I tried all the supermarket wines – the best costs £3 and reminds me of a classic soft drink

11/04/2024 02:00 AM

MULLED wine is a Christmas classic, but which supermarket makes the best one?

We've tested some festive classics to find out which supermarket own-brand goods are the best value for money.

In this test, we compared standard own-brand mulled wines from Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Aldi and Lidl with the version from posh supermarket Waitrose.

For each one, we gave it a score out of ten for taste and a score out of ten for value, based on the price per 100ml. This score also took into account the alcohol content (ABV percentage).

Here's how the mulled wines scored out of 20 overall:

Waitrose Mulled Wine, £5.49 for 75cl (10% ABV)

Waitrose's mulled wine was twice as strong as most of the other supermarket brands and was made from a base of Spanish wine.

It had a smooth, earthy red wine taste but was disappointingly lacking in Christmas spices. The only strong flavour was an artificial cinnamon taste. 

With double the alcohol percentage, at 10% ABV, it is not surprising this was nearly double the price of the cheapest version we tested.

If you choose to splash out on this one, be aware it's twice as strong as most mulled wines.

• Taste: 6/10
• Value: 6/10
• Total: 12/20

Tesco Vineyards Mulled Wine, £3 for 75cl (5% ABV)

Tesco's festive drink was more like drinking cinnamon-flavoured blackcurrant squash than wine.

It tasted thin and synthetic – but it was easy to drink and would be good for a festive party.

It had an alcohol content of just 5.0 per cent ABV, the same as most other supermarkets, and was one of the cheaper wines we tested, at 40p per 100ml.

• Taste: 7/10
• Value: 6/10
• Total: 13/20

Asda Mulled Wine, £3 for 75cl (5% ABV)

The mulled wine from Asda also tasted a lot like a warm, fruity juice rather than a wine-based drink.

It was the same price as Tesco, at 40p per 100ml, but with fewer Christmas spice flavours like star anise. 

• Taste: 5/10
• Value: 6/10
• Total: 11/20

Morrisons Winter Warmer Mulled Wine, £4 for 75cl (5% ABV)

Like the Asda and Tesco versions, this year's Morrisons mulled wine was disappointing.

It had a strange fake cinnamon flavour and tasted like thin, sweet, warm juice. 

At 53p per 100ml, this was around a third more expensive than other supermarket wines (except Waitrose) – and definitely not worth the extra cost.

• Taste: 6/10
• Value: 5/10
• Total: 11/20

Sainsbury's Mull It Over Mulled Wine, £3 for 75cl (5% ABV)

The Sainsbury's mulled wine smelt and tasted festive and fruity at first, but had a chemical aftertaste of synthetic spices.

It also made our mouths feel dry after drinking it.

It cost the same, at 40p per 100ml, and had the same alcohol content as the Tesco and Asda versions.

• Taste: 6/10
• Value: 6/10
• Total: 12/20

Aldi Mulled Wine, £2.79 for 75cl (5% ABV)

The Aldi mulled wine had an intense perfumed smell and flavour – the scent was overpowering, like drinking a cup of juice flavoured with incense sticks.

Maybe this was meant to give it Christmassy frankincense and myrrh vibes, but we felt it would have been better in a soap than in a mulled wine. 

At just 37p per 100ml, this was the cheapest mulled wine we tasted – so it was a shame it didn't actually taste like mulled wine.

• Taste: 3/10
• Value: 7/10
• Total: 10/20

Lidl Christkindl Gluhwein, £5.99 for 1litre (8% ABV)

Lidl's Gluhwein had a vibrant, sugary taste – it was a bit like drinking liquid Haribo or other jelly sweets. 

This was the strongest mulled wine, apart from the Waitrose version, at 8.0 per cent ABV, and the large bottle would make it good for parties. 

But it cost 60p per 100ml, making it the most expensive supermarket mulled wine (outside Waitrose) – we weren't convinced the extra strength made up for the strange taste. 

• Taste: 4/10
• Value: 6/10
• Total: 10/20

The verdict

Overall, we weren’t too impressed with supermarkets’ mulled wines, but Tesco came out as the winner.