca Organic red wine, £3.30/187ml

Best canned wines to buy 2023

Coppola Pinot Noir

Coppola canned pinot noir

Best premium red

Coppola, yes the film director chap, has gone big with canned wines and this one was extremely impressive. There’s a maraschino cherry type note on the nose and then on the palate it’s ripe, spicy and aromatic. Really classic Californian pinot noir but with the alcohol under control at 13.5%.

Available from:
Vine Can Can (£7.20/250ml)

Canned Wine Co. Viognier 2020

Canned Wine Viognier

Best premium canned white

It was a hard task just picking one from the Canned Wine Co. line-up as everything is so good. Viognier is a tricky grape to get right as it can either be bland or overblown, but this is pitch-perfect with ripe apricot fruit and honey balanced by a fresh acidity. I’d also highly recommend the St. Laurent Austrian red.

Available from:
Novel Wines (£5.99/25oml)

Djuce Bibich Syrah rosé 2021

Djuce Syrah canned wine

Best premium canned rosé

You can probably tell from the can that this is going to be a bit unusual. It’s an organic wine from Croatia and as long as you don't compare it with Provence then you’ll enjoy it. The smell is very spicy and woody with notes of red cherry and rhubarb. There’s a little tannin on the palate with heady notes of rose petal, orange peel and mint.

Available from:
Newcomer Wines (from £24/4 x 250ml)

Kiss of Wine Sauvignon Blanc Crisp

Crisp Kiss of Wine

Best crisp white wine

Kiss of Wine is another canned wine specialist with strength in depth. I particularly enjoyed this Loire sauvignon blanc with its crisp nettle and citrus notes. It’s very much in a restrained sancerre-esque style and would be delightful with a splash of cassis in it.

Available from:
Kiss of Wine (£4.75/250ml)

Château des Moriers Miss Vicky 'O Joie' Fleurie

Fleurie canned wine

Best Beaujolais

Beaujolais (and especially Fleurie) makes the best picnic wine: it goes with everything and tastes great both cool and at room temperature. I couldn’t quite believe how good this was for the price, equivalent to £15 a bottle, with its crunchy raspberry fruit and rocky mineral edge. This is unusually sophisticated for something from a can.

Available from:
EW Wines (£5/250ml)

Kanvas Garnacha Negra

Kanvas Garnacha

Best Garnacha

There are a lot of Spanish garnachas (aka grenache) available in cans, probably because it’s such a good source of high-quality cheap wine. This was particularly impressive: it’s bursting with ripe raspberry fruit with a floral orange blossom quality. You could probably drink this chilled, though watch out for the 14.5% ABV.

Available from:
Vin Van Can (£4.99/250ml)

The Bowl Grabber rosé

Bowl Grabber

Best canned rosé

Canned pinks seem to be another popular choice. There were quite a few to choose from but this was the pick of the bunch. It’s a blend of cinsault, grenache and syrah from the south of France and with its ripe peachy fruit and saline edge it does everything you want Provence rosé to do. Perfect summer sipping.

Available from:
Vin Can Can (£4.50/250ml)
Ocado (£4/250ml)

The Uncommon Bubbly rosé wine

The Uncommon bubbly

Best sparkling rosé

The Uncommon is a specialist canned wine company that sources its wines from southern England. Everything it does is delightful, like this sparkling pinot noir with its delicate cherry fruit seasoned with herbs and orange peel, all topped off with a light fizz. It shows just how good English sparkling wine can be.

Available from:
Waitrose (£18.99/4 x 250ml)

Canvino Bianco

Canvino Bianco

Best sparkling white

A prosecco-style wine which is much nicer than any proseccos I’ve had at the price, equivalent to just under £10 a bottle. This is made in northern Italy from a blend of chardonnay and trebbiano grapes producing a crisp, zingy lightly sparkling wine with a zingy finish and only 10.5% alcohol.

Available from:
Tesco (£2.50/125ml)

Vinca Organic red wine

Vinca canned wine

Best chilled red

This is a blend of two of Sicily’s best grapes, nero d'avola and frappato, grown organically in the west of the island. Drink it chilled to appreciate the ripe strawberry and pomegranate notes. It would be especially nice with a tuna and orange salad. Vinca also makes a white and a rosé which are well worth trying.

Available from:
Abel & Cole (£3.30/187ml)

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This review was last updated in May 2023. If you have any questions or suggestions for future reviews, or spot anything that has changed in price or availability, please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk. For information on alcohol guidelines, read our guide to drinking responsibly.

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