‘I went to Asda’s wine bar – one low cost tipple is ideal for summer time slurping’

On May 17, 2024

That’s right, I headed on down to Asda’s wine bar.

Now, you might be thinking ‘since when does the major supermarket have a fancy pants drinking station’.

Well, sorry to burst your bubble but they haven’t built a sommelier stomping ground among the boozy aisles just yet.

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But for one night only, press were given the opportunity to taste some of the 138 offerings of wine up for grabs for Asda’s summer selection hosted at a swanky Soho bar.

Of course I didn’t taste all of them otherwise I wouldn’t have wrote this as I would be in the back of an ambulance with a severely pickled liver.

But I did try three, and purposely picked those because who dares to drink red wine in the summer?

With a huge list – and an even bigger champagne tower in front of me – I decided to go with the fancy bubbles, a sparkling rosé and a crisp white wine.

So without further ado I’ll commence with my expert findings. Ok, I’m no sommelier but I did go to a wine tasting the other week so I’ve got the ole sniff and swirl routine down to pretty much a T.

Asda are not usually known for their extensive champagne range, but here we are. Does the supermarket with the epic pizza counter have it in them to stock a to-do but wallet friendly bubbly?

After extensively reading what’s on offer I decided to take a glass of Berthelot Piot Champagne that is available across 191 stores and costs £26 – a tad on the pricey side for those who like the cheapest thrill.

But in the grand scheme of things and up against the likes of the big names with big price tags like a £50 Moet, the Berthelot Piot Champagne gives it a run for its money with half the price tag.

First sip and it’s sharp and fine – exactly what you want from the bubbles of a good champagne. The abundant teeny bubbles sparkled and it almost looked too pretty and elegant to drink.

But I sipped away, tasting the finery of the fruity notes after practising the whole sniff, swish and breathe routine.

After chomping a bit of cheese and doing the process (not expertly though), the specific apple notes really shone through.

If you’re wanting a bit of a fancy champagne without the massive price tag, then this will certainly impress your palette as it did mine.

And it might even make you look a bit to-do with BBQ guests – it should go down a hit with the Mother-In-Law. Oh, it’s one for the vegans too!

Onto a similar theme of bubbly drinks, but this time a sparkling rose – the Louvel Fontaine Champagne Rosé.

Sounds a bit fancy pants too, right? Well, the price isn’t too much of a bank breaker. It’s £25 a pop and available in 355 Asda stores – so one for the masses!

This bubbly rosé is just nice to look at, and it’s fun and flirty to drink. So, it’s less serious than the sophisticated standard champagne, but it sure lives up to the first tipple trialled.

Again, the bubbles are fine but less sharp than the champagne. The rosé makes it less sharp and instead of apple, the notes are more of the cherry and strawberry kind.

In a nutshell, it’s pink, fun, flirty and fruity. Sounds like a summer night well spent if you ask me! And again, this is vegan friendly so bubbles for everyone…

Last, but not least, is the Extra Special Gavi Di Gavi. Now if I’m going to be totally honest, I only chose this because the name sounded fun to say – it was.

But, was it a delight to drink too? Well priced at £9.50 a bottle, what is there not to love about that. It would be hard not to like it in this current economy.

After getting that out of my system and with the white wine poured into the extremely thin stemmed glass, a swirl, a sniff, a swish and breathe before a sip ensued.

The wine proved to be crisp, light and had a smooth finish, a beverage to certainly keep you on your toes.

And after having a little nibble, I repeated the process where the lemon really started to come through.

The cooled citrusy flavours are perfect for a summer’s evening and available in 432 Asda stores, it will be easy for all those up and down the country to get hold of. It’s suitable for vegans too.

Although I’m often a bubbly girl, I’m going to have to go extra cheap and cheerful with this one and say my stand out is the Extra Special Gavi Di Gavi.

For £9.50, you can’t go wrong. It’s the perfect bottle to chill in your fridge ready for a warm summer’s evening (whenever that may be).

I can’t comment on all 138 bottles of course, but the three I tried were pretty delicious so you might find me walking down an Asda wine aisle soon.

Alternatively, Amazon also has a wide range of wines available.