Food bills, along with energy prices and petrol are rocketing as the cost of living crisis continues to wreak havoc with household budgets.
Many people, understandably, are only shopping for basics and lots of little luxuries are falling off the shopping list.
Britain is known to be a nation which likes a drink, so the idea of having to call time on buying a luxury such as wine seems a bit bleak.
However, with some supermarkets doing their own range of vino, there should still be scope to indulge in a nice glass of red on an evening.
Morrisons - £4.79
I headed to Morrisons in Whitefield where I picked up a bottle of their own Cabernet Sauvignon, which at under a fiver, seemed relatively cheap. The pink and burgundy hued label itself was pretty basic and uninspiring but it promised to be 'Full bodied and rich' - which at £4.79 sounded like a good deal to me.
On the back of the label the wine boasted of being 'packed with bramble fruit flavours' which sounded rather enticing and, somewhat strangely I thought, stated: 'Great with sausage and mash.' This felt incredibly specific and I was left wondering if it would be just as great with say, roast beef and Yorkshire pudding or steak and chips.... but I digress.
The budget look and price of the wine made me feel I was likely to wince when I took a mouthful, but in fact there was no bitter after taste and the wine seemed perfectly pleasant -if not outstanding.
Score: 6/10
Marks & Spencer - £5.50
Rocking a very similar berry coloured label was Marks and Spencer own brand Malbec - which promised to be 'bold and velvety' and taste of blueberry and dark fruits. This wine, the label stated, was great with grilled meat and pizzas and was a wonderfully smooth and ripe red made from Malbec grapes grown in Argentina.
This wasn't just a supermarket brand wine, this was a Marks and Spencer wine - so I anticipated it being a cut above with a cut price tag of £5.50. The taste was certainly bold and punchy and I could taste the sharpness of the fruits. I can't say I noticed a particularly velvety texture, being a Malbec it felt more dry - as it should, but it was definitely worth the money.
Score 7/10
Sainsburys - £4.75
I was uber impressed with the much more sophisticated and high-end looking label on the bottle of House by Sainsburys - Sainsbury's own brand Cabernet Sauvignon, which was made up of mainly sleek black and gold and didn't scream 'budget' as much as the Morrisons and Marks and Spencer bottles had.
The wine, picked up at a store in Stockport, was priced at £4.75 but looked much more expensive than it was and promised to be smooth and mellow and full of spicy, blackcurrant flavours with vanilla. 'What more could you wish for in a glass of red?!' the label on the back of the bottle asked. A bold statement indeed, so I decided to find out...
Yes, the wine was smooth, yes, it was mellow and I could taste the burst of blackcurrant flavours on my tongue. I was as impressed with the taste for the price as I was with the stylish bottle. Result.
Score 9/10
Tesco - £9
Over at Tesco in Prestwich I struggled to find any budget own brand and could only find Tesco Finest, even when I enlisted the help of a Tesco employee who said he was pretty sure there were no cheaper alternatives. The Tesco Finest Range all had a much more superior quality look to them and ranging in price from £8 to £19 on the shelf in front of me, the price was a little more 'superior' too.
I settled for a £9 Rioja, which was at the lower end of the scale but still pricier than most people looking for a cheap alternative to expensive wine, would want to pay. Still, as an occasional treat - the Rioja also looked sleek and stylish with a black and gold label and at 14.5 per cent volume was the most alcoholic compared to 13 per cent for the Malbec and 12.5 per cent volume for the Cabernet Sauvignon.
The wording on the back of the label was also much more sophisticated stating: 'Best enjoyed within three years of purchase' - which I found rather intriguing, as any wine purchased by myself is usually drunk within three hours of purchase, if not, in some situations, three minutes. It also boasted about hand-harvested Tempranillo grapes aged in fine oak barrels for a minimum of 16 months - as opposed to being great with bangers and mash.
I loved the sound of the intense flavours of raspberry with layers of oak and spice and couldn't wait to tuck in. As this was the only bottle out of the four without a screw top, I had to get out my corkscrew which made it feel much less budget and then, finally... the taste was revealed.
The wine tasted delicious, the oak and spice gave it a soft and lingering flavour, it was smooth, mellow and seductive and left me wanting more. Divine.
Score 8.5/10
The verdict
Over-all the Rioja was the tastiest of the four, but at £9 it was the most expensive and while being a supermarket own brand, it was also part of the 'finest' range, not a budget bottle. So, for me the House by Sainsbury's was the clear winner. Priced at only £4.75 it looked good, tasted good and left change for a fiver. What more could you wish for in a glass of red?!' the label stated - well, nothing as it happens.
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