Merry Fizzmas! Where to buy brilliant bubbles for less

Christmas has come early! Our expert taste tests have revealed some brilliant bubbles for less than £14 a bottle. 

To help you enjoy a cork-popping Christmas, we asked the supermarkets to nominate eight champagnes, all under £26 for our annual taste test. We also included two big-budget brands and blind-tested them all on the same day. 

In total, we paid full price (just as you do) for 20 bottles of bubbles — that included spares so we could double-check any questionable fizz.

We then invited four wine experts to taste and rate each champagne. They didn’t see any labels and the champagne was tasted in a random order, so only flavour and quality counted.

Overall, the experts were impressed with the own-labels. Great news as you won’t have to pay over the odds to add sparkle to your festive celebrations.

Champagne from Tesco and Lidl are our two festive Best Buys, beating Moët & Chandon and Veuve Clicquot. What’s more, they’re both less than half the price of the famous luxury brands, with Lidl’s champagne at £13.99 being almost three times cheaper. Stockpile now - as these might sell out in the run up to the big day! 

Check out the full list of best champagnes to enjoy with family and friends this Christmas

Best budget champagne 2025

You’re in luck this year. Not only can you just pop to your local supermarket to buy a great champagne for a Christmas celebration, one of our delicious Best Buys costs less than £14.

Best Buy: Tesco Finest Premier Cru Brut Champagne – 84%

£26 for 75cl | France | Vegetarian and vegan | 12.5% ABV

Full bodied with bright citrus notes and a long delicious nutty finish, this excellent, elegant champagne was our experts’ favourite – for a second year running. They loved its golden colour, full body and fruity flavours.

Made from chardonnay and pinot noir grapes, our judges thought it was rich and savoury, with ‘a touch of marzipan balanced with a long-lasting bubble.’

It’s the perfect bottle of bubbly for Christmas celebrations, and as it’s suitable for vegetarians and vegans, no one needs to miss out.

Available from Tesco.

Best Buy and Great Value: Lidl Comte de Senneval Brut Champagne – 82%

£13.99 for 75cl | France | 12.5% ABV

This Best Buy was the cheapest bottle on test – by almost £8 – so it’s our Great Value pick too. 

Champagne is often considered to be an expensive option when it comes to fizz, but Lidl's own-label is only a few pounds more than our Best Buy crémant. 

Our experts commented on its pretty nose of gentle nuts and honeysuckle, and said it was full of juicy and crisp Bramley apple flavours. Some hints of lemon meringue were also tasted.

It was agreed that this supermarket budget champagne is perfect to serve with smoked salmon and other seafood this Christmas.

Available from Lidl (in-store only).

Budget champagne: why labels now matter less 

The days of snobbery around champagne seem to be phasing out — and we say cheers to that! Our expert tests have revealed that champagne from Tesco or Lidl not only tastes just as good as expensive luxury brands, but it might even excel!

Yes, Moët & Chandon and Veuve Clicquot did well in our blind-taste tests – and you shouldn't refuse a glass if someone else is splashing out and offering it around – but there's no need to blow the budget for some top-notch bubbly. 

This is especially good to hear if you need to buy a few bottles for a party. One of our experts, Sam Caporn, who is a Master of Wine and co-chair of the International Wine Challenge (IWC), is planning to stock up on Finest Premier Crut Brut for her upcoming birthday get-together. And if it's good enough for her…

Our experts said most supermarket premium ranges are worth trying, whether that's champagne, sparkling wine or red wine. Buying teams spend a great deal of time and effort visiting wineries to search for the best products. They'll only put their name to a product if they truly believe it's a great drink.

How to save on Christmas champagne

If you're buying champagne on a budget this Christmas, choosing Lidl's Great Value fizz is the obvious choice. However, the second cheapest champagne in our test – Co-op Les Pionniers NV – is also worth considering, especially if you're on your way to a party and passing the supermarket. 

The champagne (available from Co-op) scored just 1% less than Veuve Clicquot in our taste test and costs £21.75 when purchased in-store. Light and elegant, with a creamy texture and refreshing notes of Braeburn apples, our experts praised its unusual smoky taste, describing it as 'moreish'. 

Keep a lookout for supermarket multi-deals too, most commonly a '25% off when you buy six bottles' offer – it's what the retail trade calls 'double bubble' promotions. It's a great way to save if you know you have a crowd to cater to. 

Top tips for serving champagne

In addition to asking our experts to taste and rate champagne, we also discussed the best way to serve it. Here are their top tips:

Keep it chilled. Pop fizz in the fridge at least a couple of hours before you plan to serve it. Allow a little more time if you need to chill multiple bottles at once. If you have an ice bucket, add some water along with the ice.

Don't serve it straight from the fridge. Unless you prefer your champagne really cold, take the bottle out of the fridge 10 minutes before serving – the taste and aroma will be stunted if it's too cold.

Store champagne properly. Store bottles upright in a dark, cool, and constant temperature environment. Once opened, it's best to drink the champagne within three to five days.

Ditch the flute. You don't need to search through your kitchen cupboards looking for those special occasion flutes – our experts recommend you pour fizz into a tulip or white wine glass instead. The narrow top of flutes doesn't allow for the volatile aromas to escape up your nose. With a wider glass, you'll be able to smell the champagne more effectively, which will enhance its taste as well.