I Tried 10 Grape Juice Brands And Ranked Them Worst To Best

Juice is one of the most under-appreciated beverages out there. It's been unjustly vilified in recent years for its calorie content and lack of fiber, but there is perhaps no better drink to turn to when you're sitting at a diner and looking for something other than coffee to smash between bites of pancakes and eggs. Of the juices, apple and orange certainly get the most press, so much so that until this review, I forgot that grape juice was a thing. But after walking the aisles of my local grocery stores, I very quickly realized that there is a mind-boggling number of grape juice brands on store shelves. And the labels can be confusing: from concentrate, organic, no sugar added, Concord grape juice, red grape juice, white grape juice, etc. As such, it may be difficult to tell whether it's worth it to spend upwards of $6 on a bottle, or whether the $2, store-bought one will do just fine at your next brunch.

That's why I decided to purchase all of the grape juice brands that I could find, taste them, and rank them from worst to best. I considered the overall flavor of each beverage, how refreshing it was, and how approachable it would be to a variety of drinkers, whether kids or adults. My top-ranked grape juices boasted balanced, non-medicinal flavors that weren't too sweet or too tart.

Honestly, there was something kind of fun about buying a set of these Honest Kids school lunch-sized juice pouches for my very grown-up tasting. Honest Kids boasts no added sugar, organic ingredients, and a simple recipe that brings together both white grape juice and Concord grape juice. I understand that I was not the primary audience for these juice pouches, as I eschew organic products and their price tags, nor do I have a reason to buy kid-sized drink pouches, but I tried it nonetheless — and hated every sip of it.

This juice tastes like watered-down cough syrup. Before going into this tasting, I didn't see the need for adding extra sugar to juice (seriously, it's fruit, isn't it sweet enough?), but I very quickly realized that the medicinal grape needed some sort of sounding board. The first flavor that I got on my palate was the cough-syrup-esque one, which quickly faded into an unpleasant aftertaste that was almost stale. The lack of sweetness causes this staleness to hang out on my palate for a little longer than was necessary and made the whole sipping experience unpleasant.

This was one grape juice brand that I didn't really foresee the purpose in drinking. It wasn't refreshing or palate cleansing (quite the opposite, in fact). If I were a kid, I would opt for the fruit punch over it any day.

Although Juicy Juice is similar in price to some of the other brands on this list, I knew that it wasn't going to score very high the second I looked at the bottle and saw that it was almost translucent, rather than thick and syrupy like some of the other brands on this list. One look at the front label told me everything that I needed: apple and grape juice from concentrate. So it's grape-flavored apple juice, in essence, and that's exactly what I tasted when I went in for a sip. 

As expected, if I were blindfolded, I would have just assumed this was apple juice. It had that exact same flavor of the cheap apple juice you'd get from a diner. The only grape-like thing about it was the slightly grape-y bite at the end, though even this could have been confused with an apple juice that had been left to sit at room temperature for a few days. 

Sure, this grape juice might have value for some shoppers — like if you're throwing your kid a princess-themed birthday party and want to serve them a purple apple juice — but most people craving grape juice should look elsewhere. I thought it was still more palatable than Honest Kids, as it wasn't sour or puckery in any way, but if I'm shopping for grape juice specifically, I want to be sure that what I'm getting is grape juice — not apple juice masquerading as something more colorful.

Nature's Nectar grape juice from Aldi is made from concentrate. I didn't necessarily place it lower on my list because of this, but rather because it was one of the most uniquely textured of the juices I sampled. On the nose, it had a musty aroma — almost like a deep red wine that was absolutely rife with tannins. I thought this was a bit odd for a store-bought juice, but I forged ahead in the name of science. The flavor was very much in line with that initial aroma — syrupy, heavy, and not necessarily medicinal, but still very strongly flavored. I guess I went into this tasting thinking that because grapes really don't have all that much flavor, their juice wouldn't either. I was obviously wrong.

The flavor of this juice lingered on my palate much more pleasantly than Honest Kids, and I appreciated that it had a balancing tartness to it. It was complex in the way that a good red wine was, and the last thing I expected was to be ranking family-friendly drinks with the approach of a well-trained sommelier.

Like some of my other low-ranking picks on this list, I just think that Nature's Nectar was a little too syrupy for my liking. I didn't feel refreshed or energized as I sipped it; I kind of just wanted to lie down and take a nap after a few swigs. Sure, it could be used for cocktails or cooking, but I was looking for a good fridge juice that I could take swigs straight. This just wasn't it.

If you didn't look at the label, it would be really easy to confuse R.W. Knudsen's and Santa Cruz's grape juices. The former is not made from concentrate, nor is it organic. When I leaned in for a sniff, I could immediately tell that it was much stronger than Santa Cruz. The smell had that tannin-y, wine-like vibe going on, like it had soured just a bit too long before it reached my local Stop & Shop. The flavor was also much more sour than some of the other brands that I sampled for this review. Like some of my other picks, it had a very bold flavor that was borderline fermented, though it didn't dip into cough syrup territory and wasn't as heavy as Nature's Nectar.

I was really toying with whether to place R.W. Knudsen above or below my next pick, but the value, flavor, and overall approachability of this product ultimately decided its fate. I don't mind a slightly sour juice, as I think it gives it some character that overtly saccharine juices can't offer, but I don't think that sentiment is shared by the majority of people. You can taste the grape on your mouth for a while after sipping it, which was nice, but I think that the slightly tart aftertaste would be the nail in the coffin for someone who prefers a more straightforward and easygoing sipper. While the glass bottle is quite cute and the ingredients are high quality, I don't think its price would make it a "buy" for most shoppers, especially those who are budget-conscious.

I tried Great Value's from-concentrate grape juice after Aldi's Nature's Nectar brand, and I could draw a lot of parallels between the two of them. They had similar colors and smells, though I found that Great Value's aroma was slightly more sweet than musty. As I expected, this profile carried into the mouthfeel as well. While it did have a slightly more medicinal aftertaste than Nature's Nectar, it was sweeter than it was syrupy. After I had a few sips, I felt myself wanting to put this container down and go and rinse out my mouth, though, because it had a saccharine, borderline cloying aftertaste.

I felt like ranking Great Value above Nature's Nectar and R.W. Knudsen was justified, despite the fact that it was too saccharine for my liking, because its flavor is more approachable than one that lingers on your palate like a heavy weighted blanket. Great Value's grape juice was what I would expect to see served at a diner: it's cheap, sweet, and would be good for sipping between bites of salty hash and eggs. I also liked that it wasn't as watery or medicinal as some of the other brands on this list, which earned it a middling spot. Like other juices that ranked similarly to it, I wouldn't go out of my way to expressly buy a container of this juice, but if a very small serving were given to me at breakfast, I don't think I would complain.

Let me make one thing clear: I am very much on the team green grape, though I couldn't help but include Welch's red grape juice on my list. Welch's is the go-to brand for grapes, grape juice, and grape-adjacent products, and it's clear that it's done its homework when it comes to making an excellent grape juice as well. This dark purple liquid gave off a delectably fruity aroma — matching the subtle notes of red grapes — and its flavor was very well-balanced. I didn't pull out any sort of apple notes or anything that would convince me it was anything else besides grape. 

The common theme that I found across many of these brands, though, came through: This grape juice was heavy on my palate. It wasn't syrupy like cough medicine, though; it was more so a sticky sweetness that wasn't as cloying as it was heavy. It's almost like this grape juice had viscosity to it, which I've really only experienced with pulpy juices (like OJ).

Since this one was very heavy on my palate, I don't think that I could drink it from the glass. However, I think it would make an excellent mixer or refreshing afternoon beverage with some seltzer or sparkling water. All in all, it's a very flavorful and punchy grape juice that's not overly medicinal, but I don't think it would be one I would buy myself.

Did I buy Kedem's Concord grape juice just so I could have this very stylish glass bottle in my kitchen? Next question. While packaging didn't necessarily factor into this ranking, I will say that the bottle gave me a good first impression of Kedem's grape juice. There is something about a narrow yet elegant glass bottle that makes my heart swoon. And, for a select group of people, I do think that this grape juice will also make you fall head over heels in love with grape juice and realize that you really should have abandoned boring apple and grapefruit juice long ago. 

Kedem's grape juice, which is made without any added sugars, colors, or flavors, is about as "natural" as they come. On the nose, it has an almost fermented aroma that is very tannin-rich and complex, which is not something that all grape juice brands offer. The taste, like a good red wine, left my palate feeling parched and dry. I don't drink wine at all, but if I wanted to experience what that was like sans alcohol, I might pick up a bottle of this grape juice. 

I really was conflicted about where to place this brand. On one hand, I think that some people would really like its raw and unadulterated flavor, but I don't think that it's as universally appealing or as refreshing as my top picks. It's also much more expensive than the bottles that ranked above it.

Santa Cruz's organic grape juice looks almost identical to the R.W. Knudsen bottle. Both of them were quite pricey for grape juice, but I can assure you that if you're after something that's not overtly sweet, overwhelmingly complex, or dries your mouth out, Santa Cruz is the better option.

The flavor of this grape juice is not too musty or heavy, which I appreciated. It has a sweet smell on the nose, with a grapey overtone that clearly distinguishes it as grape juice rather than generic apple juice or fruit punch. However, I think that it deftly walks the line between being too heavy and syrupy, while still being pretty flavorful and strong on the palate. If anything, the sweetness is what makes it heavy, not necessarily that grape juice flavor. It's not sour or offensive, and I don't think that anyone would have a problem with it. 

While I did like this grape juice, and I think that your average Joe would too, I don't really know if its price makes it as approachable a choice as some of the other products on this list. I had to place it higher than ones that were more tart, though it would still be a steep price to pay when there are far more refreshing brands out there. 

Nature's Promise toes the line between being a store-bought brand and one of the more premium, artisan selections on this list. Stop & Shop's in-house organic and natural foods brand touts the standard organic food claims on the label — non-GMO, not made with prohibited synthetic additions, and the like — but I found it interesting that it still makes its organic grape juice from concentrate. I personally don't think organic foods are worth the hype, and I didn't put this one high on my list because of these product claims alone. I did, however, like that it had a much more balanced flavor than many of the other store-brand selections on this list. 

The flavor of this juice was not at all medicinal or heavy. It didn't have any cough syrupy undertones, nor did it have the same heaviness as Great Value, Welch's, or Nature's Nectar. I don't really want to assess my grape juice with sommelier-level precision, and I could appreciate that this juice was almost mindless to sip. It clearly distinguished itself from other fruit juices and had the subtlest undertones of must to it, both in the aroma and the flavor. This brand, more than the others, felt dry on my palate and left me feeling a little parched, which in turn sent me back for sip after sip. It wasn't as refreshing as my top pick, yet it is still an excellent option. 

Simply Grape was the brand that I tried first and was the one that I genuinely liked the most. It's the darling of the grape juices; I use this term affectionately, as it has the most beautiful fuchsia hue — a stark contrast to the dark, foreboding purples of all the other brands on this list. It was also the only refrigerated product included on this list, but I still felt inclined to include it based on the brand's prominence on store shelves. While I don't think that it makes the best orange juice out there (that's reserved for Minute Maid, in my opinion), its grape juice acts as a very approachable, middle-ground option for folks who don't expressly love grape juice, but still want to try something refreshing.

This Simply juice didn't taste medicinal at all, which I loved. However, because it didn't taste medicinal, it also, by proxy, didn't taste very grape-like — in a good way. On the first taste, I got very mild apple juice notes. They weren't expressly sweet or fruity, but there was a hint of that grape-ish bite at the end. I liked that it wasn't too sweet, either; while it contained sugar, that saccharine flavor wasn't heavy. It also contained a bit of lemon juice to lighten it up. Grape juice has a very mild and nuanced flavor, and I think that Simply was able to offer a crisp, fruity beverage that folks who vehemently despise grape-flavored things would still like. 

I tried each of these grape juices straight from the fridge, without any sort of ice or additions, so that I could get a better idea of their flavor. Once I cracked open each container, I took note of the aroma and how that smell translated to the sip. Flavor was the primary metric for ranking each of these juices; I looked at how well each brand balanced sweetness, heaviness, tartness, and cloyingness, and whether that combination of flavors made for a refreshing sip or not. Grape juices that were overtly heavy or not easily sippable ranked lower than those that were light and refreshing. Going into this ranking, I assumed that cough syrup-ness was going to be the primary pain point for most brands, but I very quickly found that the sweetness and tanginess of each brand, as well as how refreshing each one was, mattered most.

Another important consideration in this ranking was how prominent the grape flavor was. Since I was tasting grape juices, I wanted them to taste like grape — not just apple juice trying to be something it's not. Although my top pick had a bit of lemon juice, I still felt that the flavor was decidedly grape enough — and super refreshing — to warrant a top-place finish.