Wine Tumblers

We tested eight different wine tumblers. Our top pick was the Swig Stemless Wine Cup (12 oz), which kept wine cold for almost 5 hours and had an impressively leakproof lid.

What You Need to Know

A glass of cold white wine on the beach is one of life’s simple pleasures. But it’s not so pleasurable if your chilled wine becomes tepid or another beachgoer throws a football at your glass and your wine soaks into the sand. Enter wine tumblers: sturdy, insulated cups that promise to keep your wine colder and safer than it would be in a wine glass—come hell, high water, or an overzealous beachgoer with a football. And even if you’re not braving the beach, our winning wine tumbler will keep bugs out of your wine on the back porch and make drinking chilled wine anywhere a pleasurable experience. 

We tested eight wine tumblers, seven made of stainless steel, one made of borosilicate glass, and all but one equipped with lids. The lidded tumblers varied, with some that had only holes for sipping and others that had sliding pieces to cover the sipping holes. All but one of the tumblers we tested kept wine cold for hours (versus a standard wine glass, which kept wine cold for 40 minutes), but they differed in durability, how comfortable they were to hold and sip from, and how much they leaked. Most didn’t claim to be leakproof, though our winner did not leak at all. We also discovered that insulated tumblers make for fabulous ice cream bowls—perhaps not their intended use but still a good one.

What to Look For

• Slim, Straight Body: Some of the tumblers we tested were narrow at the top and flared out at the bottom, which caused our hands to slide down, fingers splayed, onto the wide base. This was uncomfortable to hold for any length of time. Look for tumblers with a slimmer, more even shape, rather than ones that get significantly wider toward the bottom. 
• Smooth Exterior Surface: Counterintuitively, we found that the tumblers with granular, matte exterior surfaces were slicker and harder to grip than those with glossy surfaces, which were tackier and clung to our hands better.
• A Lid: Having a lid prevents losing an entire serving of wine should your friend’s dog jump on your lap or a strong gust of wind blow, so we recommend seeking out a tumbler that comes with one. Even better, find a lid that has a sliding tab that covers the sipping port—it prevents significant spills. 
• Stainless-Steel Body: If you want to keep your wine chilled for hours, a stainless-steel tumbler is the way to go. Even the lidless stainless-steel tumbler we tested held its own against its lidded competition, keeping wine chilled for 3 hours and 20 minutes....
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