Best festive fizz revealed: the supermarket bubbly that's better than a luxury brand

Looking for a great champagne that won't break the bank? We've uncovered some first-rate supermarket bubbly that will add sparkle to festive celebrations for a fraction of the price of established brands.

We asked a panel of independent wine experts to blind-taste supermarket champagnes and sparkling wines to uncover the best fizz to enjoy this Christmas.

Our top Best Buy champagne was a big hit with our experts and costs £25, while our cheapest Best Buy bottle costs £22 - half the price of Moët & Chandon.

Sparkling wines are a good budget-friendly alternative to champagne, and some really shone in our tests. We found two Best Buys, as well as a brilliant-value buy for just £7.50.

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Best fizz for Christmas 2024

A trio of supermarket champagnes achieved Best Buy status this year, and we've also found a Great Value prosecco for those looking to spend less than £10.

Best Buy: Tesco Finest Premier Cru Brut Champagne – 82%

£25 for 75cl

Tesco Finest proved itself to indeed be the finest - it's our best overall champagne for Christmas 2024.

Our expert panel loved its elegant taste, creamy texture and long flavourful finish. They also praised its inviting nutty aroma and fresh, fruity flavours. 

Currently Tesco is running a 'buy three or more bottles and get 25% off' deal for Tesco Clubcard holders, which brings the price down to a very palatable £18.75 a bottle (until 22 December). So it's a great time to stock up for Christmas, New Year's Eve and beyond.

Available from Tesco.

Best Buy: Aldi Veuve Monsigny Premier Cru Brut Champagne – 80%

£22 for 75cl

Highly rated by our experts, this first-rate fizz from Aldi has an aroma of crunchy green apples with a suggestion of pecans, spice and butterscotch. It’s an excellent, complex champagne that will add some sparkle to celebrations.

Available from Aldi

Best Buy: Waitrose Brut NV Champagne – 80%

£25 for 75cl

A classic bubbly with pleasing peach, pear and apple flavours, and a superb nut and winter-spice taste. Elegant and light, with an attractive golden colour, it also has a creamy, clean finish. 

A great festive all-rounder, and a good time to buy - Waitrose also has a 'buy six bottles and get 25% off' deal running at the moment.

Available from Waitrose

Great Value: Lidl Prosecco Superiore Valdobbiadene – 80%

£7.49 for 75cl

Perfect for Christmas parties, Lidl's lively prosecco also got the thumbs-up from our experts, coming in third in our sparkling wine test, after our two Best Buy picks.

The panel were impressed by its floral and fruity flavours, and it thought it would make a great party fizz. 

Available in-store from Lidl.

To see all our festive fizz recommendations, including our Great Value champagne pick and our two top Best Buy sparkling wines, head to our full reviews of Christmas champagne and the best sparkling wines.

How to save money on festive wine

Several major supermarkets are running multi-buy deals on wine at the moment, most commonly a 'buy six bottles get 25% off' offer, so it's a good time to start on your festive shop if you've got a crowd to cater for.

As of 18 December 2024, we spotted this deal on at:

• Ocado -buy 3 get 25% off (until 24 December)
• Sainsbury's - buy 6 get 25% off (until 21 December) Nectar card only
• Tesco - buy 3 get 25% off (until 22 December) Clubcard holders only
• Waitrose - buy 6 get 5% off

Lidl is running 30% off three of its 'Deluxe' range wines for Lidl Plus holders from 5 December.

Should you choose crémant instead of champagne?

If you’re looking for the champagne experience for less, a good crémant is a savvy choice. It's essentially French sparkling wine made in the same traditional way as champagne (bottle fermented) – but it’s not produced in France's Champagne region.

Crémant comes from other regions including Alsace, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Die, Jura, Limoux, Loire and Savoie, and because different grapes are used there are subtle differences. 

For example, Alsace crémant tends to be fruitier and aromatic. Bordeaux tastes citrussy, while Limoux crémant is quite floral.

Another alternative to champagne is cava, which is made in the same way as champagne, but is produced in Spain.

The grapes in cava mostly come from the sunny south of the country, near Barcelona, so they ripen more than those grown in Champagne. This makes the cava lower in acidity – and it's often cheaper.

This year, a cava and a crémant came top in our sparkling wine taste test, impressing our experts with their elegant flavours - and one is under £10. Check our independent sparkling wine reviews to discover the bottles worth buying.

Looking for the best festive essentials? See our independent taste test for the best mince pies to stock up on

Top tips for serving festive fizz

We often pick up useful snippets from our experts over the course of running our taste tests. Here are some of their tips for getting the best from your fizz:

• Store it properly. Keep champagne upright in a dark place with a cool, constant temperature. Once opened, it's best to drink the bottle within three to five days.
• 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. If you're using an ice bucket to serve it, add water and ice, as this is better than using ice alone. 
• Don’t serve it straight from the fridge. Unless you prefer your champagne really cold, take the bottle out of the fridge 10 minutes before serving – the taste and aroma will be stunted if it's too cold.
• Choose your glass wisely. Flutes are a favourite for fizz, but our experts warn that they can stunt the aroma a bit as you can't get your nose close to the fizz. Try a standard wine glass instead, or a coupé glass.
• Pair with smoked salmon. Champagne acts like a squeeze of lemon, providing a burst of acidity to cut through the richness of salmon. Our experts recommend choosing a dry champagne for the perfect party pairing.

Best food and drink for Christmas – from mince pies to mulled wine, pannettone and more, discover all our top-rated picks for Christmas and beyond

Note: originally published 16 November 2024, but updated 18 December to reflect current deals on wines at major supermarkets.

Please drink responsibly. See Drinkaware for advice.