Canned Wine: Can Sizes, Standard Drinks and Shelf Life

Canned wine is ordinary wine packed in a lined aluminum can, in sizes from about a quarter to two thirds of a standard bottle. It suits the beach, the campsite and anywhere glass is a problem, as long as you drink it within months rather than years. Two things catch people out: a large can holds more than one drink, and the can’s thin plastic liner affects how well the wine keeps. Here are the sizes, the standard drink math, what researchers have found about liners and how to shop.

Can sizes vs a 750 ml bottle

Federal rules (27 CFR 4.72) list which container sizes wine can be sold in, and the rules don’t treat cans separately. Wine Industry Advisor reported that three sizes were added at the end of 2020: 200 ml, 250 ml and 355 ml, the last being the traditional 12-ounce beer can. Wine Folly’s Madeline Puckette also lists 375 ml and 500 ml cans.

Can size	US fluid ounces	Share of a 750 ml bottle	5 oz pours
200 ml	6.8	Just over a quarter	About 1.4
250 ml	8.5	One third	About 1.7
355 ml	12.0	Just under half	About 2.4
375 ml	12.7	One half	About 2.5
500 ml	16.9	Two thirds	About 3.4

The ounce figures are straight conversions.

Standard drinks per can

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) defines a US standard drink as 0.6 fluid ounces of pure alcohol: 5 ounces of table wine at about 12%, or 12 ounces of regular beer at about 5%. A 12-ounce can of wine is the same size as a can of beer, but it holds far more alcohol.

Can size	Standard drinks at 12% ABV	Standard drinks at 14% ABV
200 ml	About 1.4	About 1.6
250 ml	About 1.7	About 2
355 ml	About 2.4	About 2.8
375 ml	About 2.5	About 3
500 ml	About 3.4	About 3.9

We calculated these as ounces × ABV ÷ 0.6. Check the ABV on your can, since that’s the number that moves the math. Our guide to wine alcohol content explains why ABV varies, and how much a label can differ from the real strength.

Note: A can is easy to treat as one serving, like a beer. A 375 ml can is half a bottle of wine. We’d pour it into two glasses, or look for a smaller can if one drink is what you want.

What the liner does

An aluminum can doesn’t touch the wine directly. Cornell’s researchers describe the liner as a thin polymer coating, about 1 to 10 microns thick, that protects the can’s interior. It matters more for wine than for many other drinks because of sulfites, the preservatives most wines contain.

Here’s what the research found, as reported in the Cornell Chronicle and in WineLand Media, which summarizes a 2023 study by Montgomery, Allison, Goddard and Sacks:

• The rotten-egg problem. Molecular sulfur dioxide (SO2), the active form of the preservative, reacts with the aluminum, even through the liner, and forms hydrogen sulfide, which smells of rotten eggs.
• SO2 level. Wines over 0.5 ppm molecular SO2 saw sizable increases in hydrogen sulfide within four to eight months. The team recommends keeping it to 0.4 ppm and using epoxy liners for storage of up to eight months.
• The study. WineLand reports 10 wines (six white, two rosé, two red) stored for eight months at 20°C (68°F). By eight months, six of the whites and rosés had passed 10 micrograms of hydrogen sulfide per liter, while the reds and most of the glass controls showed negligible amounts.
• Liner type. BPA epoxy and BPA-NI (non-intent) epoxy liners performed similarly, according to WineLand. Acrylic liners degraded badly and produced extreme hydrogen sulfide within two months.
• Labels can mislead. A 2025 Cornell article calls terms such as “BPA-NI” ambiguous, and says that a supplier’s newer “BPA-NI” liners turned out to be acrylic and produced about 10 times more hydrogen sulfide in accelerated aging tests.

For shoppers, this is hard to act on, because none of these sources gives a way to tell which liner a can uses. In our view, the practical lessons are to buy recently packaged cans and drink them fairly soon, and to avoid any wine that smells strongly of sulfur.

How long canned wine lasts

Published advice ranges from months to a little over a year:

Source	What it says
The study’s authors (via WineLand)	Their SO2 guidance targets about six months at room temperature; longer shelf life or hotter storage would need lower limits
Food Republic (2024)	Best within 12 to 18 months; an eggy smell is more likely after about 12 months
Tasting Table (2024)	Dates are voluntary, and can makers warrant their containers for about a year
Wine Folly (2016)	Not recommended for aging

Tasting Table adds that some producers have found their wine stable for a few years, so a date passing doesn’t guarantee a bad can. It also says wineries pack cans for immediate drinking, and we’d plan on that: buy what you’ll drink in the next few months.

Storing cans. Food Republic suggests keeping them away from bright sunlight at about 62 to 68°F, upright or on their side. In our view, a hot car trunk is the worst place for them.

After opening. Food Republic says to drink it the same day. In the fridge, covered or moved to a sealable bottle, it says the wine can last up to four days. Our chart of how long wine lasts after opening covers other formats, and box wine is the better package if you want a glass over several weeks.

What styles come in cans

According to the Cornell Chronicle, sparkling, white and rosé wines are the most likely to be canned, and those are also the most prone to the sulfur problem. Reds have lower molecular SO2, largely because of their higher pH, as WineLand explains, but the Chronicle says they’re rarely canned because cans are associated with cheaper wine.

Puckette estimated slight residual sugar in the wines she looked at from five brands, about 3 to 15 grams per liter. That was a small sample from 2016, so treat it as a clue rather than a rule.

Canned wine also sits close to other ready-to-drink products. If it has fruit flavors or a malt base, it may be something else entirely: see our guide to the wine coolers drink, and check the label.

How to serve canned wine

Puckette’s advice is to serve it chilled, even reds, and to pour it into a glass where you can. She says drinking from the can mutes the aromas, which makes the wine taste flatter. Food Republic gives a few hours in the fridge or about 10 minutes in the freezer to chill a can.

Where canned wine suits, and where it doesn’t

We think a can makes the most sense when:

• glass isn’t allowed or practical, as on a hike or at the pool;
• you want a smaller amount without opening a bottle;
• you want a fresh, simple white, rosé or sparkling wine to drink soon.

A bottle is still better for wine you want to age or share at the table. Cornell’s Gavin Sacks told the Chronicle that portability is what today’s drinkers want from a can. Cans are recyclable too, though the Chronicle notes that the plastic liner burns off in recycling, and thicker liners cost more.

How to compare prices

We haven’t named canned wines here, because we only recommend wines that meet our value method: a published critic score for a named vintage and a US price checked at two or more retailers.

To compare a can with a bottle, convert to the 750 ml price, as our method does for large formats. Multiply the price of a 375 ml can by 2, a 250 ml can by 3, and a 200 ml can by 3.75. On that basis, a $5 can of 375 ml is a $10 bottle, while a $5 can of 250 ml is a $15 bottle.

Wine is for adults of legal drinking age (21 in the US). Please drink responsibly.