There's nothing like popping open a bottle of prosecco to kick off the festivities, but nowadays the sheer amount of choice can be somewhat overwhelming when it comes to finding the best sparkling wine for your special occasion. Luckily, the HELLO! team were more than happy to oblige and taste a wide range of different bubblies to determine which ones were the tastiest.
With many of us switching champagne for sparkling wines, we decided to try a variety of different bubbly and champagne from around the world, opting for drinks from France, Italy, Germany. During our search, we also discovered that an increasing number of winemakers are producing sparkling wine right here in the UK – so naturally we had to sample them to compare! Check out our verdict below…
The HELLO! team tested a range of sparkling wines and champagnes
THE WINNER: Waitrose Nyetimber Classic Cuvée, from England. (£32.99, available at waitrosecellar.com)
THE RUNNER-UPS
Germany: Pfalz, 2014 Riesling Sekt Brut, Reichsrat von Buhl (£19.99, available at laithwaites.co.uk)
Italy: Tesco's Finest Prosecco Valdobbiadene (£10, available at tesco.com)
France: Laurent-Perrier Brut NV Champagne (£26.99, available at majestic.co.uk)
England: Bolney Estate Cuvée Rosé (£25.99 per bottle, available at bolneywinestate.com)
France: Waitrose Champagne Rosé (£24.99, available at waitrosecellar.com)
Although we initially expected to favour classic Italian or French bubbly, we were pleasantly surprised to discover that the English Cuvée topped the list. Described as "fruity and dry" by our panel of tasters, HELLO! Co-editor Thomas pointed out that it's also the wine the Queen serves up to her guests at Buckingham Palace!
There's no doubt that the English and Welsh wine industry is booming, and English wine is now one of the fastest-growing agri-sectors of the UK. Waitrose report that their sales of English wine are up nearly 30 per cent year on year compared to 2015 – and the demand keeps growing.
