9 Wine Coolers Ranked (Tasting Table)

Abigail Bliss
August 15, 2024
Wine Coolers

Fads come and go. But some stick in the memories of a generation, evoking a sense of nostalgia that gets entrepreneurs thinking. Consumers love a throwback; we see it in fashion, entertainment, and even beverages.

Two Colorado Wineries make the list, Infinite Monkey Theorem, and Centennial Cellars.

Back in the ’80s, wine coolers were all the rage and made up 20% of the Country’s wine sales at their peak. California Cooler started the trend, mixing fruit juice and wine into fizzy concoctions that had an alcohol content comparable to beer. The brand marketed itself as approachable and appealed to women, along with the health-conscious.

But natural fruit juices and even wine went by the wayside when giant corporations overtook the market. Less than three years after California Cooler was sold to Brown-Forman Corporation, wine coolers’ popularity tanked. Maybe it was the overwhelm of options, the reputation wine coolers had with underage drinking, or the cut in quality when brands swapped wine for low-cost malt liquor.

Perhaps the novelty simply wore off. But now, nearly four decades after wine coolers’ heyday, they’re making a resurgence at bars and liquor stores. However, you’ll seldom see these wine-plus-juice beverages labeled as wine coolers, which, even today, make the 21-plus crowd scoff. Gen Z-ers and young millennials regard them as something their moms drank in college, while those who once purchased Seagram’s and Bartles & Jaymes may not recall them fondly. But put all your prior notions aside, because some of the nine wine coolers we’ve ranked below are worth bringing to your next pool party.

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