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Our expert taste tests uncover the best red wines you can buy from the big supermarkets, including Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Tesco and Waitrose.
From the best red wines for balmy summer evenings, to those that suit autumn nights, we've found some brilliant bottles to bring home, including the cheaper options that impressed our experts.
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Our expert panel tasted 10 red wines from the big supermarkets, including Aldi, Lidl, Tesco, Asda and Waitrose, for the June 2022 edition of Which? magazine.
We asked supermarkets to nominate own-label or exclusive wines that were suited to summer entertaining, costing up to £12.
Some bottles sparked debate among our expert panel, but they agreed on three Best Buys that really caught their attention. One of these was a bargain wine bursting with flavour.
Only logged in Which? members can view our expert panel taste test results and see which wines we recommend.
If you're not yet a member, you'll see an alphabetically ordered list of those on test. To get instant access join Which? today.
£8 for a 75cl bottle, vegetarian
Aldi describes this Australian wine as having ‘aromas of blackberry, mulberry, cherry and spice’. But how does it compare with other supermarket wines?
Log in or join Which? to unlock our test results.
Want to buy without reading our results? This wine is available at Aldi.
£8 for 75cl, vegetarian
According to Asda, this French red has 'expressive aromas of dark cherry and floral notes'. That certainly sounds appealing, but did our expert tasting panel agree?
Log in or join Which? to find out how this affordable bottle measured up in our tests.
Want to buy without reading our results? This wine is available at Asda.
£7.50 for 75cl, vegan and vegetarian
Not only is this Co-op wine both vegetarian and vegan, it's also Fairtrade certified. But does that make it worthy of a Best Buy?
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Want to buy without reading our results? This wine is available at Co-op.
£5.95 for 75cl, vegetarian
Iceland claims that this 'intense and elegant' Malbec will go well with pizza and pasta dishes. But does that mean it tastes delicious on its own too?
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Want to buy without reading our results? This wine is available at Iceland.
£5.99 for 75cl
Lidl's budget-friendly Chianti is the second cheapest on test, but does its 'mature flavour with notes of fruitcake' make it good value for money?
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Want to buy without reading our results? This wine is available in-store only at Lidl.
£8 for 75cl, vegan and vegetarian
This French red from Morrisons supposedly has 'blueberry aromas with dark plum, fig and prune flavors', but did our expert tasting panel agree?
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Want to buy without reading our results? This wine is available at Morrisons.
£9.50 for 75cl, vegan and vegetarian
Is this 'light-bodied' M&S Greek red the perfect accompaniment for an afternoon in the garden? Our panel of tasters tell all.
You can log in now or join Which? to see how this wine did in our summer line-up.
Want to buy without reading our results? This wine is available in-store only at M&S or at Ocado.
£10 for 75cl, vegan and vegetarian
Did our experts really ‘taste the difference’ in Sainsbury's 2019 Maremma? Find out where it ranks in our taste test.
Log in now or join Which? to reveal how it fared.
Want to buy without reading our results? This wine is available at Sainsbury’s.
£10 for 75cl
Tesco describes this wine has having ‘aromas of red and black fruits, and subtle spice', with a 'long, concentrated finish'. But did this varied collection of flavours impress our experts?
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Want to buy without reading our results? This wine is available at Tesco.
£11.99 for 75cl
At more than double the price of the cheapest bottle we tested, is this Waitrose Shiraz that's 'packed full of ripe fruit' worth paying more for?
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Want to buy without reading our results? This wine is available at Waitrose.
Prices and availability correct as of May 2022.
Our line-up of winter reds to test had to be perfect for sipping by a warm fire or accompanying a Christmas dinner. We looked for red wines that are affordable, but stand you in good stead when friends and guests drop round, so they cost up to £12.
Only logged in Which? members can view our taste test results and the overall test score as a percentage, plus wine and food pairings, tasting notes and advice on how to serve more tannic reds from the experts.
If you're not yet a member, you'll see an alphabetically ordered list of the red wine on test. To get instant access join Which?.
£10 for 75cl, vegan and vegetarian
Aldi describes this Argentinian wine as having ‘aromas of black fruit and fresh plum’. But how does it compare with other supermarket wines?
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Want to buy without reading our results? This wine is available in-store only at Aldi.
£6 for 75cl
This wine is from the ‘sun-baked’ Spanish vineyards of Aragon. ‘Its intense flavour comes from the 25-year-old vines’, according to Asda.
Log in or join Which? to find out how this affordable garnacha measured up in our tests.
Want to buy without reading our results? This wine is available at Asda.
£7.50 for 75cl, vegan and vegetarian
Co-op claims that this malbec is produced by one of Argentina's most respected winemakers. But is it worthy of a Best Buy?
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Want to buy without reading our results? This wine is available at Co-op.
£5 for 75cl
Lidl's budget-friendly red wine is the cheapest on test, but does its taste make it good value for money?
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Want to buy without reading our results? This wine is available at Lidl.
£9 for 75cl, vegetarian
This Spanish red from Morrisons is the joint most expensive supermarket wine we tested, but is it worth paying more for?
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Want to buy without reading our results? This wine is available at Morrisons.
£9 for 75cl, vegan and vegetarian
Is this M&S Rioja the perfect tipple for a cold winter's evening? Our panel of tasters tell all.
You can log in now or join Which? to see how this wine did in our winter line-up.
Want to buy without reading our results? This wine is available in-store only at M&S or at Ocado.
£11 for 75cl, vegan and vegetarian
Did our experts ‘taste the difference’ in Sainsbury's 2019 pinot noir? Find out where it ranks in our taste test.
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Want to buy without reading our results? This wine is available at Sainsbury’s.
£8 for 75cl, vegan and vegetarian
This is produced in Northern Spain and reasonably priced, but is Spar's rioja a winning red?
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Want to buy without reading our results? This wine is available at Spar.
£12 for 75cl, vegetarian
At more than double the price of the cheapest bottle we tested, is Tesco's malbec worth paying more for?
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Want to buy without reading our results? This wine is available at Tesco.
£12 for 75cl, vegetarian
Waitrose describes this wine has having ‘rich red fruit flavours of mulberry and ripe, juicy cherries’ that are ‘balanced with elegant oak and a touch of freshly ground black pepper’. But did this varied collection of flavours impress our experts?
Log in now or join Which? to unlock our results.
Want to buy without reading our results? This wine is available at Waitrose.
Prices and availability correct as of May 2022.
There’s no substitute for trying wines out and keeping a note of those you liked and didn’t. But in the meantime, you can use our guide to the most common varieties to get you started:
When choosing a red wine this summer, our experts recommend opting for something lighter or fruity such as a beaujolais. If you're cooking sticky barbecue food, you'll need to go with a 'bigger' red, such as a shiraz.
As a rule of thumb, if something 'grows' together, it probably goes together. This means that Italian wines work well with Italian dishes, and so on. Any wine heavy in tannins will work well with nice fatty food, but for items such as oily fish you're better off with a low-tannin option such as pinot noir.
Our experts advised looking at wine pairings like a sauce – think of the headline flavours in your dish, and try to match the ingredients and intensity as best you can.
Discover which red wines go best with different foods.
Even if a wine is corked, vinegary, oxidised or sulphury, you can almost always cook with it. As long as you cook it through to alcohol evaporation, the faults disappear with the alcohol.
Watch our video guide for more expert tips, including when to serve wines that are high in tannins (more bitter tasting) and how to revive a bottle of wine you've just opened that tastes a bit off.
Unfortunately, it’s not easy finding out the eco credentials for every wine in the supermarket, but we’ve rounded up a few tips to help you buy more sustainability:
Be aware though, that smaller producers may not have applied for a sustainability certification due to restrictions in time and resources, but this doesn’t mean that their wine isn’t a sustainable option. You’ll need to do your own research into these smaller producers.
Some producers have their own initiatives, so it's worth swotting up if you're keen to choose a sustainable option. For example, Laithwaites, which is owned by Direct Wines, claims to offset its carbon emissions that come with deliveries through major reforestation projects, as well as recycling 95% of all its waste at their Gloucester Distribution Centre. Waitrose has launched its Waitrose Unpacked initiative, which aims to reduce its packaging use by asking customers to bring in empty bottles that can be refilled with wine.
To find out more on understanding wine labels, check out our guide on how to read a wine label.
For our summer red wine taste test, conducted in March 2022, we asked supermarkets to nominate own-label or exclusive red wines priced between £4.50 and £12 (excluding special offers) that were widely available to buy and particularly good for drinking in summer. They could be non-vintage or vintage.
Each bottle was concealed in a bag, so that it could be tasted and rated fairly by our panel of experts. Each expert tasted the drinks in a different order, before discussing their ratings and agreeing on Best Buy red wines.
Our experts were:
For our winter reds taste test, published in November 2021, we ran a similar test, asking supermarkets to nominate own-label or exclusive red wines priced between £4.50 and £12 (excluding special offers) that were widely available to buy and particularly good for drinking in winter. They could be non-vintage or vintage.
Our experts were:
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.