Wine Coolers

Wine coolers, low-alcohol (5 percent) beverages made with wine, sweetened fruit juices, and carbonation, are similar to the wine-based cocktails and “coolers” historically prepared in saloons, taverns, and bars across America. These prepackaged drinks successfully entered the retail market on a small scale in 1981, when two entrepreneurs from Santa Cruz, California, created the California Cooler. Concurrent with an escalating American fondness for convenience and portability, the coolers were sold chilled in colorful four-packs of single-serving bottles through widespread distribution channels. Positioned as a beer alternative, they appealed primarily to young social drinkers and to female consumers.