Boxed And Canned Wine You'll Want To Drink This Summer

This May, join us as we gear up for the first day of summer with recipes and ideas to make it your best ever. Let the Summer Countdown begin.

Picture yourself on the beach or in the park, a colorful towel or blanket under you, and the sun shining overhead. You crack open a cold one and take a sip from your can . . . of rosé. That's right. Rosé in a can is about to become your outdoor beverage of choice this summer, and that's not all.

Though boxed and canned wine get a bad rap, there are actually a handful of good options out there. Increasingly, winemakers are selling vino-in-the-glass alternatives, which are more environmental and more portable.

RELATED   6 Wine Buzzwords, Decoded by the Experts "

You may not get the same aroma if you're drinking from a can, but you can't beat the convenience factor when you're imbibing outside (which just got decriminalized in Manhattan). Not only can you skip lugging the glasses around, but the serving sizes will take you far. A standard pour of wine is a little under 150 milliliters, and many canned wines contain 350 to 500 milliliters. Talk about one and done.

Speaking of size, that's another advantage of the boxed stuff. Hold the snark and think about how easy it would be to throw a picnic party with one, easily disposable box, instead of a bunch of glass bottles (which are prohibited in most parks anyway). Boxes range in volume from an individual juice box to the equivalent of four bottles. Yep: four bottles' worth.

That might be enough for us to rest our case, but after taste-testing more boxed and canned wine than we knew was even out there, we discovered a host of options that we'll be sipping happily this summer. Here are eight of our favorites:

① Alloy Grenache Rosé ($11.00 for a 2L can; 4 packs available in stores)
With subtle notes of strawberry and rose, this one goes down almost too easy. According to the can's tasting notes, there may also be hints of Sour Patch Kids. Don't hate it.

② Alloy Pinot Noir ($30 for a pack of four 2L cans)
Slightly spicy with dark fruit notes, this Pinot in a can is also super drinkable.

③ Underwood Rosé ($28 for a pack of 375ml cans)
Strawberry, watermelon, peach: The tasting notes on this one scream summer, and that's just when you'll be drinking it. All. summer. long.

④ Underwood Pinot Noir ($28 for a pack of 375ml cans)
With cherry and chocolate notes, this might be the favorite canned red of them all.

⑤ Vrac Rosé ($27 for a 3L box)
Crisp, light and following the super-drinkable trend, this wine has gotten a lot of buzz, for good reason. It's perfect for your picnic party—or any summer bash for that matter.

⑥ Black Box Sauvignon Blanc ($23.99 for a 3L box)
Crisp with hints of stone fruit, this box is a crowd-pleasing option for white wine drinkers.

⑦ French Rabbit Pinot Noir ($9.99 for a 1L box)
Earthy with red fruit notes, this Pinot makes for easy drinking and pairs well with grilled foods.

⑧ Vasca Grillo di Giovanna ($31.99 for a 3L box)
This bright, minerally Sicilian wine with grapefruit and pineapple notes is more sophisticated than what you might expect to find in a box. You'd better get used to it.