Which? taste tests of mid-price supermarket summer white and sparkling rosé wines find some of the cheapest on test emerging as Which? Best Buys – but the UK’s three biggest supermarkets are notably absent from the top of the table.
A Which? panel of wine tasting experts conducted a summer-special test of summer white wines priced between £6 and £10 and sparkling rose wines priced between £8 and £14 to uncover the best for pairing with summer dishes or drinking in the sun.
Two Best Buy white wines emerged from the taste tests – Aldi’s The Wine Foundry Avesso 2018 (£6.49) and Morrisons’ The Best Grüner Veltiner 2017 (£8.25). The Aldi wine achieved a score of 80 per cent, with the Morrisons’ wine following closely behind with a score of 78 per cent.
Aldi’s offering was praised for packing “an impressive flavour punch”, and commended for being pleasant enough to drink either on its own, or paired with most summer foods. At £6.49, it was also one of the cheapest wines on test.
The Morrisons’ white wine was described as a “subtle white wine that’s easy to drink”, and “a good match for all sorts of food, but particularly salmon.”
In the test of sparkling rosé wines, Co-op’s Irresistible Sparkling Rosé (£8) scored 78 per cent, while M&S’ Graham Beck The Rhona Brut Rosé (£10) scored 76 per cent.
The Co-op wine impressed all the Which? experts on the testing panel, who found it refreshing and easy to drink. At £8, it was also the cheapest sparkling rosé on test.
M&S’s offering was described as “a lovely wine for celebrating”, reminding one panellist of champagne.
Morrisons was the only supermarket of the ‘Big Four’ to appear at the top of the table, with offerings from Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s failing to make the cut.
Morrisons has previously impressed in Which? taste tests, with its Denbies Chalk Valley English Sparkling Brut NV (£16) also receiving Best Buy status with a score of 77 per cent in the consumer champion’s Christmas wine tasting.
The Which? taste testing panel sampled nine white wines in total, and eight sparkling rosés.
Harry Rose, Editor of Which? Magazine, said:
“Those looking for the perfect wine to sip in the sun will be delighted to find out they can get a Best Buy bottle on a budget, with some of the most impressive wines we tested also being the cheapest.
“Whatever your tastes, our expert testers have done the work for you – so all that’s left to do is enjoy a glass of your choice this summer.”
