Our wine experts put the best champagnes to the test in order to find the best bottles – from supermarket bubbles to some fairly posh plonk, you're sure to find your new favourite fizz.
It’s the drink of parties and celebrations, of weddings and christenings, the drink that conjures up memories of special occasions and a touch of luxury. Champagne is no everyday drink so, when buying a bottle, it’s worth buying the best – so we’ve rounded up the best champagnes to buy so you can find the ultimate bottles to pop. There’s plenty of choice when it comes to fizz these days: from affordable prosecco and cava to unique English sparkling wines and even non-alcoholic sparkling options, but champagne remains the most decadent option. The strict rules limiting the region of the same name where it can be made in northern France, along with production rules, explain why its price tag is often higher as well as why it retains such a distinct character. Some champagne houses may be familiar names, such as Taittinger or Veuve Clicquot, but we’ve tested a range of lesser known, budget-friendly and even best supermarket champagnes, too, to find a brilliant affordable bottle of bubbly. Our selection varies from £14.99 to £50, for fizz to suit any budget. All champagnes have been tested by wine writers Henry Jeffreys and Jonathan Hatchman. Henry is a drinks and wine writer who writes for Master of Malt and his work has appeared in the The Guardian, The Spectator and The Financial Times. For more, visit our reviews section to find more than 400 practical buyer's guides, including taste tests of gin, vodka, rum and brandy, plus round-ups of the best rhubarb gins, pink gins and citrus gins. For regular wine deliveries direct to your door, discover our Good Food x Laithwaites partnership for discounts on exclusively curated wine cases chosen by experts and the Good Food team. Best champagnes at a glance Best grower champagne: Château de Bligny Grande Réserve, £27.99 Best Blanc de Blancs champagne: Laithwaite Brut Premier Cru Blanc de Blancs, £29 Best richly flavoured champagne: Champagne Gaston Declos 25th Anniversary Blanc de Noirs Brut NV, £39.99 Best fresh tasting champagne: Champagne Bruno Paillard Première Cuvée Extra Brut, £44 Best all-rounder champagne: Tesco Finest Premier Cru Brut NV, £26 Best of the big-name champagnes: Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Brut NV, £50 Best budget champagne: Veuve Monsigny Champagne NV, £15.49 Best blanc de noirs: Waitrose Blanc de Noirs Brut, £28 Best rose champagne: Taittinger Brut Prestige Rose NV, £49 Best unusual champagne: Barnaut Blanc de Noirs Grand Cru NV, £36.95 Jump to: What is the best champagne? Why is champagne so expensive? What makes a bad champagne? How we tested champagne? How to open champagne Champagne cocktail recipes What is the best champagne to buy in 2025? Château de Bligny Grande Réserve Available from Laithwaites (£34.99) Best grower champagne Star rating: 4.5/5 ABV: 12% Fun fact: Château de Bligny is the only house in champagne to benefit from the title of château. All of the estate’s winemaking stages are conducted on-site, from growing to fermenting and ageing. Dating back to the 18th century, it was taken over in 1999 and renovated. Comprising an equal blend of chardonnay and pinot noir, the Château de Bligny Grande Réserve is bottle-fermented and lees-aged, which gives the wine a remarkably toasty richness, joined by bold floral aromas, ripe pear, strawberry, peach and nectarine notes and just a touch of brioche. With dense structure, fine bubbles and lingering finish, it’s a complex and astonishingly well-balanced champagne. Available from: Laithwaites (£34.99) Laithwaite Brut Premier Cru Blanc de Blancs Available from Laithwaites (£32) Best Blanc de Blancs champagne Star rating: 4/5 ABV: 12.5% Produced exclusively for Laithwaites, from a prominent cellar in the village of Vertus, this Blanc de Blancs champagne is crafted using grapes sourced entirely from premier cru vineyards, undergoing a 30-month maturation (which is double the required minimum). With expected finesse and less weight than traditional champagne, this has plenty of butter and toasted brioche notes alongside crisp green apple, lemon and a delightful biscuit character on the complex, elegant finish. Available from: Laithwaites (£32) Champagne Gaston Declos 25th Anniversary Blanc de Noirs Brut NV Available from Virgin Wines (£39.99) Best richly flavoured champagne Star rating: 4/5 ABV: 12% Virgin Wines has partnered with Gyéjacquot Frères for the past 15 years, so to celebrate the wine merchants’ 25th anniversary, a collaborative cuvée has been launched. Founded in 1970 by brothers Daniel and Michel Gyéjacquot, the House of Gyéjacquot Frères is still family owned, with an estate of 19 hectares of vineyards spread across eight villages in the Côte des Bar. Exclusively produced from pinot noir, the house’s star grape, the Champagne Gaston Declos 25th Anniversary Blanc de Noirs Brut NV is aged for 22 months on its lees, expressive and rampant with apple, lemon, brioche and hazelnut notes, with pronounced freshness and delicacy. With layered richness, the champagne is great as a standalone, but also pairs incredibly well with food. Available from: Virgin Wines (£39.99) Champagne Bruno Paillard Première Cuvée Extra Brut Available from Wanderlust Wines (£48), Hedonism Wines (£44) Best fresh tasting champagne Star rating: 4.5/5 ABV: 12% Established in 1981, Bruno Paillard is an independent, family-owned champagne house with an aim of showcasing the northern and chalky character of champagne. An interpretation of the entire Champagne region, their flagship Bruno Paillard Première Cuvée features a blend of pinot noir, chardonnay and meunier from more than 30 crus from the most noble terroirs, with 20 per cent fermented in-barrel and aged for three years on lees. What’s also notable about this particular champagne is the extraordinarily low dosage, at fewer than five grams per litre, which provides outstanding finesse and purity. Ripe grapefruit, lime, redcurrant, cherry are all clear on the nose and on the palate, complete with bright acidity and a long, clean finish with a whisper of almond. Available from: Hedonism Wines (£44) Wanderlust Wines (£48) Tesco Finest Premier Cru Brut NV Available from Tesco (£26) Best all-rounder champagne Size: 75cl ABV: 12.5% Star rating: 4/5 This probably the best value champagne on the market and it’s one I buy regularly. With its notes of bruised apple, flakey pastry, toasted brioche and hazelnuts, it massively over-delivers for the money. Also, unlike many other supermarket champagnes, it’s consistently excellent so you can buy repeatedly with confidence. Available from: Tesco (£26) Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Brut NV Available from Waitrose (£50), Tesco (£50), Amazon (£48) Best of the big-name champagnes Size: 75cl ABV: 12.5% Star rating: 4/5 That orange label is so ubiquitous that it’s easy to overlook Veuve Clicquot. This would be a mistake because in the past few years it has become one of the best Grand Marque non vintages around. I loved its lemon sherbert vibrancy, creamy texture and long brioche finish. Absolutely superb and well worth the money, especially if you buy six bottles. Available from: Waitrose (£50) Tesco (£50) Amazon (£48) Veuve Monsigny Champagne Brut Available from Aldi (£15.49) Best budget champagne Size: 75cl ABV: 12.5% Star rating: 3.5/5 This is a crazy affordable price for champagne. It’s a name that attracts headlines all over the press for its supposed ability to rival the well-known champagne giants and while I don't think it's as good as all the hype would have you believe, it is much better than you would expect a £14.99 champagne to be. It is simple, clean and well balanced. Just the thing if you’re having a party. Available from: Aldi (£15.49) Waitrose Blanc de Noirs Brut Available from Waitrose (£28) Best blanc de noirs Size: 75cl ABV: 12.5% Star rating: 4/5 Another supermarket stalwart, this is made by Alexander Bonnet for Waitrose. The term ‘blanc de noirs’ means that it is made from black grapes only (pinot noir and meunier) and the result is rich and bold. If you like a fuller style of champagne, then you'll like this. Lots of complexity for around the £20 mark and often less when you buy six bottles or more. Available from: Waitrose (£27.99) Taittinger Brut Prestige Rose NV Available from Sainsbury's (£49), Waitrose Cellar (£49) Best rose champagne Size: 75cl ABV: 12.5% Star rating: 5/5 Champagne roses are usually made with a small addition of red wine (made from pinot noir) being added to the blend. Sometimes this is such a little amount that you can barely taste it. Not so with this rose champagne which is positively packed with dark cherry fruit. I loved its intense savoury finish. This would work well served alongside duck or other rich dishes. Available from: Sainsbury's (£49) Waitrose Cellar (£49) Latest Deals Barnaut Blanc de Noirs Grand Cru NV Available from Lea & Sandeman (£44.95) Best unusual champagne Size: 75cl ABV: 12.5% Up next, we have a bottle from a small grower based in Bouzy, which was, and to some extent still is, known as red wine country. Blanc de noirs means it’s only made from dark grapes which you can taste in the vivid, orangey fruit moving into marmalade flavours that have a real smokiness on the finish. Tangy and delicious. Available from: Lea & Sandeman (£44.95) Why is champagne so expensive? Champagne is a costly wine to produce. The raw materials (that is, the grapes) are the most expensive in France. Most champagne houses don’t own nearly enough vineyards to provide for their needs so they have to buy in grapes from small growers. This demand pushes up the price. The region Champagne has a climate very similar to southern England so these precious grapes don’t get terribly ripe. The resulting wines – low in alcohol and high in acidity – are not yet delicious but perfect for turning into sparkling wine. The process where base metals are turned into sparkling gold involves blending the still wines, usually from different vintages and vineyards all over the region, into a house style. The resulting blend is then bottled with a mixture of wine, yeast and sugar, sealed, and left to ferment a second time. The result is those magic bubbles of carbon dioxide. But this secondary fermentation also produces flavours of toast, nuts and yeast – the flavours we most associate with champagne. It’s left in this state for a minimum of 15 months (some are kept for decades like this). The yeast is then removed, the wine corked, and it is ready to sell, though the best wines are kept longer. All of this takes time and money. What makes a bad champagne? Disappointing champagnes – and there are many, sadly – will have been made from inferior grapes, matured for the minimum period and will result in a green acidity that has been merely masked with sugar. Wines like these are the reason many people think champagne is over-hyped. Those lovely toasty, bready notes take time to arrive and time is money. No wonder most of us just reach for one of the big names (though these can be a disappointment too). How we tested champagne We thought it would be interesting to try the best of the no-name champagnes. We sampled a range, from supermarket own-labels made by giant cooperatives to hand-crafted champagnes made by small growers who use only their own grapes, unusual in Champagne. The wines tried ranged from £10.99 to £50 though the majority were in the £20-30 sweet spot. Each champagne was tasted blind. Not surprisingly the more expensive bottles, on the whole, tasted better. The conclusion? Around £18 seems to be the minimum you should spend. Anything cheaper, you’d be much better going for something sparkling from Australia, New Zealand or Spain. This article is updated regularly to find the best champagnes to buy each year. How to open champagne When opening a bottle of fizz, remember it will behave far better and more predictably if it has been left to sit and chill for a few hours. Warmth and/or rough handling both make for an explosive cork situation and the likelihood of more mess and waste. Champagne should go into glasses, not onto ceilings. Make sure you have your glasses ready and within easy reach. Then, take your bottle and remove the foil; there should be a tag or perforation line to make this easy and neat. Once this is done, grip the neck of the bottle in one hand with your thumb over the top of the caged cork. From here on in, keep the bottle pointed away from yourself and anyone present, especially people's faces – about a 45 degree angle is good. With your other hand, untwirl the cage fastening. Uncover your thumb, lift off the cage and replace your thumb over the cork. If you can feel the cork pushing to leave the bottle already, get a glass ready. Otherwise, with the bottle gripped in one hand, slowly pull up the cork with the other. It may be quite stiff at first – if so, alternate pulling and twisting motions – but as you go you'll start to feel the pressure from within helping you out. Ease it up, always with your hand over the cork in a firm grip and, as you hear a pop, you know you've opened it. As to pouring champagne, if everything went smoothly, you have a bottle at 45 degrees, with a touch of vapour wafting out. Let that excess gas escape for a few seconds, then in smooth, gentle motions, pour a small amount - just a splash - into each glass in turn. Now return to the first glass and, tilting it also at around 45 degrees, top up slowly, until no more than two-thirds full. If the champagne is very lively and the mousse is rising to the top of the glass despite a slow pour, just move onto the next one and come back to it. That mousse is the fizz escaping, and in excess, leaves you with a flat drink, and nobody wants that. Don't over-fill the glass, as it will warm up far faster there than in the bottle, and warm champagne is a shame. If you have a bottle where the cork is straining to be free as soon as the cage is removed, then you will have to move fast. Once the cork is out, it will be followed by froth, which should go straight into that readied glass. Keep pouring off the excess into your glasses one by one until it subsides, then top up as before. Champagne cocktail recipes We’ve gathered the best champagne cocktail recipes for when you want to do more with your bottle. Classic champagne cocktails include buck’s fizz for a special brunch, or a fruity kir royale made with crème de cassis. For something a little more unique, try a champagne mojito or refreshing sgroppino (mixing champagne with vodka and lemon sorbet). Fans of an aperol spritz can put champagne to good use in a sparkling aperitivo spritz during summer. In the festive season, a spice 75 is a perfect Christmas party drink. Champagne recipes Champagne cocktails you can make in minutes Mimosa recipe Raspberry champagne cocktails More wine and drinks reviews Best wine gifts Best cava Best sloe gin Best bottles of gin to buy as gifts Best rum Best classic gin Best vodka Best tequila Best prosecco Best Pinot Grigio Best wine deals Best wine glasses Best champagne glasses Best whiskey glasses Best champagne deals Best cava deals Best prosecco deals Best wine for Christmas
12 of the best English sparkling wines to buy, 2025
Discover the best English sparkling wine to buy, a growing genre of drink that can be enjoyed like champagne, prosecco or cava.
Once considered a curiosity, English sparkling wine has now firmly established itself among the world’s finest fizz. Crafted using similar methods to Champagne, these English wines are typically made from classic grape varieties such as Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. Thanks to England’s chalky soils and cool climate, they deliver remarkable freshness, delicate bubbles, and a distinctive crisp acidity that rivals their French counterparts. To help you find the very best bottles, our drinks experts taste-tested and rated a selection of the best English sparkling wines, from well-known big producers to up and coming boutique vineyards, ranging from £25 to £45 a bottle. Here, we reveal our top 12 picks — the bottles worth celebrating, whatever the occasion. Best English sparkling wine at a glance Best richly flavoured English sparkling wine: Wyfold Vineyard English Sparkling Brut 2017, £38 Best for food pairing: Harrow & Hope English Sparkling Blanc de Blancs 2020, £40 Best budget English sparkling wine: Laithwaites English Heritage Sparkling Rosé NV, £28 Best sustainable English sparkling wine: Virgin Wines 25th Anniversary Limited Edition English Sparkling Brut NV, £38.99 Best English Pet Nat: Good Day Pet Nat, £25.55 Best elegant English sparkling wine: Black Chalk Classic Cuvée 2022, £40 Best English sparkling rosé: Exton Park RB|23 Rosé NV, £39 Best own label brut: Candover Brook Brut NV, £38 Best organic English sparkling wine: Davenport Limney Estate 2014, £27 Best non-vintage English sparkling wine: Redfold Vineyard Ambriel Classic Cuvée NV, £33 Best with strawberries: Bolney Cuvée Rosé 2018, £39.95 Best rosé English sparkling wine: Everflyht Rosé de Saignée 2019, £45 Best English sparkling wine to buy 2025 Wyfold Vineyard English Sparkling Brut 2017 Available from Laithwaites (£38) Best richly flavoured English sparkling wine Rating: 4.5/5 ABV: 12% Wyfold is Barbara Laithwaite’s two-hectare Oxfordshire vineyard, high on a south-facing slope of flinty gravel and chalk in the Chilterns. Using a traditional blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, the grapes are sent off to Barbera’s son Henry’s Harrow & Hope winery, where they’re expertly crafted into great English sparkling wine. The 2017 Brut is lees-aged for five years, which gives the wine a particularly bold flavour, with remarkable richness. Typical apple and pastry aromas are joined by elegant mineral length, with lime juice, orange peel, sweet cherry, pear and soft peach notes on the palate, finished with bright acidity typical of the style. Best served only slightly chilled to let the flavours standout. JH Available from: Laithwaites (£38) Harrow & Hope English Sparkling Blanc de Blancs 2020 Available from Laithwaites (£40) Best for food pairing Rating: 4.5/5 ABV: 12% Winner of Gold in the International Wine Challenge 2025, the Blanc de Blancs 2020 from Harrow & Hope in Marlow is a fine example of an English sparkling wine. Using 100% Chardonnay grown in a single vineyard which sits on an ancient Thames gravel terrace, wild yeast fermentation in the barrel and minimal sulphur, the wine is lees aged for four years. Lemon, green apple and mineral aromas dominate the nose, while the palate is fruity with notes of lime, grapefruit, apple, peach, quince, nice pastry notes and a dry, acidic finish. JH Available from: Laithwaites (£40) Laithwaites English Heritage Sparkling Rosé NV Available from Laithwaites (£28) Best budget English sparkling wine Rating: 3.5/5 ABV: 12% Showcasing outstanding English sparkling wine and celebrating the global reputation it has gained, English Heritage has collaborated with Ridgeview Estate in Sussex for this sparkling rosé. Produced with a trio of high-quality Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier grapes, using the same traditional method as champagne with long lees ageing, the resulting wine has a gorgeous toasty complexity with bright summer berry, green apple and citrus notes, creamy mousse and an elegant finish with toasted brioche flavours. JH Available from: Laithwaites (£28) Virgin Wines 25th Anniversary Limited Edition English Sparkling Brut NV Available from Virgin Wines (£38.99) Best sustainable English sparkling wine Rating: 4/5 ABV: 11.5% To celebrate their 25th anniversary, Virgin Wines have launched a small-batch English sparkling brut, produced by one of their favourite English winemakers, Collette O’Leary, Head Winemaker at Henners in Sussex. Committed to sustainable vineyard and winery practices, Henners are a founding member of Sustainable Wines of Great Britain, led by a small team. This particular English sparkling wine is crafted in the traditional method and is particularly elegant with notes of marzipan joining green apple, lemon zest, buttery pastry and just a touch of subtle spiciness on the creamy, biscuity finish. JH Available from: Virgin Wines (£38.99) Good Day Pet Nat Available from Shop Cuvee (£25.55) Best English Pet Nat Rating: 5/5 ABV: 10.5% This English Pet Nat wine has been produced by Ben Walgate of Tillingham fame especially for London-based restaurant, wine shop and wholesaler Top Cuvée. It is an outstanding version of the style. Crafted with Sussex-grown Pinot Noir, Rondo, Phoenix and Seyval grapes, it’s a really vibrant and fruity wine, complex and well-balanced, with summer berry, strawberries and cream sweets a hint of vanilla and pronounced tartness with echoes of rhubarb that lingers on the finish. Best served chilled (slightly cooler than typical sparkling wines). JH Available from: Shop Cuvee (£25.55) Black Chalk Classic Cuvée 2022 Available from Black Chalk Wine (£40) Best elegant English sparkling wine Rating: 5/5 ABV: 12% Black Chalk Classic Cuvée 2022 is the latest release from the dynamic English wine producer based in Hampshire’s Test Valley. Since 2015, Black Chalk have become particularly renowned for their approach to winemaking: reflecting their chalk soils, using minimal intervention and producing with meticulous attention to detail. For the 2022 vintage, a blend of hand-harvested Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier grapes undergo whole bunch pressing for purity of flavour before being cool fermented with 10% fermented oak, then aged for at least 22 months on lees and a further six months on cork post-disgorgement. The result is an exceptionally crisp wine with fresh acidity, well-balanced with just a hint of oak richness, lovely creaminess from the long lees-aging and a long, vibrant finish. JH Available from: Black Chalk Wine (£40) Exton Park RB|23 Rosé NV Available from Exton Park (£39) Best English sparkling rosé Rating: 4/5 ABV: 11.5% Founded by Malcolm Isaac MBE, a UK salad industry pioneer, Exton Park’s first vines were planted in 2003 with the intent of becoming one of the leading English sparkling wine producers in the Hampshire Valley. The Exton Park RB|23 Rosé NV has since become the estate’s most popular wine, using hand-harvested grapes from their single vineyard, pressed plot-by-plot before being stored in their library of reserve wines. This particular blend is a delicate, dry rosé with balanced floral character, ripe peach, sweet cherry and apple notes alongside vibrant acidity and some feint burnt sugar on the long finish. JH Available from: Exton Park (£39) Candover Brook Brut NV Available from Candover Brook (£38) Best own label brut Rating: 4/5 ABV: 12% Crafted at the Sainsbury family’s regenerative farm estate in Hampshire, Candover Brook Brut NV is based on the 2019 harvest from the farm’s single vineyard. It is all hand-harvested, whole-bunch-pressed and vinified in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks. To produce this particular wine, base wines from the 2019 vintage are blended with reserve wines from a solera dating back to 2011, which gives the wine plenty of aromatic complexity. Aged for a minimum of 42 months on lees, the wine has bold floral and lively young fruit notes alongside some nutty overtones, creamy vanilla, orchard fruits and a long, mineral finish. JH Available from: Candover Brook (£38) Davenport Limney Estate 2014 Available from Corkk, £27 Best organic sparkling wine It’s not easy growing organic grapes in England’s damp climate, but Davenport manages it with style. The fruit is superb with notes of lemon peel and crunchy green apples. I imagine this would be incredible with shellfish. HJ Available from: Corkk (£27) Redfold Vineyard Ambriel Classic Cuvée NV Available from Corkk, £33 Best non-vintage A producer based in the South Downs in West Sussex. This wine smells of caramelised apple with a touch of yeast extract, take a sip and there’s firm lemony acidity with beautiful delicate little bubbles and a yeasty finish. HJ Available from: Corkk (£33) Bolney Cuvée Rosé 2018 Available from Slurp (£39.95) Best with strawberries Don’t be fooled by the pale colour, this is meaty wine. With its dark cherry flavours it tastes almost like a red wine. For the money, I’d rather drink this over most pink champagnes. HJ Available from: Slurp (£39.95) Everflyht Rosé de Saignée 2019 Available from Threshers (£45) Best rosé wine The name might be unusual but new brand Everflyt is doing some remarkable things. If you think rosés can be a bit boring then think again. This is bursting with raspberries with cranberries with oaky flavours and even a little tannin. It’s a little bit wild and all the better for it. HJ Available from: Threshers (£45) More drinks reviews The best champagne The best cava The best malbec The best prosecco The best classic whisky The best brandy Best rosé Best wine glasses Best pinot noir Best wine deals Best cava deals Best champagne deals Best prosecco deals Best wine for Christmas This review was last updated in November 2025. If you have any questions, suggestions for future reviews or spot anything that has changed in price or availability please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk. Have you tried English sparkling wine? We'd love to hear your favourites below...
Best port to buy for Christmas and beyond
Discover the best ports to buy. From ruby and tawny to vintage, there's a port to suit your taste and budget. See how our wine expert, Henry Jeffreys, rated them during our taste test
Port is made by taking very ripe grapes grown in the Douro Valley, crushing them to extract as much colour and flavour as possible, and leaving them to ferment. While there is still lots of sugar, brandy is added to kill the yeasts and stop fermentation, leaving a wine of about 20% alcohol that’s intensely sweet, fruity and bold. The cheapest ruby ports spend a couple of years in wood before being bottled. At the top of the tree sit vintage ports, which are only made in the best years. Ideally they need around 15-20 years minimum in bottle before being ready to drink. There are also single quinta ports, which come from a particular year but mature quicker, and late bottled vintage (LBV), matured in large wooden vats for six years before bottling ready to drink. There are also tawny ports, which aged in barrels with oxygen contact like sherry, until they lose their colour and take on a nutty quality. They can be superb, and sold ready to drink with no need to decant. Finally, you can buy white ports that make great aperitifs, especially when mixed with sherry. Keep an eye out for offers around Christmas time – sometimes you can pick up some bargains from larger retailers. Some say port should just be drunk in December, but it can be enjoyed year-round. Tawnies, in particular, are surprisingly versatile and pair well with any season. Read on to find which ports are best. For more, visit our review section and find over 400 buyers' guides, including taste tests of gin, whisky, vodka, rum, brandy and more. Best port to buy at a glance Best budget port: António José Da Silva Tawny Port, £14.99 Best ruby port: Andresen Fine Ruby Port NV, £15.99 Best port for beginners: Taylor’s 10 Year Old Tawny Port, £20 Best complex port: Alta No. 10 Tawny Port, £23 Best port for a light, nutty finish: Waitrose No.1 Reserve Tawny Port, £16 Best port for cocktails: Graham’s Blend No 5 White Port, £26.95 Best value port: Tesco Finest 10-year-old tawny port, £14.50 Best tawny port: Sandeman 20-year-old tawny port, £42.25 Best port to buy 2025 António José Da Silva Tawny Port Available from Laithwaites (£14.99) Best budget port Rating: 3.5/5 ABV: 18% Master of fine port Álvaro van Zeller has collaborated with Laithwaites for a very special, limited-edition tawny port, produced exclusively from aged wines selected from Álvaro’s cellar’s best barrels. With each barrel bringing something completely different to the blend, this tawny port is complex and silky with profoundly rich depth, with walnut, dried fruit, caramel and fig flavours alongside some baking spice presence. Great with roasted chestnuts, Christmas cake or hard cheeses. JH Available from: Laithwaites (£14.99) Andresen Fine Ruby Port NV Available from Laithwaites (£15.99) Best ruby port Rating: 4/5 ABV: 19.5% One of the last remaining family-owned and run port houses, Andresen have been producing remarkable ports since 1849. Particularly renowned for using a strictly curated grape selection, the extensive cellars house a vast collection of aged ports resting in barrel, ready to be expertly blended. This young port is eminently fruity with jammy forest fruit notes, hints of chocolate and a lengthy, juicy finish. JH Available from: Laithwaites (£15.99) Taylor’s 10 Year Old Tawny Port Available from Ocado (£30.50) Best port for beginners Rating: 4/5 ABV: 20% While better known for its vintage ports, Taylor’s 10 Year Old Tawny port is an exemplary version of the style. Fully matured in seasoned oak casks and blended from extensive reserves of old cask-aged ports, this port is elegant and complex with rich fruit notes of ripe berry, fig and prune, plus mellow chocolate and oak notes alongside a long, jammy finish. JH Available from: Ocado (£30.50) Quinta Da Pedra Alta No. 10 Ten Year Old Tawny Port Available from The Wine Society (£23) Best complex port Rating: 4.5/5 ABV: 19% Aged in granite lagars, Alta No. 10 comprises a blend of various aged parcels, with differing levels of sweetness and acidity, as well as a small portion of especially old barrels, aged for at least 40 years. The aim here is to produce a port where sweetness takes a back seat, with the acidity providing more of the focus. Bold dried fruit aromas are joined by toffee and caramel, continuing on the palate with expected tawny complexity and velvety texture, while the finish is refreshing and fruity. Best enjoyed slightly chilled. JH Available from: The Wine Society (£23) Waitrose No.1 Reserve Tawny Port Available from Waitrose (£16) Best port for a light, nutty finish ABV: 20% This is made by the Symingtons, the family that owns Grahams port. You’ll find candied fruit on the nose while the palate is sweet and light, with an earthy finish, like biting into a Brazil nut. HJ Available from: Waitrose (£16) Graham’s Blend No 5 white port Available from Amazon (£26.95), Waitrose (£26.50) Best port for cocktails Rating: 4/5 ABV: 19% A modern take on white port made with two grape varieties, Malvasia Fina and Moscatel Gallega which are cold-fermented and sold unaged to preserve primary fruit. It’s intensely aromatic with floral, honey and citrus fruits, and makes a cracking alternative to gin when mixed with tonic. HJ Available from: Amazon (£26.95) Waitrose (£26.50) Tesco Finest 10-year-old tawny port Available from Tesco (£14.50) Best value port Rating: 4/5 ABV: 20% Made by one of Porto's great families, the Symingtons, this is another wine that offers great value. It's a blend of wines with an average age of 10 years, giving it the ripe strawberry fruitiness of young wines but with the nuttiness of older ones. One to give people who think they don't like port. HJ Available from: Tesco (£14.50) Sandeman 20-year-old tawny port Available from Amazon (£42.25) Best tawny port Rating: 5/5 ABV: 20% The complexity is astounding with orange peel, tobacco and masses of candied fruit. And just when you think it's over, a wave of walnuts hits you and goes on for a good 15 minutes. I don’t think you will find so much pleasure anywhere for the money. Blimey! HJ Read our full review of Sandeman 20-year-old tawny Available from: Amazon (£42.25) How to store port once opened? Ruby and vintage ports should ideally be drunk within five days of opening. After that period, while still alcoholic and drinkable, they will start to lose freshness and taste raisin-y. Don’t leave your port in a decanter for months. Put the cork back in the bottle or stopper the decanter, and keep it somewhere cool and dark like a cupboard. Tawny ports are different because they are aged with oxygen contact and will only deteriorate very slowly. Once opened a tawny port will last for a month or more. It’s a style that suits chilling so why not keep the bottle in the fridge? How to drink port? To decant or not to decant, that is the question. The ageing process will leave sediment in vintage port. To remove this, stand the bottle up overnight and then carefully pour into a glass jug or decanter with a light or candle shining at the neck of the bottle, when you start to see a heavy sediment, stop pouring. You’ll probably lose about half a glass of port (which is handy for putting in gravy.) Most ports won’t need decanting, however. Tawny ports are very nice chilled whereas other types suit being served cool but not cold. Too hot and they will taste too alcoholic. Port is deceptively strong, 20%, so it’s worth serving it in smaller glasses. Something like a sherry copita works best. What to eat with port? In Britain, we tend to associate vintage port with stilton but it also goes brilliantly with hard cheeses like mature cheddar and comte. While there’s nothing better with Welsh Rarebit than a tawny port, saucisson sec and cured ham are also a good fit with this style. Meanwhile young vintage or LBV have an affinity with chocolate - try them with these Melting Chocolate Puddings. Don’t be afraid to mix your port: white port is great with tonic, and ruby and cheaper tawnies can be used in cocktails in place of vermouth. And finally you don’t have to serve port with anything, a glass of chilled tawny makes a fine aperitif. Related reviews Best champagne Best prosecco Best cava Best rosé wine Best gin to buy as gifts Best bourbon Best craft whiskies Best Pinot Noir Best wine deals If you have any questions or suggestions for future reviews, or spot anything that has changed in price or availability, please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk. For information on alcohol guidelines, read our guide to drinking responsibly.
Drinks experts Henry Jeffreys and Jonathan Hatchman share their best Malbec to buy, from Argentina and beyond. We've got wines for any budget, with blowout bottles and plenty under £10
A wine merchant once let me into a secret about ordering from an unfamiliar wine list: go for the Rioja or the Malbec, and you can’t go wrong. Malbec is one of the very few grape varieties, like Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay, that has become a brand name familiar to non-wine buffs. What’s all the more remarkable is that 25 years ago the word ‘Malbec’ was almost unknown. In its home in south west France where it went into an often rather tough wine called Cahors, it was called Cot. In Bordeaux, however, it was known as Malbec but there was very little of it. Once an important variety, it had largely been superseded by Cabernet Sauvignon and Franc, and Merlot. But there were acres and acres of the stuff in Argentina, where it was brought by French immigrants in the 19th century. In the 1990s Argentinian producers managed to harness all that sunshine to transform this often awkward grape into something that people loved, full-bodied but with smooth tannins, lushly fruity and perfumed with violets. A new wine style was born, Argentinian Malbec. It’s become such a success that in south west France, they now call the grape Malbec instead of Cot, and it is generally made in a fruitier, more friendly style than in the past. Most Malbec on the shelves comes from Argentina or France, but we have included a couple from other countries too. Read on to discover the pick of the best Malbec wines, ranging from under £10 to £30 a bottle. For more unbiased expert buyer's guides and taste tests, visit our review section to find 400+ round-ups of everything from the best English wine and prosecco to rosé. To learn more about wine, explore our complete wine varieties guide and discover all you need to know about Chenin Blanc, Garganega, Vermentino and much more. For regular wine deliveries direct to your door, discover our Good Food x Laithwaites partnership for discounts on exclusively curated wine cases chosen by experts and the Good Food team. Best Malbec at a glance Best overall Malbec: Zuccardi Concreto Malbec 2021, £30 Best Malbec for pairing with food: Opi Malbec Reserve 2023, £16.99 Best Malbec for Bordeaux lovers: HJ Fabre Barrel Selection Patagonia Malbec 2023, £17.99 Best fusion Malbec: Domaine Bousquet’s Finca Lalande Malbec 2024, £13 Best value Argentinian Malbec: Definition Uco Valley Malbec 2022, £13.50 Best Malbec under £10: by Amazon Our Selection Mendoza Argentinian Malbec, £8.49 Best Australian Malbec: Felix Noctua Malbec 2024, £13.99 Best value French Malbec: Tesco Finest Malbec Cahors, £8.75 Best French Malbec: Georges Vigouroux Malbec Le Grand Retour, £12 Best Malbec with steak: Trivento Golden Reserve Malbec, £16 Best Malbec to buy in 2025 Zuccardi Concreto Malbec 2021 Available from Laithwaites (£30) Best overall Malbec Star rating: 5/5 ABV: 14% From one of Argentina’s most revered wine producers, the Zuccardi Concreto Malbec 2021 is produced using grapes grown in the chalky soils of the estate’s own vineyards in Paraje Altamira. The chalky character of the soil is highlighted by fermenting and ageing the wine in concrete vessels, hence the 'Concreto' name. It's this unique ageing process that gives the wine the purity, precision and elegance it has become so well renowned for. Fresh and floral on the nose with some herbal aromas, the palate is characterised by berry fruitiness with chalky tannins, a hint of black pepper and a bold floral finish. An absolutely exemplary Argentinian Malbec. Available from: Laithwaites (£30) Opi Malbec Reserve 2023 Available from Laithwaites (£16.99) Best Malbec for pairing with food Star rating: 4/5 ABV: 14% Made by Rodolfo Sadler, chief winemaker at Andean Vineyards in Argentina, this uses grapes from older, higher altitude vineyards in the Maipu region of Mendoza. It was aged for 15 months in new French and American Oak barrels for rounded tannins and greater depth of flavour. With intense black fruit notes of plum, mulberry and blackcurrant, this is a particularly juicy Argentinian Malbec with some gorgeous vanilla and spice notes lingering on the finish. It’s an elegant bottle that is great for pairing with food, especially steak, roast beef and game. Available from: Laithwaites (£16.99) HJ Fabre Barrel Selection Patagonia Malbec 2023 Available from Laithwaites (£17.99) Best Malbec for Bordeaux lovers Star rating: 4/5 ABV: 14.5% Bordeaux-born Hervé Fabre moved to Argentina during the 1990s and soon fell in love with old-vine Malbec. Since then, the winemaker has bought estates in Mendoza and Patagonia, where he runs his winery like a Bordeaux Château, with barrel cellars at each. This particular wine is made like a fine claret, using grapes from 30-year-old vines in Patagonia’s Río Negro, aged for a year in French oak barriques. The result is a powerful, elegant Malbec with velvety tannins, a hint of oak, blackcurrant, spice and a medium to full body with a well-balanced finish. Top tip: ideally decant for at least an hour to experience this wine at its best. Available from: Laithwaites (£17.99) Domaine Bousquet’s Finca Lalande Malbec 2024 Available from Waitrose (£12) Best fusion Malbec Star rating: 4/5 ABV: 13% The Bousquet family fell in love with the Gualtallary Valley, which occupies the highest extremes of Mendoza’s viticultural limits. It is here that the family planted vines to nurture organically-grown wines with their dream terroir, a perfect blend between France and South America. The results blend French winemaking with Argentinian terroir. Really showcasing the Gualtallary soil, the Finca Lalande Malbec’s 2024 vintage is bursting with red and black fruit notes, including plum, blueberry, blackberry and fig alongside soft tannins and an elegant, well-balanced finish. Available from: Waitrose (£12) Definition Uco Valley Malbec 2022 Available from Majestic (£13.50) Best value Argentinian Malbec Star rating: 4/5 ABV: 14% Crafted exclusively for Majestic, the Definition Uco Valley Malbec is a more accessible wine from Zuccardi, the producers of the Concreto Malbec above. Using grapes from vineyards which range between 800-to-1400 metres above sea level, half of the wine is aged in French oak for 10 months while the other portion is aged in concrete egg vats, like Zuccardi’s other exceptional wines. This protects the fruit and terroir. In this edition, jammy notes of blackberry, plum, blackcurrant and black cherry are joined by some oak and vanilla hints, plus some very feint tobacco alongside smooth tannins and moderate acidity. Available from: Majestic (£13.50) By Amazon Our Selection Mendoza Argentinian Malbec Available from Amazon (£8.49) Best Malbec under £10 Star rating: 3.5/5 ABV: 13.5% From Amazon’s own curated range of high quality food and drink, the By Amazon Malbec showcases grapes from 25-year-old vines in the Agrelo district of Mendoza in Argentina. A pure, classic example of Argentinian Malbec, the wine is bold with violet, redcurrant and blackcurrant notes alongside a silky smooth finish. Although not quite as complex as other options, the By Amazon Malbec is far greater than its price suggests, great for pairing with food. Available from: Amazon (£8.49) Felix Noctua Malbec 2024 Available from Virgin Wines (£13.99) Best Australian Malbec Star rating: 4/5 ABV: 13.2% Sun-kissed, perfectly ripe Australian Malbec grapes are showcased in this Felix Noctua Malbec, known for their pronounced jammy fruit flavours. Produced by the expert team at Felix Noctua in South-Eastern Australia, this particular wine reminds us of the nation’s red wine credentials, which is a slight step away from the better known French and Argentinian Malbecs. Offering plenty of depth without excess, the jammy dark fruit presence is balanced by some subtle spice and a touch of earthiness, framed by silky tannins and a long fruity finish. Available from: Virgin Wines (£13.99) Tesco Finest Malbec Cahors Available from Tesco (£8.75) Best value French Malbec Star rating: 3/5 ABV: 13% Cahors, the original home of Malbec, tends to produce wines with more tannin than Argentina. That is the case here, but it’s also supported by acres of fresh ripe damson fruit so it’s not going to frighten the horses. Available from: Tesco (£8.75) Georges Vigouroux Malbec Le Grand Retour Available from Majestic (£12) Best French Malbec Rating: 4/5 ABV: 13.5% Another wine from Cahors, this is more traditional than the Tesco version. There’s a smell like old leather with dark fruit and violets. It’s robust on the palate with dark fruit and grippy leather, but with freshness and fragrance too. Try this with cassoulet. Available from: Majestic (£12) Trivento Malbec Golden Reserve Available from Tesco (£16) Best Malbec with steak Rating: 4/5 ABV: 14% Trivento makes a huge range of wines (including some tasty supermarket own labels) but I’ve gone for a more upmarket version which is worth the extra money. It’s very spicy with violets, plums and the kind of furry tannins that love a nice bit of rare steak. Available from: Tesco (£16) More drinks reviews Best champagne Best prosecco Best rosé Best classic whisky Best brandy Best pinot grigio Related reviews Best wine glasses Best champagne glasses Best whiskey glasses Best Pinot Noir Best red wines for cooking Best wine for Christmas This review was last updated in October 2025. If you have any questions, suggestions for future reviews or spot anything that has changed in price or availability please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk. What do you think of our selection of best Malbec wines? Do you have a favourite bottle to recommend? We'd love to hear your product suggestions in the comments below...
8 best canned wines – our top whites, rosés, reds and spritzers
Forget bottles: these days, it's all about wine in a can. Read our expert reviews to discover the 10 best canned whites, rosés, spritzers and red wines ideal for taking to picnics and parties.
Summer is in the air, which can mean only one thing: it’s picnic time! For all your al fresco sipping needs, we’ve rounded-up the best canned wines out there. This category has come on in leaps and bounds: there are now specialist companies like Canvino and the aptly named Canned Wine Company. And, some of the wines below are genuinely superb, not just nice for swigging in the sunshine. And, why not? Canned wines aren’t just for picnics, taking on trains or drinking at festivals. Cans are handy for when you might fancy just a glass of something nice midweek rather than opening a bottle. We’re just catching up with the Americans, who have long been putting quality wines in cans. It helps that canning technology has improved hugely in recent years, too – you’re not going to get any odd metallic tastes. Some of these wines come from supermarkets, but many can be purchased direct from the producer, which is worth thinking about if you’re buying in bulk. Each sample was tasted out of a glass and straight from the can. The sweeter, simpler wines tended to taste better chilled from the can, whereas for the more complex ones – especially the reds – are best poured into a proper glass. For more, visit our reviews section and find more than 400 practical buyers' guides, taste tests of gin, vodka and more. For more summer drinks inspiration, read our round-ups of the best canned cocktails, best English wine, best bottled cocktails and best rosé. For regular wine deliveries direct to your door, sign up to the Good Food Wine Club for discounts on exclusively curated wine cases chosen by experts and the Good Food team. Best canned wines to buy at a glance Best aromatic white: Canned Wine Company Verdejo, £5.75 Best premium canned rose: Mirabeau Pret-a-Porter rose, £3.75 Best big red: Banks Brothers Merlot, £21 for three Best Italian pink: Copper Crew Rosato, £10.50 for three Best Garnacha: Kanvas Garnacha Negra, £59.90 for 12 Best canned English: The Uncommon Bubbly wine, £5.95 Best budget sparkling: Canvino Bianco, £4 Best chilled red: Vinca Organic red wine, £3.50 Best canned wines to buy in 2025 Canned Wine Company Verdejo Available from Ocado (£5.75), Canned Wine Company (£18 for three cans) Best aromatic white Verdejo is an aromatic white grape native to Spain, which produces wines with distinctive almond, floral and citrus notes. This high-quality example comes from the Canned Wine Company, which has a brilliant selection, from fizz to juicy reds and refreshing rosé. We'd highly recommend getting a mixed case. Available from: Ocado (£5.75) Canned Wine Company (£18 for three cans) Mirabeau Pret-a-Porter Available from Tesco (£3.75), Sainsbury's (£3.75) Best premium rosé From one of the biggest names in Provence rosé, Mirabeau, this canned version is excellent. It’s incredibly pale, almost colourless, but with plenty of delicate strawberry and stone fruit, plus a refreshing saline edge. It's a great wine to take to the beach. Available from: Tesco (£3.75) Sainsbury's (£3.75) Banks Brothers Merlot Available from Banks Brothers (£21 for three) Best big red We've tasted a load of wines from Banks Brothers, and it's all pretty excellent. And, no wonder: this new company buys wines from some seriously classy producers. In this case, it's Glen Carlou in South Africa, which provides a beautifully ripe merlot with silky tannins and ripe, plummy fruit and chocolate. Available from: Banks Brothers (£21 for 3) Copper Crew Rosato Available from The Copper Crew (£10.50 for three) Best Italian pink Copper Crew sources its wines from Puglia. We think the pink is the pick of the bunch, but the red and white are excellent, too. It’s a blend of southern Italian varieties like Primitivo and Negroamaro, creating a gutsy rosato that’s full of crunchy red fruit and a distinctly bittersweet quality. This would be brilliant at a barbecue, as it goes with everything. Available from: The Copper Crew (£10.50 for three) Kanvas Garnacha Negra Available from Amazon (£59.99 for 12) Best Garnacha There are a lot of Spanish garnachas (aka grenache) available in cans, probably because it’s such a good source of high-quality cheap wine. This was particularly impressive: it’s bursting with ripe raspberry fruit with a floral orange blossom quality. You could probably drink this chilled, though watch out for the 14.5% ABV. Available from: Amazon (£59.99 for 12) The Uncommon Bubbly rosé wine Available from Ocado (£5.95) Best sparkling rosé The Uncommon is a specialist canned wine company that sources its wines from southern England. Everything it does is delightful, like this sparkling pinot noir with its delicate cherry fruit seasoned with herbs and orange peel, all topped off with a light fizz. It shows just how good English sparkling wine can be. Available from: Ocado (£5.95) Canvino Bianco Available from The Cambridge Wine Merchants (£4.50) Best sparkling white A prosecco-style wine which is much nicer than any proseccos I’ve had at the price, equivalent to just under £10 a bottle. This is made in northern Italy from a blend of chardonnay and trebbiano grapes producing a crisp, zingy lightly sparkling wine with a zingy finish and only 10.5% alcohol. Available from: The Cambridge Wine Merchants (£4.50) Vinca Organic red wine Available from Abel & Cole (£3.50) Best chilled red This is a blend of two of Sicily’s best grapes, nero d'avola and frappato, grown organically in the west of the island. Drink it chilled to appreciate the ripe strawberry and pomegranate notes. It would be especially nice with a tuna and orange salad. Vinca also makes a white and a rosé which are well worth trying. Available from: Abel & Cole (£3.50) More wine and drinks reviews Best rosé wine Best cava Best champagne Best prosecco Best non-alcoholic wine Best wine glasses Best champagne glasses Best whiskey glasses Best pinot grigio Best pinot noir Best wine deals Best champagne deals Best cava deals Best prosecco deals Best wine for Christmas If you have any questions or suggestions for future reviews, or spot anything that has changed in price or availability, please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk. For information on alcohol guidelines, read our guide to drinking responsibly.
Italian prosecco is as popular a choice of fizz as traditional champagne or cava. Read our expert review of the best prosecco bottles to find your new favourite sparkling wine
Prosecco is a phenomenally popular drink in the UK. It's somewhat sweet and soft in flavour and more affordable than other sparkling wines, such as champagne. Prosecco is great to bring along when visiting a friend for dinner, heading to a party or having an impromptu celebration. Pink or rosé prosecco is a staple of boozy brunches, and prosecco's affordability means it can be transformed into refreshing spritzes or decadent cocktails without worrying about the cost. Most proseccos are simple wines. Don’t be afraid to mix them with peach juice to make a bellini, turn it into a spritz or add lemon sorbet and vodka for a sgroppino. But, what makes a good prosecco? We've rounded-up the top bottles to find a prosecco to suit everybody, from the best budget proseccos, to pink prosecco or bottles that are perfect for cocktails. Read on to discover our pick of the best. For more, visit our reviews section and find over 400 practical buyer's guides, including taste tests of rosé wine, gin, vodka and more. Best prosecco at a glance Best prosecco for showing off: The Emmisary prosecco rosé brut, £17.06 Best everyday rosé prosecco: Tesco Finest prosecco rosé 2020, £8.25 Best for parties: Tesco Finest prosecco superiore, £10 Best prosecco for entertaining: The Wine Society prosecco brut NV, £10.44 Best prosecco for complexity of flavour: Sacchetto prosecco extra dry Fili NV, £14.55 Best crowd-pleasing prosecco: Sainsbury's Taste the Difference prosecco di Conegliano brut 2016, £9.75 Best easy drinking prosecco: Romeo & Juliet prosecco di Treviso brut DOC NV, £11 Best off-dry prosecco: Cinzano prosecco, £9.95 Jump to section: What is the best prosecco to buy? How we tasted prosecco Prosecco vs champagne How to open prosecco Best prosecco glasses Prosecco cocktail recipes What is the best prosecco to buy? The Emmissary prosecco rosé brut Available from Amazon (£17.06) Best prosecco for showing off Star rating: 4/5 With its clear glass bottle and gold label, this prosecco will appeal to those looking to show off (or post their bottle on Instagram). Happily, the contents within live up to the glitzy packaging. This has a delicious orange sherbet quality, combined with ripe strawberries and a creamy texture. Available from: Amazon (£17.06) Tesco's Finest prosecco rosé 2020 Available from Tesco (£8.25) Best everyday rosé prosecco Star rating: 3/5 It was only recently that pink prosecco was allowed by the Italian wine authorities. The colour comes from adding a little pinot noir to the native glera grape. There’s a lot of bad pink prosecco, but this one really impressed – it’s more than just pretty to look at! It has a bitter cherry and orange edge and pleasant floral finish. Available from: Tesco (£8.25) Tesco Finest prosecco superiore Available from Tesco (£10) Best for parties Star rating: 3/5 Prosecco Superiore is a cut above the ordinary stuff, as the name suggests. This is grape-y and lemony – just the thing to get in bulk for parties. It has a refreshing quality that's lacking in most supermarket proseccos, which will have everyone reaching for another glass. Available from: Tesco (£10) The Wine Society prosecco brut NV Available from The Wine Society (£10.44) Best prosecco for entertaining Prosecco is actually a much better drink than champagne to serve at events such as weddings, as it's cheaper, lower in alcohol and much less acidic, so it's easier to drink. This dry, refreshing sparkler would be our pick for entertaining. Available from: The Wine Society (£10.44) Taste the Difference prosecco di Conegliano brut Available from Sainsbury’s (£9.75) Best crowd-pleasing prosecco Most prosecco is non-vintage, but this one comes from a specific year. We loved the mixture of very fresh fruit and floral notes with a finish that was a little sweet and cakey. Available from: Sainsbury’s (£9.75) Sacchetto prosecco extra dry Fili NV Available from VINVM (£14.55) Best prosecco for complexity of flavour There’s lots going on with this one. It initially tastes quite sweet but finishes with a dry and refreshing flavour. There’s a nice saline quality with peachy fruit and even a touch of toastiness at the end. Available from: VINVM (£14.55) Romeo & Juliet prosecco di Treviso brut DOC NV Available from Majestic Wine (£11) Best easy drinking prosecco Brut-style, and you can really taste it. There are pastry notes on the nose, then on the palate it's really dry with some bitter lemon and almonds. It's a really nice prosecco that's easy to drink. Available from: Majestic Wine (£11) Cinzano prosecco Available from Amazon (£9.95), The Bottle Club (£9.99), Drink Supermarket (£10.49) Best off-dry prosecco Cinzano doesn’t just make vermouth, but also a range of wines like this prosecco. If you like your fizz a little on the sweet side, then look no further. This would be extremely nice with some lemon drizzle cake or mixed in an Aperol spritz. Available from: Amazon (£9.95) The Bottle Club (£9.99) Drink Supermarket (£10.49) Prosecco vs champagne People often ask what the difference is between prosecco and champagne. Well, they’re both sparkling wines from specific regions: Champagne in northern France, and Treviso in north-eastern Italy, but the similarities end there. Champagne is dry, highly acidic and usually expensive, whereas its Italian rival is soft, sweetish and affordable – no wonder it's so popular. Part of the difference in price is down to prosecco’s production method. To make champagne and most sparkling wines, a still wine is fermented for a second time in the bottle with added yeast and sugar, which creates carbon dioxide – aka fizz. In prosecco, this secondary fermentation takes place in a tank, then the wines are filtered and bottled under pressure. This method is less labour intensive – unlike champagne, which has to be aged for a minimum of 15 months – so prosecco can be sold straight away. Not only is this method cheaper, it preserves fresh fruit flavours, too. This is the fundamental difference between the two wines: champagne tastes of mature yeasty flavours, whereas prosecco should be all about fresh fruit. The term frizzante on the label, as opposed to spumante, means the wine is less fizzy. Only wines from the Prosecco region, not far from Venice, can be called prosecco. The principal grape is called glera, but it used to be called prosecco, before the wily Italians changed the name so that the Australians couldn’t use the magic word prosecco on their bottles. Prosecco tends to be much sweeter than champagne. Confusingly, wines labelled dry are actually quite sweet. Extra dry is drier, though it still contains between 12-17g of sugar. If you want a proper dry wine, look for the word 'brut' on the label. In a good prosecco, you'll often find green apple, peach or citrus flavours and often some floral notes, too. With better examples, you may notice flavours of almonds and biscuity champagne-like notes. Don’t be afraid to mix it with peach juice to make a bellini, Aperol or Campari to make a spritz or, most hedonistic of all, lemon ice cream and vodka, which is called a sgroppino. Our version, icy kir, swaps the ice cream for berry sorbet. How to open prosecco When opening a bottle of prosecco, remember it will behave far better and more predictably if it has been left to sit and chill for a few hours. Warmth and/or rough handling both make for an explosive cork situation, meaning more mess and waste. Fizz should go into glasses, not onto ceilings. Make sure you have your glasses ready and within easy reach. Then, take your bottle and remove the foil; there should be a tag or perforation line to make this easy and neat. Once this is done, grip the neck of the bottle in one hand with your thumb over the top of the caged cork. From here on in, keep the bottle pointed away from yourself and anyone present, especially people's faces – about a 45 degree angle is good. With your other hand, untwirl the cage fastening. Uncover your thumb, lift off the cage and replace your thumb over the cork. If you can feel the cork pushing to leave the bottle already, get a glass ready. Otherwise, with the bottle gripped in one hand, slowly pull up the cork with the other. It may be quite stiff at first – if so, alternate pulling and twisting motions – but as you go you'll start to feel the pressure from within helping you out. Ease it up, always with your hand over the cork in a firm grip and, as you hear a pop, you know you've opened it. If everything went smoothly, you have a bottle at 45 degrees, with a touch of vapour wafting out. Let that excess gas escape for a few seconds, then in smooth, gentle motions, pour a small amount – just a splash – into each glass in turn. Now return to the first glass and, tilting it also at around 45 degrees, top up slowly, until no more than two-thirds full. If the champagne is very lively and the mousse is rising to the top of the glass despite a slow pour, just move onto the next one and come back to it. That mousse is the fizz escaping, and in excess, leaves you with a flat drink, and nobody wants that. Don't overfill the glass, as it will warm up far faster there than in the bottle, and warm prosecco is a shame. If you have a bottle where the cork is straining to be free as soon as the cage is removed, then you will have to move fast. Once the cork is out, it will be followed by froth, which should go straight into that readied glass. Keep pouring off the excess into your glasses one by one until it subsides, then top up as before. How we tasted prosecco Our prosecco taste test covered over 15 bottles, aiming to find the best example of a good prosecco. In a good prosecco, we’re looking for clean, fresh fruit flavours like green apple, peach or citrus, and often some floral notes, too. With very top-quality prosecco, you might also notice flavours of almonds and biscuity, champagne-like notes. A lower-quality or poor example of a prosecco may taste sugary or artificial, so these were marked down and not included. Prosecco is naturally sweeter, but there should be enough acidity to balance the sugar. Best prosecco glasses Check out our full round-up of the best champagne glasses for more inspiration. Prosecco Crystal Flutes Available from Wayfair (£23.99/set of 2) These prosecco glasses are a combination between a flute and wine glass, with an almost diamond-shape that allows the sweet aromas of the prosecco to reach your nose, but with a tapered top that means all of the bubbles won't escape. These are made from sturdy crystal glass, but can only be washed by hand. Available from: Wayfair (£23.99/set of 2) Luigi Bormioli Optica champagne coupe glasses Available from M&S (£46/set of 4) Made in Italy, these champagne glasses have pinstripe indentations, creating a retro, art deco look, with long stems that will keep your prosecco cooler for longer. As they have a more rounded bowl shape, they can also be used to serve desserts, and are dishwasher-safe for easy cleaning. Available from: M&S (£46/set of 4) Prosecco cocktail recipes A bottle of prosecco is celebratory enough to drink on its own, but it’s also a versatile addition to cocktails. Classic prosecco cocktail recipes include an Aperol spritz or passion fruit martini. Make a jug of apple prosecco punch to feed a crowd, try a sweet peach & rose fizz in summer or pair with coconut and rum in a tropical coco fizz. There are more than just cocktails, too: a box of homemade prosecco truffles make a great edible gift, while this showstopping prosecco cake recipe is the perfect birthday party centrepiece for a prosecco fan. Prosecco recipes and tips Video: next level prosecco cocktails 10 prosecco cocktails you can make in minutes More prosecco cocktails and recipes Related reviews The best champagne The best cava Best wine glasses Best champagne glasses Best whiskey glasses Best pinot grigio Best pinot noir Best wine deals Best champagne deals Best prosecco deals Best cava deals If you have any questions or suggestions for future reviews, or spot anything that has changed in price or availability, please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk. For information on alcohol guidelines, read our guide to drinking responsibly.
14 best non-alcoholic and low-alcohol beers, taste-tested 2025
We tasted non-alcoholic and low-alcohol beer, from lager and pale ale to deep, rich stout. Discover our top buys and find your new favourite booze alternative
As a country, we are drinking less often, so now seems like a perfect time to look at alcohol-free alternatives to beer. Some of these products really impressed. Low-alcohol beers can be made in two ways: some are brewed using special yeasts and low-sugar malt to produce very little alcohol, whereas others have the alcohol removed. Alcohol doesn’t just affect you physically, it also acts as a vehicle for flavour and provides texture. To compensate for the lack of mouthfeel in alcohol-free drinks, brewers can add sweetness – some of the big brand 0% lagers taste of popcorn – or turn up the hops. The latter can work to an extent, but bitter hops without the warmth of alcohol can quickly get too much. Read our review of the best non-alcoholic spirits and aperitifs for more booze-free inspiration, plus discover our pick of the best low- and no-alcohol wines. For plenty more round-ups, guides to going alcohol-free and inspiring mocktail recipes, visit our alcohol-free drinks hub. Jump to section Non-alcoholic beer Low-alcohol beer The best non-alcoholic beer taste-tested 2025 Guinness 0.0% Available from Amazon (£18.21/8 x 440ml), DryDrinker (£16.65/6 x 440ml) The long-awaited zero ABV version of one of the world’s great beers is here and… it’s pretty tasty. It tastes recognisably like the alcoholic original with a coffee-like bitterness and a sweet milky finish. The famous Guinness head isn’t quite there but this is enjoyable nonetheless. Available from: Amazon (£18.21/8 x 440ml) DryDrinker (£16.65/6 x 440ml) Heineken 0.0% lager Available from Tesco (£4.99/6 x 330ml), Amazon (£18/24 x 330ml) This was a real surprise – it's fresh and clean, with no sweetness or strange flavours and tastes very much like the alcoholic version. It contains about 1g sugar per 100ml, which is less than some full-strength lagers. It's the best of the big brands. Available from: Tesco (£4.99/6 x 330ml) Amazon (£18/24 x 330ml) The best low-alcohol beer taste-tested Brewdog Nanny State hoppy ale 0.5% Available from Brewdog (£22.39/24 x 330ml) A long time stalwart on the zero ABV beer scene, this is still able to hold its own thanks to lots of hoppy pine-like bitterness. It’s lacking a bit in texture compared with the very best, but once well-chilled it is hard to resist its bold flavours. Available from: Brewdog (£22.39/24 x 330ml) Beavertown Lazer Crush IPA 0.3% Available from Beavertown (£19.80/12 x 330ml) Wow, this is not short on flavour. It’s stacked with pink grapefruit and passionfruit that almost reminds us of a soda. Probably not one for your real ale-loving dad, but Beavertown fans are going to lap this up. Available from: Beavertown (£19.80/12 x 330ml) Brooklyn Brewery Alcohol-free Hoppy Lager 0.4% Available from Dry Drinker (£14.37/6 x 335ml) Thanks to a unique fermentation process, Brooklyn Brewery have managed to create a beer where the only thing missing is the alcohol content. It’s still carries a hoppy flavour and also has citrus and malty notes. Available from: Dry Drinker (£14.37/6 x 335ml) IMPOSSIBREW Enhanced Lager 0.5% Available from Impossibrew (£2.49/440ml), Dry Drinker (£21.27/6 x 440ml) Crafted from a premium Japanese recipe, this gluten-free 0.5% ABV lager delivers full body and flavour while using traditional brewing ingredients. It’s crisp and dry profile with clean, lingering citrus notes. Pale ale is also available. Available from: Impossibrew (£2.49/440ml) Dry Drinker (£21.27/6 x 440ml) Proper Job IPA 0.5% Available from Ocado (£1.75/500ml), Morrisons (£2/500ml) The popular cask ale is now available as an alcohol-free brew which still has the crisp, pineapple/citrus flavour of its boozy cousin. Brewed with Cascade, Willamette and Chinook hops, it’s the first no-lo beer from the St Austell brewer. Available from: Ocado (£1.75/500ml) Morrisons (£2/500ml) Holy Faith 0.5% Available from Northern Monk (£1.80/330ml) Hazy, crisp and refreshing, Holy Faith pale ale from Leeds-based brewery Northern Monk is a perfect pick-me-up for a gloomy January night. And at 0.5% ABV you won’t have to worry about the next morning! Available from: Northern Monk (£1.80/330ml) Big Drop Pine Pale Ale 0.5% Available from DryDrinker (£13.65/6 x 330ml) The brewery is a pioneer of high quality British low-alcohol beers. It’s worth exploring the range but I particularly enjoyed the big hoppy flavours of this refreshing pale ale. It easily passes the big test, did I finish the can? Yes, very quickly. Available from: DryDrinker (£13.65/6 x 330ml) Ilkley Brewery Nowt Mary milk stout 0.5% Available from Ilkley Brewery (£20/12 x 330ml) Milk stout is a beer style sweetened with lactose that lends itself brilliantly to zero alcohol versions. The lactose provides the body you lose from not having any alcohol. This Yorkshire version is brewed with actual coffee and ground cacao nibs for big sweet flavour. Available from: Ilkley Brewery (£20/12 x 330ml) Bristol Beer Factory Clearhead IPA 0.5% Available from Bristol Beer Factory (£30/12 x 440ml), Ocado (£2.25/440ml) This superbly balanced IPA-style beer not only tastes delicious but does good too as 5% of profits go to mental health charity Talk Club. It also comes in a half-litre can so you’re getting plenty of bang for your buck. Available from: Bristol Beer Factory (£30/12 x 440ml) Ocado (£2.25/440ml) Athletic Upside Dawn golden ale 0.5% Available from Dry Drinker (£14.20/6 x 335ml) Another American brew, this time from Connecticut. This mixes Vienna malt, English and American hops to create a beer with lovely balance and an understated charm. Athletic Brewing Co. is a zero-alcohol beer specialist and its Wild IPA is also excellent. Available from: Dry Drinker (£14.20/6 x 335ml) Adnams Ghost Ship pale ale 0.5% Available from Tesco (£1.60/500ml) This has a great malt character on the nose, something like digestive biscuits, then is citrussy and grassy on the palate. It actually tastes like an Adnams pale ale. I gave this to a friend, who didn’t realise it was alcohol-free. Available from: Tesco (£1.60/500ml) Erdinger alkoholfrei wheat beer 0.5% Available from Waitrose (£1.75/500ml) This has that characteristic banana smell that you get in a wheat beer. It’s certainly sweet but carries the sugar really well, especially when served over ice with a slice of lemon. Erdinger is widely available, so it’s a good friend if you’re driving to the pub. Available from: Waitrose (£1.75/500ml) More drinks inspiration Our best non-alcoholic drinks recipes Top 30 non-alcoholic drinks ideas Best beer dispensers Best wine deals This review was last updated in March 2025. If you have any questions, suggestions for future reviews or spot anything that has changed in price or availability, please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk. What's your favourite non-alcoholic beer? Share your comments below...
The best sherry for Christmas and beyond
Discover the best sherries to buy. From oloroso to manzanilla and PX, there's a sherry to suit your taste and budget.
Sherry, a fortified wine from Andalusia, can take a bit of getting used to if you normally drink fruity wines like sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio. Sherry is not primarily about fruit. Instead there’s flavours of nuts, bread and savoury yeasty notes. Once you bring food into the equation, however, sherry makes perfect sense. The crispest, freshest styles are fino and manzanilla. They go particularly well with things like olives, prawns and, you might be surprised to hear, fish and chips. Richer, darker, dry sherries like amontillados, olorosos and palo cortados go brilliantly with hard cheeses like manchego and cured meats like jamon serrano. While cream sherries or sweet olorosos are superb with a slice of seed cake or blue cheeses. Finally, there’s no better pudding than a glass of super sweet PX served alongside vanilla ice cream. Sherry also makes an excellent aperitif, after-dinner sipper and cocktail ingredient. I’d highly recommend a bamboo – fino mixed half and half with vermouth and served straight up like a martini. Whatever the style, sherry is worth getting a taste for as it offers some of the best quality to price ratio in the wine world. For more, visit our reviews section and find over 400 practical buyer's guides, taste tests of gin, vodka and more. For regular wine deliveries direct to your door, sign up to the Good Food Wine Club. Best sherry to buy at a glance Best sherry for a sweet yet balanced sip: Gonzalez-Byass Cristina, £17.99 Best sherry for seafood pairings: Barbadillo Solear Manzanilla, £12.99 Best sherry for bold, savoury sips: Williams & Humbert 12 Year Old Amontillado, £24.99 Best sherry for rare, complex flavour: Morrisons Palo Cortado, £7 Best refreshing sherry: Hidalgo PX Triana, £19.99 Best nutty sherry: Morrisons The Best Oloroso sherry, £6.50 Best dry sherry: Bodegas Hidalgo La Gitana manzanilla sherry, £7.99 Best PX Sherry: Best Gonzalez Byass Matusalem oloroso sherry, £25.49 Best sweet sherry: El Maestro Sierra PX sherry, £22 Best aged sherry: Bodegas Tradición fino sherry, £41.92 Best extra dry sherry: Tio Diego amontillado (Valdespino) sherry, £25.50 Jump to section: Best sherry 2024 How long does sherry last once opened? How is sherry made? What does sherry taste like? Best sherry 2024 Gonzalez-Byass Cristina Available from Laithwaites (£17.99) Best sherry for a sweet yet balanced sip This is a blend of oloroso with some PX. On the nose, you’ll find figs, dried fruit and molasses, while on the palate the sweetness is balanced by a lively acidity with some dried apricot notes and a lingering flavour of walnuts. Available from: Laithwaites (£17.99) Barbadillo Solear Manzanilla Available from Waitrose (£12.99) Best sherry for seafood pairings Oh wow, lovely nose! This is sheer essence of manzanilla with apple, salty seaside notes, almonds and herbs – there’s even a little fennel in there. This is huge fun and best enjoyed with seafood. Available from: Waitrose (£12.99) Williams & Humbert 12 Year Old Amontillado Available from Waitrose Cellar (£24.99) Best sherry for bold, savoury sips A little of this intensely flavoured amontillado goes a long way. It’s very dry and salty with notes of orange peel, toffee and toasted almonds. Try it with cured ham for a taste sensation. Available from: Waitrose Cellar (£24.99) Morrisons Palo Cortado Available from Morrisons (£7) Best sherry for rare, complex flavour A palo cortado is a rare dry style that has the body of an oloroso but the flavours of an amontillado. This example comes from Lustau and has rich flavours of hazelnut, butterscotch and dates. Available from: Morrisons (£7) Hidalgo PX Triana Available from Majestic Wine (£19.99), Amazon (£22.95) Best refreshing sherry Some PX can be a bit cloying but not this one from Hidalgo in Sanlúcar. While it is incredibly sweet and crammed with dried fruit, there’s also an orange blossom freshness that makes it surprisingly sippable. Available from: Majestic Wine (£19.99) Amazon (£22.95) Morrisons The Best Oloroso sherry Available from Morrisons (£6.50) Best nutty sherry What a treat to find a supermarket-own label of such quality. Made by Lustau, one of the great names of sherry, this award-winning sherry is fresh, tangy and outrageously nutty. There’s Brazil nuts, walnuts and almonds all wrapped in muscovado sugar, with a bone dry finish. Read our full review of Morrisons The Best Oloroso Available from: Morrisons (£6.50) Bodegas Hidalgo La Gitana manzanilla sherry Available from Laithwaites (£7.99), Majestic (£11.99) Best dry sherry Made by the sea in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, manzanilla is the freshest, driest and most irresistible style of sherry, and this is the world’s bestselling example of the style. One sip and you’ll see why, it’s loaded up with fresh Cox’s apples and salted almonds. Read our full review of Bodegas Hidalgo La Gitana manzanilla sherry Available from: Laithwaites (£7.99) Majestic (£11.99) Gonzalez Byass Matusalem oloroso sherry Available from Waitrose Cellar (£25.49), Majestic (£29.99) Best PX sherry This 30 year old blend of 75% oloroso with 25% PX is a symphony in sherry. Stick your nose in and it smells like an old navy rum; take a sip and it explodes with raisins, molasses, salted caramel and a finish of walnuts that goes on for a good half an hour. Read our full review of Gonzalez Byass Matusalem oloroso sherry. Available from: Waitrose Cellar (£25.49) Majestic (£29.99) El Maestro Sierra PX sherry Available from Forest Wines (£22) Best sweet sherry Pedro Ximinez (PX) contains around 400g per litre of sugar and is usually used for blending. Some examples can be a bit much on their own but this one has a freshness that makes it extremely drinkable. Try poured on ice cream, as a sweetener in cocktails or on its own as a pudding in a glass. Read our full review of El Maestro Sierra PX sherry. Available from: Forest Wines (£22) Bodegas Tradición fino sherry Available from Master of Malt (£41.92) Best aged sherry Tradición is a relatively new name in sherry, but the firm has illustrious antecedents. Aged for around 12 years, this is about as old as a fino can get. It’s massively rich with a texture of an old white burgundy or vintage champagne. Read our full review of Bodegas Tradición fino sherry. Available from: Master of Malt (£41.92) Tio Diego amontillado (Valdespino) sherry Available from The Whisky Exchange (£25.50), Fortnum & Mason (£27.95) Best extra dry sherry A single vineyard amontillado from one of the most traditional producers in the region. This smells a little like a malt whisky or old cognac with a touch of smokiness; in the mouth it’s bone dry with salted almonds but with a refreshing lift to it. Read our full review of Tio Diego amontillado (Valdespino) sherry. Available from: The Whisky Exchange (£25.50) Fortnum & Mason (£27.95) How long does sherry last once opened? Broadly speaking sherry falls into two categories: those that are aged with oxygen contact and those that aren’t. In the latter category are fino and manzanilla wines. These are best kept in the fridge and drunk within four days of opening or they start to lose freshness. Other styles of sherry like cream, amontillado and oloroso can be kept open for weeks. After a while, however, they will lose some intensity and start to taste tired, so don’t keep them for much longer than a month. Any sherry that isn’t quite up to snuff can be used for cooking, so never chuck an old bottle away. How is sherry made? Almost all sherry is made from the palomino fino, a white grape, grown in a region known as the ‘sherry triangle’ in southern Spain. The lightest style called fino is made from a gentle pressing of the grapes. The wine is usually fortified with brandy up to 15% and aged under a layer of yeast called flor which protects the wine from oxygen. A manzanilla is a fino that comes from the seaside town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda. A fino that is aged longer until the flor dies and it starts to gently oxidise is called an amontillado. Oloroso sherries don’t develop the flor so they age entirely with oxygen contact. They are fortified to around 18% ABV. Sherry in its natural state is dry but there are wines labelled as cream, amoroso, medium or sweet oloroso which are sweetened using an intense type of sherry called PX (pedro ximénez) which you sometimes see bottled on its own. Almost all sherries are blended in a series of barrels called a solera system so they contain multiple vintages. What does sherry taste like? Dry styles like fino and manzanilla have a taste of fresh apples combined with almond, yeasty Marmite and bready notes. Not unlike a champagne of white burgundy. Amontillados take those flavours and add walnuts, orange peel and often a salty tang. Olorosos, in contrast, taste of Brazil nuts, dates and molasses, while palo cortado sits somewhere between oloroso and amontillado in flavour. Sweeter styles of sherry have flavours of dried fruit with a distinct nuttiness, while PX bottled on its own is like liquid Christmas pudding. It is marvellous sipped very slowly or poured on vanilla ice cream. Related reviews Best port Best champagne Best prosecco Best cava Best rosé wine Best gin to buy as gifts Best bourbon Best craft whiskies Best Pinot Noir Best wine deals If you have any questions or suggestions for future reviews, or spot anything that has changed in price or availability, please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk. For information on alcohol guidelines, read our guide to drinking responsibly.
The best pinot noir offers a delicate balance of red fruit flavours, fragrant aromas and a smooth, silky texture. We round up the best bottles at every price point
Ah, pinot noir! No grape has such romantic connotations. Say those two magical words and you’re transported to the rolling hills of Burgundy. Pinot noir is one of the hardest grapes to get right. It’s thin-skinned, susceptible to disease and picky about where it’s grown. The climate has to be just right, too cold and it won’t ripen properly so the wines will taste hard and fruitless. Too warm and it can go jammy and lose the all-important fragrance that is the essence of pinot noir. It’s also very sensitive to over cropping (taking too many grapes from one vine) in which case the wine will be watery. Pinot noir needs to be carefully handled in the winery too, the skins can make the wine tannic and harsh, and oak needs to be used with a light hand. Too much of anything means you won’t get the magic. Its home is Burgundy, but you will very rarely see the words pinot noir on the bottle there. Instead, wines are organised in a hierarchical structure from Bourgogne Rouge at the bottom to grand crus at the top like Richbourg which can cost thousands of pounds a bottle. In the past, Burgundy was something of a lottery but changing climate, better winemaking and vineyard work means that the cheaper wines are much more reliable – though also more expensive. The flipside is that in warm years the alcohol on the pricier ones can be excessive. Pinot noir needs a coolish climate. Outside of Burgundy, high quality examples are made in Chile, New Zealand, Australia (particularly Tasmania), Oregon, California, Germany, Austria, and increasingly in England. The grape is also grown elsewhere in France, especially in the Loire. We tasted a variety of samples from all over the world with a £25 maximum so we could include some burgundy worth drinking. Overall, the quality was extremely variable. Unlike say malbec, buying an affordable pinot noir is a hit-or-miss affair. Some of the Californian ones were unpleasantly jammy, whereas others had the opposite problem being vegetal and bitter. The best countries for value are Romania at the bottom end, Chile, France outside of Burgundy and Germany. With pinot, it’s always worth spending a bit more if you can. Best pinot noir at a glance Best premium New Zealand Pinot Noir: Nautilus Pinot Noir 2019, £24.45 Best Burgundy: Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune, Clos de la Perrière, Domaine Sébastien Magnien 2020, £25.50 Best Loire Pinot: Sancerre Rouge Moulin Bèle Domaine André Vatan 2022, £21 Best German Pinot Noir: Neiss Spätburgunder 2020, £18.50 Best English Pinot Noir: Lyme Bay Pinot Noir 2021, £26.95 Best Chilean Pinot Noir: Errazuriz Pinot Noir Reserva 2023, £8.49 Best New Zealand Pinot Noir: Esk Valley Pinot Noir 2021, £18 Best budget French Pinot Noir: Puy-de-Dome Pinot Noir 2022, £14.50 Best budget Pinot Noir: Balauri Pinot Noir, Cramele Recaș 2022, £7.99 Best party Pinot Noir: The Society's French Pinot Noir Bag in Box 2023, £22 Best pinot noir to buy 2024 Nautilus Pinot Noir 2019 Available from Vinvm (£24.45), Wine Direct (£25.70) Best premium New Zealand pinot noir Kiwi pinot noir starts to get seriously good if you can stretch to more than £20 a bottle. This is ripe and heady with notes of maraschino cherry, herbs and cinnamon with savoury leather notes on the finish. This sheer class. Available from: Vinvm (£24.45) Wine Direct (£25.70) Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune, Clos de la Perrière, Domaine Sébastien Magnien 2020 Available from Berry Bros & Rudd (£25.50) Best burgundy Red burgundy starts to get interesting above £20, I’m afraid. This is about as close to a bargain as you’re going to get. It’s delicate with crunchy red fruit and unmistakable violet note. Available from: Berry Bros & Rudd (£25.50) Sancerre Rouge Moulin Bèle Domaine André Vatan 2022 Available from Yapp Bros (£21), Vivino (£26) Best Loire pinot noir Sancerre is famous for its white wines made from sauvignon blanc but the pinot noirs can be extremely good, too. This is ripe, silky, fresh, with red cherry fruit. In short, this is a lovely fragrant light pinot at a reasonable price. Available from: Yapp Bros (£21) Vivino (£26) Neiss Spätburgunder 2020 Available from Fortnum and Mason (£18.50) Best German pinot noir The Germans have their own word for pinot noir, Spatburgunder, which means late ripening Burgundian. And they can be very good indeed as this example shows. With its flavours of ripe strawberry, clove and delicate floral notes, this is worth every penny. Available from: Fortnum and Mason (£18.50) Lyme Bay Pinot Noir 2021 Available from Devon Hampers (£26.95), The English Wine Collection (£27) Best English pinot noir This one sneaks slightly over the £25 budget, but it's worth it. This is made from grapes grown in the Crouch Valley in Essex. 2021 was a cold, wet vintage but you'd never guess from tasting this. There’s positively Californian levels of ripeness with a herbal and spicy finish. Available from: Devon Hampers (£26.95) The English Wine Collection (£27) Errazuriz Pinot Noir Reserva 2023 Available from Waitrose (£8.49), Tesco (£9) Best Chilean pinot noir Chile makes some great pinot noirs from entry-level wines like this, up to serious wines that can give burgundy a run for its money. I’ve had a few vintages of this and it’s always reliably juicy and delicious with flavours of raspberry and cinnamon. Another one that tastes good cold. Available from: Waitrose (£8.49) Tesco (£9) Esk Valley Pinot Noir 2021 Available from Cambridge Wine Merchants (£18) Best New Zealand pinot noir Marlborough, known for its sauvignon blancs, also produces some very tasty pinot noir. This is a more full-bodied expression of the grape with bittersweet black cherries, a herbal rosemary note and leathery tannins. We think it would be lovely with a roast leg of lamb. Available from: Cambridge Wine Merchants (£18) Puy-de-Dome Pinot Noir 2022 Available from Lea & Sandeman (£14.50) Best budget French pinot noir One of the great bargains of the wine world, this comes from the Auvergne which is nearly in the middle of France, just to the west of Lyon. It’s full, spicy and crammed with dark cherry fruit, nothing at all like burgundy and completely irresistible. Available from: Lea & Sandeman (£14.50) Balauri Pinot Noir, Cramele Recaș 2022 Available from Click N Drink (£7.99) Best budget pinot noir This is made from a French grape in Romania in a winery owned by an Englishman. Cramele Recaș has established itself as the destination for affordable pinot noir. This is light and juicy with a nice raspberry fruit quality – it would be delicious served cool on a warm evening. Available from: Click N Drink (£7.99) The Society's French Pinot Noir Bag in Box 2023 Available from The Wine Society (£22) Best party pinot noir This works out at about £7.33 a bottle. You’re not going to find a nice pinot noir for cheaper. And very tasty it is, too. It comes from grapes grown in a cooler part of the Languedoc to produce a wine that is spicy and soft with an earthy beetroot type quality. Available from: The Wine Society (£22) Related content Best pinot grigio Best English sparkling wines Best rose Best champagne Best cava Best canned wines Best Malbec Best Prosecco Best Rioja Best wine deals Best champagne deals More wine content The complete wine varieties guide Why you should keep red wine in the fridge Why you should be drinking Chilean wine Why you should be drinking Mediterranean wine Best wines to drink with pasta How to choose the best pinot noir If you have any questions, suggestions for future reviews or spot anything that has changed in price or availability please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk. What do you think of our selection of best pinot noir wines? Do you have a favourite bottle to recommend? 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What is orange wine and which one should I buy?
Intrigued by orange wine? Wine expert Henry Jeffreys shares everything you need to know including his picks of the best to buy this summer
Orange wine seems to be everywhere these days, in the news, on social media, some people are even drinking it. But it’s not immediately obvious what orange wine is. It’s not red, white or pink, it’s orange. How? What is orange wine? Well, the first thing to say about orange wine is that it’s not made from oranges. There is an alcoholic drink from Spain called vino de naranja but that is something completely different. Orange wine is made from grapes. Orange wine or amber wine as it's sometimes known is like a cross between a white wine and a red wine - but it’s not rose! It’s made from white grapes which are fermented on their skins. How is orange wine made? To make a white wine, the juice is separated from the grape matter before fermentation, but with an orange wine, the skins and pips go into the vat. Just like a red wine. This means that some of the colour leaches into the wine turning it from the green/gold colour of a white wine to orange. The skins also contain tannin, think of that woody drying sensation you get from drinking a red wine, which you will feel when drinking an orange wine. Such wines are also known as amber or skin contact wines. The amount of skin contact will affect the flavour and colour of the wine. Some oranges wines undergo all their fermentation on the skins with weeks or even months of extraction. Whereas others might just spend a few days fermenting with skin contact before the juice is run off and continues to ferment on its own. So some orange wines have a deep colour and are full of tannin, whereas others just have a whisper of orange. Where does orange wine come from? Far from being a new technique, in the past many wines would have been made using this technique. Some ancient wines were made by putting grapes of any colour, red or white, into an amphora and letting them ferment. This sort of technique is still used in some countries or was used up until very recently before modern winemaking techniques came in in the 1960s. The country where this has been best preserved is Georgia where many people still make wine at home in giant clay jars known as qvevri. Partly due to the popularity of Georgian wines, these old techniques are being rediscovered. The heartland of orange wines, Georgia apart, is in Northern Italy and Slovenia where a number of pioneering producers have been making skin contact wines since the 1990s. But today, orange wines are made all over the world, in France, Australia and there are some particularly good ones coming out of England these days. Is orange wine the same as natural wine? This is a common misconception. Natural wine is a loose term to refer to wines that are made with the minimum of additions - so no sugar, yeast or enzymes added, and they are usually made with organically-grown grapes. Many orange wine producers work naturally but some don’t. Orange wine just refers to the use of skin contact, it doesn’t imply any winemaking philosophy behind it. What does orange wine taste like? There’s a certain amount of controversy about orange wines in the wine world. Many wine lovers find them difficult and others feel that they detract from varietal flavour. For example a riesling made with skin contact is not going to taste like your classic idea of a riesling. Tasing a wine made from white grapes with the feel and tannin of red wine takes a bit of getting used to. However, there are orange wines and orange wines. Some can be very challenging but there are others where the skin contact just provides an interesting texture and a certain nuttiness. In my experience, the grapes that work best for orange wines are aromatic ones like pinot gris, gewürztraminer, and bacchus, a grape that’s particularly popular in England. Just keep an open mind, and you’ll probably find something you like. And if you don’t, well that’s fine too. Best orange wines to buy in 2024 Gerard Bertrand Orange Gold 2022 Available from Vinatis £16.31 This comes from the biggest producer in the Languedoc. But big doesn’t mean boring, as Bertrand has something of a restless spirit as this wine demonstrates. It’s made from a blend of grenache, the classic rosé grape, with the highly aromatic muscat. undefined Orange Natural Wine JP, Recas Estate 2022 Available from Tanners £12.70 Made from a blend of French grapes, viognier and chardonnay, by an Englishman in Romania, this is bursting with apricots, tangerines and a little orange peel. The skin contact is quite subtle providing the distinctive colour and a little pithy tannin. This is one you could happily sip like a rosé. Angelo Accadia Verdicchio Evelyn 2020 Available from Passione Vino £29 From the Marches in Southern Italy and made with the Verdicchio, this is what Italians call a ‘vin macerato’. The skin contact adds spices like fennel and an intensely nutty texture on the palate. This would be wonderful with pungent food like BBQ lamb. Denbies Orange Solaris 2022 Available from Grape Britannia £27.49 Solaris is a hybrid grape, bred especially to ripen in cold climates. It seems to really suit orange wines. In this case producing a wine that’s zingy, floral and, well, distinctly orangey (the fruit that is). There’s only a little tannin here so it’s a good beginners wine. More wine and drinks reviews Best rosé wine Best cava Best champagne Best prosecco Best non-alcoholic wine Best wine glasses Best champagne glasses Best whiskey glasses Best pinot grigio Best pinot noir Best wine deals Best red wines for cooking If you have any questions or suggestions for future reviews, or spot anything that has changed in price or availability, please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk. For information on alcohol guidelines, read our guide to drinking responsibly.