Best prosecco and sparkling wines

Whether it's cava, crémant or prosecco, sparkling wines are ideal if you're looking for a cheaper alternative to champagne - or just fancy a change.

Our panel of four wine experts blind-tasted 10 sparkling wines from supermarkets including Aldi, Sainsbury's and Tesco for the December 2021 edition of Which? magazine. 

They uncovered two top-scoring Best Buy sparkling wines, plus a number of others worth a place in your supermarket shopping cart. The best news - one of our top picks is surprisingly low priced, meaning you can get great-tasting fizz for a bargain price.

Best prosecco and sparkling wines

Only logged in Which? members can view our test results and tasting notes below. If you're not yet a member, you'll see an alphabetically ordered list of the prosecco and sparkling wine on test. To get instant access, join Which?.

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All prices are correct as of October 2021.

Aldi Specially Selected Crémant Du Jura 2019

£8.50 for 75cl 

Aldi says its crémant is carefully aged in cellars to give subtle complexity. How did it fare against other supermarket sparkling wines?

To find out how it scored, join Which? to unlock our test results.

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

Asda Marques Del Norte Cava Brut

£7 for 75cl

Asda’s cava was the cheapest on test, costing nearly half the price of others we tried. Is this lower-priced wine one of our top picks?

Join Which? to unlock our test results and find out what our panel thought of this Asda fizz.

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

Co-op Irresistible Prosecco

£8.50 for 75cl, vegetarian and vegan  

At £8.50 a bottle, Co-op's prosecco is one of the cheaper wines we tested. Is it a bargain find?

To find out how it compares with pricier rivals, join Which? to unlock our test results.

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

Lidl Crémant De Loire Brut

£8.50 for 75cl 

This fizz is 'crisp, smooth and appetising' according to Lidl, with 'honied and gently floral characters'. Is it the perfect choice for your next party?

To get the full verdict from our expert panel, join Which? to unlock our test results.

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

M&S Classics Crémant De Bourgogne NV

£10 for 75cl, vegetarian and vegan 

Made with pinot noir, aligoté, chardonnay and gamay grapes, M&S's crémant promises 'a sparkling, creamy, elegant fizz with flavours of peach blossom, apricot and redcurrants.' Did it get top marks in our taste test?

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

£12 for 75cl, vegetarian and vegan 

If apple crumble and lemon curd flavours are up your street, Morrisons' crémant should be on your radar. Does it make for a delicious bubbly?

Find out how our expert panel rated it - join Which? to unlock our test results.

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

Sainsbury’s Taste The Difference Prosecco Conegliano 2020

£10 for 75cl, vegetarian and vegan  

Sourced from vineyards in the Veneto region of north-east Italy, this prosecco makes a fantastic aperitif served with olives and antipasti, according to Sainsbury's. Was this fizz top of the pops in our taste test?

To see whether we recommend it, join Which? to unlock our test results.

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

Spar Castelfino Cava

£7.50 for 75cl, vegetarian and vegan  

Described as 'elegant and rich' with 'notes of ripe apple and pear' Spar's low-priced cava is a tempting option. Is it a Best Buy bubbly?

Join Which? to unlock our test results and find out if this Spanish wine is the one for you.

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

Tesco Finest Blanquette De Limoux 2019

£9.50 for 75cl, vegetarian and vegan  

First created by Benedictine monks, blanquette de Limoux is made by blending mauzac and chenin grapes and ageing for 12 months. This wine is described as having flavours of peach, green apples and a toasted brioche finish.

Is it a star wine for special occasions? Join Which? to unlock our test results.

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

Waitrose La Gioiosa DOCG Superiore Prosecco 2020

£13.50 for 75cl, vegetarian and vegan 

Waitrose's single-vintage prosecco was the most expensive sparkling wine on test. Is it worth paying more for?

Find out if it impressed our expert tasting panel - join Which? to unlock our test results.

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

Sparkling wine types explained

Not sure how to tell your cremant from your cava? We explain the key differences between types of sparkling wine, and why some cost more than others, to help you choose what's best for you.

Champagne

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

The bubbles come from a second small alcoholic fermentation carried out inside the bottle. The CO2 formed can’t escape and so it dissolves into the wine – so 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, from Spain, is made in the same way as champagne, undergoing secondary fermentation in the bottle. 

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 towards the sunny south than the Champagne region. They ripen more, so cava is lower in acidity than champagne (and often cheaper).

Crémant

Crémant is sparkling wine that's made in the same way as champagne (with secondary fermentation), but it can come from other regions in France. 

Crémants can be made with a variety of grape varieties, other than the traditional champagne combination, but grapes must be manually harvested. They must also be whole-bunch pressed, and aged for a minimum of nine months. Our expert panel recommended crémant as an alternative to prosecco or cava.

Prosecco 

Prosecco, from Italy, is usually slightly sweet or ‘off-dry’, light and delicate, and characterised by citrus and apple notes. 

Most people know that champagne is a protected appellation, but did you know that prosecco is too? Any other sparkling wines made from glera grapes (formerly called prosecco), but from outside the Italian designation of origin for prosecco, can’t use the word ‘prosecco’ on the label. 

Unlike many other fizzes, prosecco completes its secondary fermentation in a pressurised stainless-steel tank. Generally, prosecco is similarly priced to cava and cheaper than champagne.

Franciacorta 

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

Screw-top sparkling wine

You might have spotted these on the shelves at temptingly low prices, sometimes £5 or less. 

Like prosecco, screw-top sparkling wines are tank fermented. The wine is re-fermented in a large steel tank with sugar and yeast, and the resulting carbon dioxide gas dissolves into the wine. They tend to be cheaper than corked sparkling wines, but our wine experts warn that they can be inferior in quality.

Alcohol-free or low-alcohol sparkling wine

Alcohol-free or low-alcohol sparkling wine could make a good alternative to the boozy options above. It used to be relatively hard to find, but availability is increasing - supermarkets such as Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose will often stock an alcohol-free or low-alcohol option. 

Best champagne

Our wine experts also tasted 19 non-vintage champagnes, including 14 supermarket own labels and five big-name brands. 

Head to our best champagne round-up to find out which ones came out top, and the best cheap champagnes to buy.

Three tips to get the most from your fizz

1. Decant it

Decanting your fizz could 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 minute or so before you plan on drinking it. This allows the bubbles to settle enough without letting them disappear 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.

When you're ready to serve, 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 take it out in 20 minutes or less.

It's best to take your sparkling wine out around 10 minutes before pouring, as otherwise you'll stunt the taste and aroma.

Find out how to buy the best wine cooler.

3. Pour with precision

If you're hosting guests over the festive season, 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 likely end up with more fizz in your glass. 

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 a dryish wine, while ‘sec’ is sweeter. 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 food, dry wines usually work best unless the food contains sweeter elements. 

Is sparkling wine vegan?

While many sparkling wines are vegan, some use animal-derived fining agents. 

Manufacturers use fining agents to remove unwanted particles, in order to improve the taste or appearance of the wine. 

Wines made with animal-derived fining agents such as milk protein, bone marrow and fish oil are not suitable for vegans. Vegan-friendly wines might be filtered using fining agents such as carbon or clay.

Of the 10 sparkling wines, we tested, seven are vegan. Visit our guide to the best vegan wines to see our top picks for vegan-friendly red wine, sparkling wine and champagne.

Sparkling rosé: five things you need to know

Supermarkets were keen to flag their pink fizz offerings this year, so if you're after something different to start the party, you'll have plenty of choice. Here are some tips on picking the right bottle:

1. Don’t rule out other regions France might be the most well-known region for rosé, but wines from Italy, Spain or Portugal can be just as good, and sometimes cheaper.
2. Pay attention to colour Pale rosés are typically lighter and more delicate, while deep coloured rosés can be juicier and fuller flavoured.
3. Serve chilled Rosé needs to be chilled before serving, but avoid letting it get ice-cold, as it might ruin the wine’s delicate flavours.
4. Find a perfect match Rosé tends to pair better with vegetarian food, rather than meat dishes. If you’re serving Indian, Chinese, Thai or Japanese cuisine, opt for a southern French rosé.
5. Don't drink with creamy desserts If you’re having it alongside your sweet course, bear in mind that cream-based desserts such as panna cotta, crème brûlée and cheesecake don’t pair well with rosé.

How we test sparkling wine

Our panel of independent wine experts tasted 10 sparkling wines. 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 £6.50 and £15 (not including special offers).

• The taste test was blind, so the panellists didn’t know which wine they were trying.
• Each expert tried the wines in a different order to minimise bias.
• After all the wines had been tasted, the panel agreed on a score for each bottle and decided which deserved to be Best Buys. 

Our experts panel included:

Kathryn McWhirter - wine expert and co-author (with Charles Metcalfe) of The Wine and Food Lover’s Guide to Portugal

Charles Metcalfe - speaker, author, and co-founder of the International Wine Challenge

Sumita Sarma - wine writer and founder of wine consultancy Sumilier

Peter McCombie - Master of Wine, restaurant wine consultant, speaker, writer and critic

How to recycle wine bottles

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 make sure to check with your local area 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.