The Ultimate Wegmans Sparkling Water Review

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If it isn’t obvious by the fact I’m writing a review of sparkling water flavors – I love sparkling water. It is a light, refreshing drink that is zero-calorie, delightfully bubbly, and comes in a million different flavors.

But not all sparkling waters are created equally! Quality and flavor varies drastically from brand to brand. Many people have a go-to brand that they pick up when they need a sparkling water fix, and my loyalty has always been with Wegmans Sparkling Water.

The ultimate Wegmans Sparkling Water taste test

I live in Rochester, New York where Wegmans is our most beloved grocery store. While I don’t exclusively shop at Wegmans, I do go there every week. The wide variety of food Wegmans carries is incredibly convenient, making it a perfect one-stop-shop. They have everything at Wegmans – including 21 flavors of reasonably priced sparkling waters.

I’ve been drinking sparkling water for a few years, and in that time I’ve tried some flavors from Wegmans that were absolutely delicious, I’ve tried some duds, and I’ve tried some that were literally undrinkable. In attempts to discover the best water of them all, my friend and I decided to sit down and try them all, giving each flavor a critical review.

Will Cleveland’s Wegmans sparkling water review of the flavors sold in liter bottles definitely inspired this review! We decided to try all 21 of the Wegmans canned and bottled sparkling water varieties, and I plan to update this list as new flavors come out.

Sparkling Water ranking criteria

We ranked each sparkling water on a scale of 1-10 on each of the following criteria:

• Intensity of flavor. Is the flavor overwhelming or underwhelming?
• Quality of flavor. Is the flavor good or bad?
• True to flavor. Does the sparkling water taste like it claims to taste like?

Let’s get drinking!

21. Lime Mint

Flavor Intensity – 10 | Flavor Quality – 0 | True to Flavor – 7

Wegmans has been plagued by the Lime Mint flavor. Do not be fooled – out of all the Wegmans sparkling water flavors, Lime Mint is by far the worst.

You think, oh what a great flavor, it is probably similar to a mojito! False. It is very much unlike a mojito. This drink tastes like toothpaste spit. If you like to swallow your spearmint toothpaste after brushing your teeth, this drink is for you. This drink is a slap in the face from your dentist.

It’s hard for me to believe that a human was able to drink this flavor without gagging. If you can somehow tolerate this flavor, please fight me in the comments.

20. Mixed Berry

Flavor Intensity – 10 | Flavor Quality – 1 | True to Flavor – 2

Before my unfortunate discovery of the Lime Mint flavor, Mixed Berry was the worst Wegmans sparkling water flavor. This drink has a super intense flavor that reminds me of a combination of cherry cough drops and grape cough syrup, with a hint of frozen mixed berries (the sour kind with lots of seeds). Mixed Berry has a terrible mouthfeel and makes the back of my throat uncomfortable. I feel like I am at the doctor’s office and Dr. Wegmans himself is gagging me with a tongue depressor.

Berry flavors are difficult to get right, and you’ll see that the Wegmans berry sparkling waters are some of my least favorites.

19. Dragon Fruit Berry

Flavor Intensity – 9 | Flavor Quality – 3 | True to Flavor – 3

Dragon Fruit Berry is another berry flavor that sort of tanked. Real dragon fruit has a pretty subtle flavor, so I expected a mild, sweet, refreshing drink. Woah, I was wrong. This drink is so strong it is like a like a roundhouse kick to the face. It tastes like a dragon fruit wannabe on steroids that mutated with some really strong unidentifiable berry flavors (possibly blueberry).

It is definitely drinkable, but if someone offered it to me for free I would decline. I think this flavor would be better suited for an açaí bowl instead of a drink.

18. Watermelon

Flavor Intensity – 9 | Flavor Quality – 3 | True to Flavor – 5

A few years ago I did a 3 day juice fast and made a lot of fresh watermelon juice. After a day, the watermelon juice fermented and tasted exactly like this Watermelon sparkling water.

Watermelon doesn’t taste like much, so it’s a difficult flavor to mimic in a drink. This sparkling water smells like watermelon candy, but tastes like fermented watermelon juice. There is a dry yet sweet aftertaste that doesn’t linger. It is an interesting flavor that I wouldn’t buy again. I don’t find it very refreshing.

17. Cherry Pomegranate

Flavor Intensity – 7 | Flavor Quality – 3 | True to Flavor – 5

DAMN! Did lipstick and cherry cough drops have a baby? I think they did. It’s this Cherry Pomegranate sparkling water. There are a couple perfume-y flavors and a couple of medicine-y flavors, and this one unfortunately checks off both boxes.

You crack it open and there is immediately a strong cherry smell. The flavor starts very promising like a cherry slurpee, but ends as a cough drop. It leaves a slightly bitter taste in your mouth that isn’t pleasant. And where is the pomegranate? It’s almost unrecognizable under the overwhelming cough drop flavor.

16. Lemon

Flavor Intensity – 4 | Flavor Quality – 3 | True to Flavor – 3

When you drink this Lemon sparkling water, it’s hard to tell whether it tastes more like lemon-scented dish soap or like the liquid left over at the bottom of a lemon-scented clorox bleach wipe container. Just kidding, it’s not that bad, but it does kind of taste how cleaning supplies smells. It has an artificial lemon taste that lingers in your mouth. It is definitely the worst out of the Wegmans citrus flavors, but it is not undrinkable.

15. Mango Lime

Flavor Intensity – 7 | Flavor Quality – 4 | True to Flavor – 3

This Mango Lime sparkling water tastes a little off, but it is not necessarily bad. It has a mango smell, but the mango taste is pretty subtle. There is a hint of lime. My friend thinks it tastes like mint, and I agree! I guess mango + lime = mint? I’m pretty sure if you did a blind taste test, nobody would be able to guess this drink was mango lime flavored. The aftertaste is a little dry and acidic, but not terrible. Not the best flavor, but not the worst. It is more confusing than anything.

14. Blackberry Tangerine

Flavor Intensity – 9 | Flavor Quality – 5 | True to Flavor – 3

I’m not a fan of the Wegmans berry flavors, but Blackberry Tangerine is the best out of the berries! When you crack open a can of Blackberry Tangerine, you will be knocked out by the overwhelming berry smell. The flavor is so strong, with a prominent blackberry flavor and just a hint of tangerine. I find this combination to be a bit odd – I expected it to taste sweeter, but it is more sour and acidic with a dry mouthfeel. It tastes kind of like slightly underripe blackberries with tangerine zest. Not my cup of tea (but the flavor would be good as a tea, I think).

13. Passion Fruit

Flavor Intensity – 8 | Flavor Quality – 5 | True to Flavor – 7

This Passion Fruit sparkling water tastes a lot like Passion Fruit Tazo Tea. It is smooth with a bright, sweet, one-dimensional fruit flavor. The flavor does lean a bit perfume-y and gets into pink lip gloss territory, but it doesn’t bother me too much. It is extremely fragrant and smells pleasant. I personally don’t love it because passion fruit is not my favorite thing in the world, but I could see why someone else might like this drink.

12. Raspberry

Flavor Intensity – 4 | Flavor Quality – 5 | True to Flavor – 5

Along with Cherry Pomegranate and Passion Fruit, Raspberry is another sparkling water flavor that starts to taste a bit like cosmetics. But it is the most subtle out of the perfume-y flavors, which is why it is ranked highest of the bunch. This one reminds me of watered down raspberry Koolaid. It is pretty sweet (almost too sweet) but still pleasant. It doesn’t have a weird aftertaste and is pretty refreshing as a whole.

Note: this flavor is only available in liter bottles, not in cans yet!

11. Coconut Lime

Flavor Intensity – 8 | Flavor Quality – 7 | True to Flavor – 6

This girl loves coconut! So I was excited to see this Coconut Lime sparkling water on the shelf at Wegmans. I do like it but it did not live up to my expectations, which is why it is ranked in the middle. It has a very strong coconut smell, and it tastes a bit like a piña colada but also a bit like coconut scented soap. The lime flavor doesn’t really make an appearance until the aftertaste. It has a lingering sweetness from the coconut, but is also a bit dry from the lime. There are much better coconut sparkling waters on the market, so I would probably not buy this again.

10. Plain

Flavor Intensity – 0 | Flavor Quality – 10 | True to Flavor – 10

A wonderful ghost sparkling water in a beautiful blue can. It is very light and refreshing. Leaves a nice feeling in your mouth. Lovely bubbles. No complaints.

9. Peach

Flavor Intensity – 8 | Flavor Quality – 8 | True to Flavor – 4

This Peach sparkling water does not taste like a real peach. It smells like a candy store and tastes like straight up peach rings, but I am really into it! If you like the candy peach flavor, you will like this drink. I would probably only drink it as a treat or dessert because the flavor is so sweet and intense that I couldn’t drink it every day. Out of all the sparkling waters, I think children would love Peach the most!

8. Mandarin Orange

Flavor Intensity – 3 | Flavor Quality – 8 | True to Flavor – 8

I feel bad putting Mandarin Orange so low on this list, because it is really good! It is one of the most drinkable sparkling waters that Wegmans offers. It has a subtle smell, sweet yet gentle orange flavor, and is slightly reminiscent of a creamsicle. This drink is very smooth and refreshing, but it is a little blah. It’s like a sensible and reliable friend who you want to be roommates with but do not want to take to a club. Like, Mandarin Orange is probably friend-zoned. You get the idea.

7. Lime

Flavor Intensity – 3 | Flavor Quality – 8 | True to Flavor – 9

This Lime sparkling water has an excellent, subtle lime flavor. Some citrus sparkling waters are very bitter, tasting like citrus zest or oil, but this one tastes like actual lime juice. This drink is quite dry, and I actually enjoy the drying mouthfeel with this flavor, but I could see why someone might not like it. I feel like this sparkling water is just asking to be mixed with some tequila or gin.

6. Grapefruit

Flavor Intensity – 5 | Flavor Quality – 9 | True to Flavor – 9

Like I said, some citrus sparkling waters are undrinkable because of how bitter they are, but Wegmans really nailed this Grapefruit sparkling water. I do not like actual grapefruit, so I was surprised by how much I loved this drink. It is a little bit bitter, but the bitterness is so subtle that I can actually enjoy it. It’s like Wegmans took grapefruit juice, somehow removed 90% of the bitterness, added carbonation, and turned it into something that I find quite delicious. It is slightly dry, but still refreshing. I think it would also taste great with alcohol.

5. Black Cherry Vanilla

Flavor Intensity – 7 | Flavor Quality – 9 | True to Flavor – 8

Yum! Yum, yum, yum. This Black Cherry Vanilla sparkling water is incredible. If I close my eyes while drinking it, I can see literal rainbows. It reminds me of hot summer days and amusement parks. I think Wegmans was going for a black cherry vanilla coke flavor, but it tastes more like a cream soda. It is very vanilla prominent, smelling and tasting strongly of vanilla bean. No complaints from me, I’m a vanilla queen (in terms of flavor!!!). The cherry taste is subtle but lovely – no cherry cough drops here! Good flavors only. This sparkling water is truly delicious, especially when it is ice cold, so whip out your koozies for this one!

4. Ginger

Flavor Intensity – 5 | Flavor Quality – 9 | True to Flavor – 8

I love everything ginger, so I expected to love this Ginger sparkling water. And I do! It has a gentle ginger spice and sweetness, it goes down incredibly smoothly, and there is no strong aftertaste. This flavor is subtly spicy and leaves small tingles in the tip of your tongue. It definitely tastes more like ginger ale than ginger root, and smells like Schweppes Ginger Ale. I think that if you like either ginger root or ginger ale, you will like this drink.

3. Lemon Lime

Flavor Intensity – 5 | Flavor Quality – 9 | True to Flavor – 8

This Lemon Lime sparkling water is a beautiful combination of the two citruses. The lemon flavor tastes like lemon juice, and it does not veer into cleaning supplies territory like the Lemon sparkling water does. The lime flavor is also true to flavor but is not drying like the Lime sparkling water is. This Lemon Lime sparkling water is a bit more lime-y than lemon-y, but is a very smooth blend overall. There is some acidity to this drink, but there is also a sweetness that balances it out. I think the recipe for this flavor is damn near perfect.

2. Tangerine Lime

Flavor Intensity – 5 | Flavor Quality – 9 | True to Flavor – 8

Tangerine Lime is another sparkling water flavor that needs to be praised for it’s successful marriage between two amazing citrus flavors! This sparkling water has a delicious tangerine aroma. The flavor starts with tangerine and ends with a hint of lime. It has a slightly acidic yet sweet tangerine flavor, but it is not bitter at all. There is a slight sharpness from the lime, but it is not drying. This drink is very smooth, refreshing, and one of my favorites.

1. Orange Pineapple

Flavor Intensity – 7 | Flavor Quality – 10 | True to Flavor – 8

The Orange Pineapple sparkling water is simply delicious. There is not much more to say. It has a wonderful sweet pineapple fragrance with a hint of orange. It is a pineapple-dominant drink, and the subtle orange flavor compliments the pineapple perfectly. This refreshing sparkling water is incredibly smooth with a sweet finish. I truly have no complaints – Orange Pineapple is the winner here.

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What is your favorite Wegmans Sparkling Water?

Let me know in the comments below!