Best Sainsbury's Wines at a Glance
Best overall – Sainsbury's Fronton Négrette Rosé 2025: £8.75. Best Champagne – Sainsbury's Blanc de Noirs Brut Champagne NV: £26. Best Provence rosé – Queen Côtes de Provence Rosé 2025: £18. Best Sauvignon Blanc – Sainsbury's Coolwater Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2025: £10. Best chilled red – Sainsbury's Frappato Terre Siciliane 2025: £9.
How the Wines Were Selected
All wines were chilled before tasting, with only one bottle removed from the fridge at a time to ensure they remained cool. Becky Paskin nosed and tasted from an elegant white wine glass designed for sparkling wines and chilled reds to maximise aromatics. The glass was rinsed between samples with only water to cleanse the palate. After nosing and tasting, all samples were spat to avoid intoxication affecting judgement – standard practice for wine and spirit tasting competitions.
Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Fronton Négrette Rosé 2025
Rating: ★★★★☆. Best for a summer aperitif or paired with cured meats. This rosé offers an intense aroma of strawberries and raspberries at a bargain price. Despite the intense fruit, it remains a dry rosé. Made from Négrette, a highly aromatic red grape low in tannin and acid, it delivers berries, citrus, liquorice, and mineral earthiness. Style: Négrette Rosé. Produced in Fronton, France. ABV 12.5%. 75cl. £8.75.
Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Discovery Gemischter Satz 2025
Rating: ★★★★☆. Best for pairing with barbecued chicken. This unusual Austrian field blend comprises Grüner Veltliner, Gewurztraminer, Chardonnay, and Pinot Blanc, delivering sweet floral aromas of honeysuckle and orange blossom alongside fresh fruits, blood orange, green apple, and toasted nuts. Style: Gemischter Satz. Product of Weinviertel, Austria. ABV 12.5%. 75cl. £10.
Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Coolwater Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2025
Rating: ★★★☆☆. Best for die-hard fans of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Produced by Yealand Estate, this wine is vibrant and tropical with notes of fresh pineapple, ripe peaches, and limes, with a minerality reflective of its maritime climate. Female winemaker Natalie Christensen is behind this full-flavoured Savvy B. Style: Sauvignon Blanc. Product of Marlborough, New Zealand. ABV 12%. 75cl. £10.
Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Crémant de Loire NV
Rating: ★★★★★. Best for summer celebrations. This Crémant offers excellent value, made using the same méthode traditionelle as Champagne but from the Loire region. A blend of 85% Chenin and 15% Chardonnay, aged on lees for twice the appellation minimum, it delivers lemon and quince flavours with rounded biscuity notes and creaminess. Style: Crémant de Loire. Produced in Loire, France. ABV 12%. 75cl. £12.50.
Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Blanc de Noirs Brut Champagne NV
Rating: ★★★★★. Best for bougie summer gatherings. Made exclusively from black grapes (53% Pinot Noir, 47% Pinot Meunier), this Champagne offers red berry flavours of strawberries and raspberries alongside fresh lemon and indulgent toasty biscuitiness. Style: Blanc de Noirs Brut Champagne. Produced in Champagne, France. ABV 12%. 75cl. £26.
Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Discovery Pet Nat NV
Rating: ★★★☆☆. Best for sparkling or natural wine fans. Sainsbury's first Pet Nat is an approachable, easy-drinking natural wine made from Chardonnay, Muscat, and Ugni Blanc. It sits on the sweet side of dry and vibrant, with aromatic florals, peach stone, and citrus giving way to undertones of baked goods. Style: Pet Nat. Produced in Bourgogne, France. ABV 11%. 75cl. £12.
Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Gavi di Gavi 2024
Rating: ★★★★☆. Best for sipping alongside strawberries and cream. This 100% Cortese wine from Piedmont is fresh, bright, and ripe with rounded notes of stone fruit, apricot, and grapefruit, with a crisp, lemony, tart green apple finish. Produced by Araldica, a cooperative founded in 1954. Style: Gavi de Gavi. Produced in Piedmont, Italy. ABV 12%. 75cl. £13.
Sainsbury's Queen Côtes de Provence Rosé 2025
Rating: ★★★★☆. Best for rock 'n' roll fans. A classic Provence-style rosé blend of 70% Grenache and 30% Cinsault, offering full ripe flavours of wild strawberries, blood orange, and redcurrants. The bottle features a glass stopper. Price is £18, which may reflect the celebrity name. Style: Côtes de Provence Rosé. Produced in Provence, France. ABV 13%. 75cl. £18.
Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Discovery Frappato Terre Siciliane 2025
Rating: ★★★☆☆. Best for serving with barbecued meats and pizza. This chillable red offers notes of black cherries, blackberries, and pepper with enough acidity to balance its earthiness. Style: Frappato Terre Siciliane IGT. Produced in Sicily, Italy. ABV 12.5%. 75cl. £9.
What Are the Best Sainsbury's Wines?
Becky Paskin recommends the Taste the Difference Fronton Négrette Rosé 2025 as the top pick, calling it an absolute steal at £8.75 and a superbly aromatic strawberry field of a rosé. Négrette is a severely underrated grape variety, offering something different from usual Provence-style bottles. Pair with strawberries and cured meats.
