4 Canned Wines You Should Be Drinking

“NO GLASS” rules at pools, beaches, and lakes can’t keep oenophiles away from their beverages any longer. Canned wine is getting better, and the new, humble packaging is fit for any Labor Day cookout. “This is such a great wine for [a younger] generation,” says Briana Cohen, a certified sommelier and general manager and wine director at Sonoma Restaurant Group, which owns Aria and City Smoke. “They’re all on the go; they’re between their phone and outside and all those things. It’s great that they can have a can of wine instead of a can of beer.” 

We recently purchased seven canned wines from Rhino Market and Common Market and sat down with Cohen to have her rate them. Here are her three top choices, and one honorable mention. 

COURTESY PHOTOS

SOFIA BLANC DE BLANCS MINIS
TASTING NOTES: A dry, sparkling wine; its tiny, so bubbles can be easily sipped through the accompanying straw
SUGGESTED PAIRING: Fried chicken, antipasti
RATING: 5/5
 

LILA SAUVIGNON BLANC
TASTING NOTES: Great lemon, lime flavors
SUGGESTED PAIRING: Salads with vinaigrette, grilled vegetables
RATING: 4.5/5

UNDERWOOD PINOT NOIR
TASTING NOTES: Red currant, strawberries, red cherry, medium body, good acid
SUGGESTED PAIRING: Burgers, barbecued ribs, pulled pork, apple or cherry pie
RATING: 5/5
 

HONORABLE MENTION: UNDERWOOD ROSE
Briana says: “A burger and rosé? Awesome.”
RATING: 4/5

This article appears in the September 2016 issue of Charlotte Magazine

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