What is a wine cooler?

[Centava]

Please explain what a wine cooler is, how is it different from "wine" and can you recommend some?

[Jerry D Mead]

Wine coolers contain some wine, with added sugar, water, and flavorings. They were faddish a few years back...popular mostly with young folks used to soda pop tastes.

Bartles & Jaymes made by Gallo was the biggest success...there was also California Cooler...the first but faded in the stretch...and Seagram had a series of coolers out. I suppose some of them are still available.

New products like Arbor Mist are nothing more than wine coolers, though they don't call themselves that.

[Innkeeper]

If you want an authentic one, before they were pre-bottled; go to a wine store and buy some Spanish Sangria, or make your own. Then fill a tall glass with ice, fill it halfway up with Sangria, and top off with ginger ale.

[Thomas]

In the summer I sometimes make my own wine cooler by pouring a medium-dry white wine into a tall glass, leaving just enough room for a couple of ounces of seltzer, a squeeze of lime and a sprig of mint.