Does anybody make wine coolers anymore?

These nostalgic bevs are a refreshing alternative to wine and beer'and thankfully much better than the boozy juice of yesteryear.

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Here are the best wine coolers for cooling down as the spring weather warms up.

For much of the '80s, wine coolers and spritzers from brands like Seagram's, Bartles & Jaymes, and California Cooler held a prominent place in American fridges. Sold as a six-pack of 12-ounce bottles, the bevvies were typically a blend of wine and fruit juices, like black cherry or raspberry, and were considered a cheap alternative to beer. 

However, in , Congress quintupled taxes on wine from 17 cents per gallon to $1.07 per gallon. Blending wine became a lousy business model, so companies either dropped the drink entirely, switched to a cheaper malt-based cocktail (like Smirnoff Ice, which doesn't include wine), or hiked up the price. Eventually, the drinks fell so far out of fashion that when people heard "wine cooler," they assumed you meant "wine fridge."

But, in the last year or so, a growing number of brands have been experimenting with canned and bottled coolers and spritzers again. And, unlike those of the '90s, modern wine cooler brands like Roseade, Hoxie, and Ramona use real wine and high-quality mixers.

Read on for some of the best wine coolers currently on the market, just in time for spring.

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Best Overall Wine Cooler: Pampelonne Blood Orange Spritz

Pampelonne Blood Orange Spritz

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If you're looking for a wine spritzer that tantalizes the taste buds, Pampelonne Blood Orange Spritz (6 percent ABV) delivers a burst of citrusy refreshment. Unlike overly sweetened cocktails, this beachy spritz achieves the perfect equilibrium of flavors, allowing each component (in this case, lime, cinchona bitters, blood orange, and a French sparkling wine) to shine without being cloying. It's also one of the more affordable wine cooler options'a four-pack of cans typically retails for about $12. Beyond Blood Orange Spritz, Pampelonne also offers French 75 (elderflower, juniper, and Meyer lemon) and Rosé Lime (rose, grapefruit, and kaffir lime).

Best Crushable Wine Cooler: Roseade

Roseade

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If you couldn't already tell from the playful bubblegum pink can with its cheeky lemon mascot, Roseade Rosé Lemonade (8 percent ABV) is summer in a can. Blending premium bubbly rose from California and zesty hand-squeezed traditional lemonade, it's incredibly easy-drinking. Tart and not too sweet, it features notes of strawberries, melons, and citrus fruit. It's crisp and refreshing on its own, but if you want something really satisfying on a pool day, consider blending it with ice for a boozy slushie. It's $30 for eight 8.4-ounce cans.

Best Aperol Alternative Wine Cooler: Ramona Amarino

Ramona Amarino

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When James Beard-recognized sommelier Jordan Salcito crafts a spritz, you know it's going to be excellent. Currently, Ramona offers four distinct flavors in its lightly sparkling spritz lineup, including Ruby Grapefruit, Blood Orange, Meyer Lemon, and Amarino (which is similar in taste to an Aperol spritz). Each is beautifully balanced and thirst-quenching, whether by the beach or on a skilift'but Amarino (5 percent ABV) really shines. 

Ramona's take on the Italian aperitivo is just the right amount of bitter, and it doesn't have all the additives and artificial colors normally used in Aperol. In fact, Ramona uses only 100 percent organically farmed Italian grapes and Sicilian citrus fruit. There are no added sugars or preservatives in any of its drinks. The company's tagline says it all: 'It's wine, but cooler.'

Romona retails for $24 per four-pack of 8.4-ounce cans. The Amarino is five percent alcohol.

Best Dry Wine Cooler: Hoxie Grapefruit Elderflower

Hoxie Grapefruit Elderflower

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Crafted with sustainably made California white wine, grapefruit extract, and elderflower, Hoxie Grapefruit Elderflower (5 percent ABV) is crisp and lightly carbonated, with a bright nose of botanicals and lemon peel. Unlike other wine coolers, there are no added sugars and each can clocks in at 90 calories. Moxie also offers Strawberry Rose, Lemon Ginger Rose, Peach Blossom Blush, and Watermelon Hatch Chile. Hoxie retails for $23.50 per four-pack of 8.4-ounce cans.

Best Low-ABV Wine Cooler: Underwood Riesling Radler

Underwood The Bubbles

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Traditionally, a radler (otherwise known as a shandy) is a German lager mixed with sparkling lemonade. However, in this case, Underwood The Bubbles uses an Oregon riesling, grapefruit juice, hops, and sea salt to craft a sessionable bev that bridges the gap between wine and beer. It's not too sweet, not too citrusy, and perfect for those who just want something breezy to sip on. Riesling Radler typically retails for $24 for a 12-ounce four-pack. If you're keen on something boozier, Underwood also offers The Spritz, a rose cocktail with carbonated water and strawberry brandy.

Why You Should Trust Me

I've written about wine, beer, and spirits for most of my adult life. My work has appeared in Men's Journal, The Washington Post, AFAR, Good Beer Hunting, Punch, and beyond. I've personally tried every wine cooler on this list'in fact, I sampled more than three dozen coolers and spritzes while researching this article. I'm also a certified beer judge and cicerone.

How We Choose the Best Wine Coolers

For this article, we sourced wine coolers from across the country, looking specifically for options with high-quality ingredients. It was important to find options that were more than just cheap wine zhuzhed up with syrupy juices. To make the final list, I weighed the varietal and caliber of the wine that was called upon, as well as the standard of the mixers (for instance, did they use real juice or a fruity soda?) and the ratios used.

Written by Vincent Rendoni

Wine Coolers were huge in the 80s ' then they disappeared. What happened?

The late-age millennials here at Wine Folly are having a serious case of déjà vu right now. The eighties are alive again. Radical.

It feels like at any moment we could see our parents coming around the corner wearing neon and polyester, getting crunk (or drunk) on wine coolers like there's no tomorrow.

The Rise and Fall of Wine Coolers

Wine coolers were the fizzy, brightly colored libations that combined the flavors of 'Chablis' with fruit punch. Brands like Bartles and Jaymes, Seagram's, and California Cooler were inescapable.

It's not that we miss wine coolers, mind you. We really, really don't. (Find out why below.) We just genuinely wonder how a seemingly unstoppable fad could bite the dust so quickly.

The Rise of the Cooler

Originally, wine coolers were home-made from light white wines (dry Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio) and lemon-lime soda. However, in the early s, they were bottled and sold commercially by some pretty heavy hitters (guys like E. & J. Gallo and Seagram's.)

Marketed as sort of soda pop for adults, they contained pulp, artificial fruit flavors, cheap wine, and about as much alcohol as your average craft beer (4-6%).

Wondering what could possibly be the appeal of such a beverage? Well, aside from a sessional ABV, one didn't have to open a whole bottle of Chardonnay to enjoy something on the lighter side.

Not to mention the easy twist-off cap was a convenient feature in the go-go decade. Combine that with all the flavoring and it's no surprise wine coolers became a full-blown phenomenon'especially in an era of sluggish beverage sales.

And a full-blown phenomenon they were. According to the Chicago Tribune in , they accounted for close to 10% of all wine consumption in the United States! Yeah, we know. We couldn't believe it either.

Wine Cooler's Untimely End

So where did it all go wrong?

The answer was taxes, taxes, taxes. On New Year's Day, , Congress more than quintupled the excise tax on wine from $.17/gallon to $1.07/gallon.

This made wine blending bad business and effectively ushered in the era of the malternative beverage.

And'They're Back!

The world may be returning to the eighties, but when it comes to beverages, its moved on to bigger, better, and tastier things. Right? Well, we're not so sure.

The Kitchn thinks wine coolers are cool again. Dang Kanye and Rhianna, you too?

Actually, it's not too much of a surprise. (Well, the Zima is.) Wine coolers did have some things that are certainly trending now: lower ABV and sweet without feeling too sweet. (That sugar content, though' watch out!)

Combine that with a less snobby drinking culture and a wider availability of artisan ingredients (we've seen flavorings like yerba mate and mint), and maybe companies and mixologists can rebuild the wine cooler and make it better than it was before.

So, what do you think? Are we (as humans) ready to do wine coolers right?

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