Best sparkling wines

Sparkling white wines such as cava, crémant and prosecco are are good choice you’re after a top-notch fizz for less.

The best have style and complexity to match champagne – or provide a delightful alternative – without the premium price.

To find out which cheaper alternatives are worth considering, we asked a panel of wine experts to blind-taste 10 bottles of sparkling wine from supermarkets including Aldi, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose. All the sparkling wines we tested cost £12 or less.

We found two standout Best Buys, as well as a Great Value fizz – showing you don’t need to spend a lot to get a great-tasting sparkling wine. 

Eat well, live better, stay healthy – sign up to our free monthly Food & Health newsletter for the latest insights delivered straight to your inbox

Best sparkling wines

Only logged-in Which? members can view our full independent test results and tasting notes from the expert panel below.

If you’re not yet a member, you’ll see an alphabetically ordered list of the sparkling wines we tested. To get instant access to these and all our reviews, join Which? today.

Aldi Specially Selected Organic Cava 

£7.69 for 75cl, vegetarian and vegan

Did the cheapest cava in our test impress our panel of wine experts?

Join Which? to unlock our test results and find out where this wine ranked overall. 

Want to buy without reading our results? Available from Aldi.

Asda Extra Special Crémant d'Alsace Brut 

£11 for 75cl

Asda says its sparkling wine from Alsace is wonderfully vivid and fresh on the palate. But do our panel agree?

Join Which? to unlock our test results and find out where this wine ranked overall. 

Want to buy without reading our results? Available from Asda.

Co-op Irresistible Prosecco

£9 for 75cl, vegetarian and vegan

One of three bottles of prosecco we tested, is this the fizz to serve to family and friends?

Join Which? to unlock our test results and find out where this wine ranked overall. 

Want to buy without reading our results? Available from Co-op.

Iceland Maison de la Rougerie Brut Crémant De Bordeaux 

£10 for 75cl

Iceland says the De La Rougerie family produce exceptional wines. Does this crémant showcase their expertise?

Join Which? to unlock our test results and find out where this wine ranked overall. 

Want to buy without reading our results? Available from Iceland.

Lidl Prosecco Superiore Valdobbiadene 

£7.49 for 75cl

Lidl's sparkling wine is the cheapest in our test, but does opting for a more affordable bottle mean compromising on taste?

Join Which? to unlock our test results and find out where this wine ranked overall. 

Want to buy without reading our results? Available from Lidl (in-store only).

M&S Crémant De Bordeaux Blanc Brut

£10 for 75cl, vegetarian and vegan

According to M&S, this crémant has flavours of red apples and brioche, and pairs well with party food. But what did our panel think?

Join Which? to unlock our test results and find out where this wine ranked overall. 

Want to buy without reading our results? Available from Ocado.

Morrisons The Best Crémant De Limoux Sparkling Wine

£12 for 75cl

Morrisons' fizz was the most expensive in our test, so is it worth splashing out on this sparkling wine?

Join Which? to unlock our test results and find out where this wine ranked overall. 

Want to buy without reading our results? Available from Morrisons.

Sainsbury’s Taste The Difference Cava Brut

£8.75 for 75cl

Sainsbury's says the grape varieties used in this cava are grown at altitude, which makes for a superior wine. But did it win over our experts?

Join Which? to unlock our test results and find out where this wine ranked overall. 

Want to buy without reading our results? Available from Sainsbury’s.

Tesco Finest Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG 

£9.50 for 75cl

This sparkling wine has 'flavours of ripe pear and white peach, and a zesty, lively finish,' says Tesco. Did our experts agree?

Join Which? to unlock our test results and find out where this wine ranked overall. 

Want to buy without reading our results? Available from Tesco.

Waitrose No.1 Castillo Perelada Cava Brut 

£12 for 75cl

Waitrose describes this cava as delicate and fresh, with a 'citrus fruitiness complemented by a subtle bready character'. Did our experts love the taste?

Join Which? to unlock our test results and find out where this wine ranked overall. 

Want to buy without reading our results? Available from Waitrose.

Pricing and availability information correct as of January 2025. 

Best alcohol-free beer - we tested cheap supermarket own labels alongside big brands including Heineken, Budweiser and Corona

Champagne vs cava vs crémant: sparkling wine types explained

Not sure how to tell your cava from your crémant? We explain the key differences between types of sparkling wine – and why some cost more than others – to help you choose.

Champagne

Champagne can only be made in the specific Champagne region in north-east France. It is almost always produced from a blend of three grapes: pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot meunier. 

The bubbles come from a second fermentation that’s carried out inside the bottle. The carbon dioxide formed can’t escape, so it dissolves into the wine – which is why, when the bottle is opened, the wine sparkles.

Most champagne is dry and best served after a couple of hours in the fridge. 

Cava

Cava is made in the same way as champagne, undergoing secondary fermentation in the bottle, but is produced in Spain.

It’s usually made from three Catalan grapes: macabeo, xarel-lo and parellada, although some of the large cava producers have started to use chardonnay and pinot noir as well.  

The grapes mostly come from near Barcelona, much further to the sunny south than the Champagne region. That means they ripen more, which makes the cava lower in acidity than champagne (and often cheaper).

Crémant

Crémant is a French sparkling wine made to the same traditional method as champagne. It can have the same elegance, nutty complexity and balanced acidity, too. But it’s not produced in the Champagne region so can’t be given that name.

Crémant comes from eight regions of France – Alsace, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Die, Jura, Limoux, Loire and Savoie. Different grapes can be used, creating subtle differences. For example, Alsace crémant tends to be fruitier and aromatic, especially if riesling grapes are used. Bordeaux tastes citrussy, while Limoux crémant is quite floral.

The grapes used must be harvested manually and whole-bunch pressed, as well as aged for a minimum of nine months. 

If you’re looking for the champagne experience for less, our experts say that a good crémant usually fits the bill.

Discover the best-rated wine subscription services with our Best wine clubs guide - we compare the big names

Prosecco 

Prosecco comes from Italy and is usually slightly sweet or ‘off-dry’, light and delicate, and characterised by fruity citrus and apple notes.  It's one of the cheaper sparkling wines, with supermarket bottles typically costing around £7-10. 

Unlike champagne, cava and crémant, prosecco completes its secondary fermentation in a pressurised stainless steel tank, not in the bottle. 

The different region and production process means it’s less comparable to champagne than cava or crémant, lacking the yeasty/biscuity undertones of champagne and crémant, and with lighter, looser bubbles.

Franciacorta 

Franciacorta is made from grapes from Franciacorta in Lombardy. It’s dryer than prosecco, but fruitier and softer than champagne, and has distinctive lemony notes.

Screw-top sparkling wine

You might have spotted screw-top sparkling wine on the shelves at temptingly low prices, sometimes just £5 or even less. It tends to be cheaper than corked sparkling wine, but our wine experts warn it can be inferior in quality.

Like prosecco, this is tank-fermented. The second fermentation takes place in a large stainless steel tank with sugar and yeast, and the resulting carbon dioxide gas dissolves into the wine. 

Low-alcohol sparkling wine

Finding a good low-alcohol wine can be challenging, as alcohol plays a key role in giving wine body and structure. 

Our experts recommend choosing wines that have a naturally lower alcohol content as a result of being grown in cooler climates. For example, German riesling wine can be as low as 7% ABV, compared with other wines which are typically around 13% ABV. 

You could also try swapping to non-alcoholic alternatives such as elderflower cordial or kombucha flavoured with lemon and ginger, which mimics the fiery warmth of a boozy drink.

Best gin - see which gins impressed our experts and deliver on taste

4 tips to get the most from your fizz

1. Wait before you sip

Decanting fizz can help to bring out the flavours that would otherwise be hidden by bubbles, but that doesn’t mean you need to fork out for a fancy carafe.

Simply pour your sparkling wine into a glass a couple of minutes before you plan on drinking it. This allows the bubbles to settle enough without disappearing completely.

2. Keep it chilled

Pop your sparkling wine into the fridge at least a couple of hours before you plan on serving it. Allow a little more time if you need to chill multiple bottles at once (you might want to check out the best wine coolers).

When you’re ready to serve it, place your fizz in a container filled with water and ice, as this is better than just using ice alone. As a last resort, you can pop the bottle in the freezer, but make sure you remember to take it out in 20 minutes or less.

It’s best to leave your sparkling wine for around 10 minutes before pouring, otherwise you’ll stunt the taste and aroma.

3. Pour with precision

If you’re hosting guests any time soon, pour a little bit of sparkling wine in the bottom of each glass just before they arrive. This will stop it frothing over when you come to serve it.

When your glass is being refilled, hold it lower down and slightly tilted, as this will make it easier for your host to pour – and you’ll probably end up with more fizz in your glass. 

4. Choose your glass wisely

Flutes are often a favourite for fizz, but our experts warn that this means you can’t get your nose into the glass – and you need to smell in order to taste. They recommend trying a standard wine glass, or a coupé glass if you prefer.

Best champagne – see our top picks from the supermarkets, including the best value champagnes to buy

Sparkling wine preservers

If you’ve been left with a half-finished bottle, a sparkling wine preserver can help to stop your fizz from going flat.

Wine preservers work by maintaining the pressure in the bottle, which helps keep it fizzy for longer. They’re particularly useful for prosecco, which is tank-fermented and tends to lose its fizz more quickly than champagne (which is bottle-fermented, creating finer bubbles).

You can buy sparkling wine preservers from a variety of retailers including Amazon, John Lewis, Ocado and Waitrose, with prices starting from around £5. 

Our wine experts recommend opting for a preserver with wings that clip over the side of the bottle to keep it in place. Unsecured wine stoppers that aren’t designed for fizz can be potentially dangerous, as the high pressure in the bottle may cause them to fly off unexpectedly and cause injury.

How much sugar is in your wine?

Strict rules govern how sparkling wine and champagne can be described in terms of dryness and sweetness, with labels determined according to the residual sugar content per litre. 

Typically, brut is dry, while ‘sec’ is sweet. However, the label isn’t always the most accurate indicator of sweetness – the higher the acidity, the less we perceive the sweetness. 

When it comes to pairing with food, dry wine usually works best, unless the food contains sweeter elements.

Best red wines – see which budget bottles we recommend, based on our independent taste tests of supermarket wines

How we test sparkling wines

Our panel of four independent wine experts blind-tasted 10 sparkling wines for our taste test, conducted in September 2024. 

We asked supermarkets to nominate own-label, widely available sparkling white wines that aren’t as pricey as big-brand champagnes, but are still excellent for celebrations. They all had to cost between £5 and £17 (excluding special offers). We buy all our test samples ourselves. We may buy direct from the supermarket if the product isn't in stores yet, but we always pay for test products to maintain our independence.

Our expert tasting panel included:

• Sam Caporn MW – Master of Wine, consultant, speaker, writer and co-chair of the International Wine Challenge (IWC)
• Susie Barrie MW – Master of Wine, consultant, broadcaster, podcaster (Wine Blast), writer and co-chair of the WineGB Awards
• Magnavai Janjo – Founder of wine importer and consultancy MJ Wine Cellars
• Helen McGinn – Author, drinks writer, TV presenter and co-chair of the International Wine Challenge (IWC)

The taste test was 'blind', meaning we anonymised the wines so the panellists didn’t know which wine they were trying. 

Each expert tried the sparkling wines in a different order to avoid any bias, and after all of them had been tasted, the panel agreed on a score for each bottle and which ones deserved to be Best Buys and Great Value. Only then did we reveal the products.

Why you can trust us: at Which? we're free from manufacturer and retailer influence. Find out more about our impartiality and how your support helps us to stay editorially independent

Recycling wine bottles: what to know

Glass bottles can usually go in your household recycling bin. If your council doesn’t accept them, you can take them to a local bottle bank.

The recycling process can vary depending on where you live, so check with your local area to find out if bottles require rinsing first and whether metal screw caps should be replaced or recycled separately.

Natural corks can’t go in your recycling bin. You can recycle natural corks through Recorked UK – either by posting them or dropping them off at your nearest collection point.

Synthetic corks, which are made of plastic, can’t be recycled. They should be disposed of in your general waste bin.

Please drink responsibly. See Drinkaware for information and advice.