Summer Wines for the Great Outdoors

Over the past decade, winemakers have continued expanding the boundaries of packaging, from boxes to cans to single-serve bottles, making it easier than ever to find quality wines on the go. Whether you’re looking for options to pack for a picnic, barbecue, or camping excursion, here are some excellent outdoor-friendly wines.

Single-Serve Bottles

Uncompromising in quality, long-neck bottles are undoubtedly one of the best ways to store wine, a mere extension of 750ml glass wine bottles in an even more portable size. Although their delicate structure requires a little more thought in the transit process, these bottles are most effective at protecting taste. They can also stay in storage for much longer periods than the other outdoor-friendly formats.

Martha Stoumen Wine Spritzers

A common option for outdoor-friendly wines, spritzers offer a low-ABV way to enjoy a lighter buzz for a daytime drink. Martha Stoumen’s natural wine spritzers are a delicate, nuanced drinking experience. With floral aromatics and prominent notes of Meyer lemon, the team at this Sebastopol-based winery declares that these spritzers are perfect for those who are “over hard seltzer.” $120/12-pack, marthastoumen.com

Une Femme “The Betty” Blanc de Blanc Sparkling Wine 

Perfect for mini celebrations, “The Betty” from Jen Pelka’s Champagne-inspired label Une Femme is a refreshing blast of crisp fruits and elegant acidity, with grapes sourced from vineyards across the California Central Valley. Aged in stainless-steel barrels, expect an overall clean taste on the palate, while hints of jasmine, green apple, and honeysuckle round out the experience. $54/6-187ml bottles, unefemmewines.com

Varnum Vinters Porch Series

Varnum Vinters’ sparkling wine line packaged in 375ml beer bottles emulates summer vibes. The Porch series includes a range of refreshing bubbly options, with grapes sourced from across the Willamette Valley AVA. Stock a cooler with a mix of the Porch Party, a fruity sparkling red, and the Porch Secco, a sparkling white with fine bubbles and tropical fruit notes. $12/bottle, varnum-vinters.square.site

Boxed Wines

Today, boxed wine isn’t always a slap-the-bag kind of situation. Easy to slot into a picnic basket or the trunk on a road trip and ideal for larger gatherings, boxed wines are a lightweight option for quantity-focused drinking.

Alileo Syrah

Alileo is a newer brand on the market, whose sole focus is high-quality boxed wines. With four selections sourced from the co-owner’s family of winemakers in Sicily, the brand claims that their natural processing methods ensure a longer storage time—a full 30 days from the first opening. Their Syrah is a smooth, creamy drinking experience, with tannins that balance out a dark fruit sweetness. $39.99, alileowines.com

Harvest Press Cabernet Sauvignon

Grape and Grain is a division of Precept Wines, which sources grapes from the mega-company’s extensive portfolio of producers and vineyards to produce Harvest Press Cellars boxed wine. The brand has five products in its lineup, including this delightfully bold and bright Cabernet Sauvignon with grapes from Chile. The best part may be its wide availability across the States, most likely at a grocery store. $17.98, drizly.com

Schplink Grüner Veltliner

Communal Brands places an emphasis on minimal packaging waste in wine and works with small producers to generate unique and playful label designs that illustrate their stories. With this in mind, Communal has sourced from a wide variety of styles and regions of wines that come in colorful pouched and boxed formats, including this 3-liter Austrian Grüner Veltliner from winemaker Norbert Bauer. $32.99, drizly.com

Canned

There’s no denying canned wines’ massive presence these days, with brands such as House Wine and Underwood by Union Wine seemingly clinching retail shelf space for life. Canned wine may be the best compromise between glassed and boxed, with their similar lightweight convenience and preservation capabilities, but cooler-friendly proportions. They often come sparkling and pack a punch—a 13% ABV canned wine is not something to chug on the lawn.

Nomadica Orange Wine

There is a steadily growing number of independent, women-owned wine brands in California that thoughtfully produce crisp Chardonnays and bubbly rosés in stylish narrow cans. One example is sommelier-owned Nomadica, whose visually driven packaging makes canned wine look like a gift for art lovers. Their latest orange wine (available July 17), inspired by an Italian blend crafted by Cistercian nuns and adorned with abstract expressionist art by Yadi Liu, is a tropical yet complexly floral drinking experience. $60/12-pack, explorenomadica.com

Sipwell Perfect Day Rosé

Sipwell, a sparkling wine company, aims to go beyond the standard expectations of typical varieties common in canned wines. Grapes like Dolcetto, Pinot Noir, and Albariño from the California Central Coast get can-conditioned to naturally produce bubbles, which the team claims results in longer-lasting freshness. Their latest rosé drop is a juicy yet subtly sweet Grenache crafted for the “best day ever” in Sipwell’s mind. $42/6-pack, sipwell.co