Simon Judge
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Over £20 Pick List
When you are looking to celebrate a special occasion, host a memorable dinner party, or simply treat yourself to something truly exceptional, spending a little more can yield incredible results. Over the last year, I have tasted over 1500 wines at retailer press tastings to bring you my favourite premium wines priced over £20. This list is updated every June and December. Asda Co-op Majestic Morrisons Sainsbury’s Tesco The Wine Society Waitrose
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Cabernet Masters Reveal 2026 medallists
The Drinks Business reports the results of The Global Cabernet Sauvignon Masters 2026, judged in London on 8 April at COMO The Halkin. It was a large tasting, with 151 wines assessed by 10 judges across three panels. Chile submitted the most wines, followed by Australia, South Africa, the US and Argentina, with entries also from Spain, Italy, Romania, Mexico, Portugal and India. The headline result is that the top two awards went to US wines. Alexander Valley Vineyards’ 2021 Alexander School Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from Sonoma won Master, while Sequoia Grove Winery’s 2021 Rutherford Bench Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from…
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£7 and Under Pick List
Welcome to my bi-annual listing, updated every June and December, of great wines at £7 or less, based on tasting over 1500 wines at press tastings over the previous year. Finding a great bottle of wine doesn’t mean you have to break the bank. From crisp, aromatic whites to rich, full-bodied reds, here is your definitive list of the best affordable wines, complete with their vintage, supplier, cost and a brief tasting note to help you choose. Aldi Asda Co-op Lidl Majestic Morrisons Tesco
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The Wine Society Pick List
Welcome to my bi-annual summary, which is updated every June and December to bring you wine recommendations from The Wine Society. Across the recent Autumn and Spring/Summer press tastings, I have tasted over 240 wines to curate this buyer’s guide. To help you easily navigate their web site, I have grouped my favourites by country, complete with their vintage, price, and a short tasting note. Please note that at the time of writing, not all wines may be in stock yet and prices are subject to change. England France Spain Chile Australia USA Austria Greece Portugal
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Majestic Pick List
Welcome to my Majestic pick list, updated every June and December. Over the course of the recent Majestic Autumn and Spring press tastings, I have tasted over 200 wines. To help you easily navigate the wine aisles on your next visit, I have selected my favourites from these events. The wines below are grouped by country, complete with their vintage, price, and a quick summary to help you find the perfect bottle. Prices are subject to change and not every wine will always be available in every store. However, Majestic can usually find bottles in other branches if needed. Australia…
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Co-op Pick List
Welcome to my latest Co-op wine roundup. Over the recent Autumn/Winter and Spring/Summer press events, I have tasted over 140 wines from the two tastings to find my favourite bottles available at the Co-op. This is a bi-annual summary updated every June and December, designed to help you navigate the shelves and discover everything from excellent value weekday bottles to top choices for special occasions. Below is my curated list of top picks, grouped by country, complete with vintages, prices, and a quick tasting note for each. Please note that not all bottles are in all store, prices may change…
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Sainsbury’s Pick List
Welcome to my latest bi-annual summary, updated every June and December, where I bring you the my Sainsbury’s wine selections. I have tasted over 250 wines from the two tastings hosted by Sainsbury’s over the past year, narrowing down the offerings to highlight the most exciting discoveries, reliable classics and absolute bargains. From textured whites to outstanding premium choices, here are my recommendations, grouped by country, for ease of finding in the aisles. Prices are subject to change, sometimes even downwards by as much as 25% during the buy-six promotions. Argentina Australia Austria Chile England France Italy New Zealand Portugal…
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Asda Pick List
Welcome to the Asda pick list. I have tasted over 150 wines from the two tastings recently hosted by Asda, their Autumn/Winter showcase and the Exceptional range tasting. To help you navigate the aisles and find the absolute best bottles for your money, I have compiled my top picks by country. This is a bi-annual summary updated every June and December to ensure you always have the most current recommendations. Availability will vary by store and prices are subject to change, especially during mix 6 25% off periods. Argentina Australia Austria Chile England France Italy New Zealand Romania South Africa…
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Morrisons Pick List
Welcome to my latest Morrisons wine round-up. I have tasted over 250 wines from the two tastings at the recent Morrisons Autumn/Winter and Spring/Summer press events to find the best bottles. This is a bi-annual summary updated every June and December, designed to help you navigate the aisles and discover the best value and quality available. Here are my top recommendations, grouped by country, complete with vintage, price and a quick tasting note for each. Keep in mind that availability varies by store, and these prices can drop significantly during 25% off promotions. France Spain Italy England Germany New Zealand…
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Waitrose Pick List
Welcome to the latest edition of my Waitrose wine round-up. Over the last year, I have tasted over 250 wines from the Waitrose Autumn and Spring Waitrose tastings to bring you the absolute best bottles worth your attention. This is a bi-annual summary updated every June and December, ensuring you always have access to the freshest seasonal recommendations. Waitrose continues to impress with its expanding No.1 tier and the intriguing ‘Loved & Found’ range, showcasing excellent quality across the board. Below, I have categorised my top wines by country. Please note that prices are subject to change and can even…
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Tesco Pick List
Welcome to my bi-annual summary, which is updated every June and December to highlight the very best bottles I have discovered at Tesco. I have tasted over 250 wines from the two latest press events: the Tesco Autumn/Winter 2025 tasting and the Spring/Summer 2026 tasting. Both of these events highlighted Tesco’s impressive commitment to developing its range, cementing its reputation for providing everything from outstanding value to premium bottles. To help you navigate the wine aisles, I have organised all my picks from these tastings below. They are grouped by country, complete with their vintage and price. Keep in mind…
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Lidl Pick List
If you have been following my recent tasting adventures, you will know that I have tasted over 170 wines from the Lidl tastings over the past year. To make it easier for you to find my favourite bottles, I have put together this bi-annual summary, updated every June and December, highlighting my picks. To help you easily navigate the wine aisles on your next shopping trip, I have grouped all of my top recommendations by country, complete with vintages, prices and a brief tasting note for each. Australia Jailbird Australian Blend 2021 £5.99 This leathery, smoky Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz…
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Aldi Pick List
Welcome to my bi-annual summary, updated every June and December. Over the last year I tasted over 65 wines at the last Autumn tasting. Aldi didn’t have a Spring/Summer tasting this year as they are streamlining their range. To help you easily navigate the wine aisles on your next shop, I have listed the top wines with their vintage and price, grouped by country. Most of these wines are seasonal, so please the availability and be aware that prices are subject to change. South Africa France Spain Italy Portugal Moldova
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Tenuta Sant’Antonio Scaia Rossa Corvina
This is the last, and best, of a few wines I bought on a recent trip to Lombardy. Although Lombardy has plenty of its own wines, it also seems to be flooded with bottles from neighbouring Veneto. Scaia Rossa is a Veneto IGT wine from Tenuta Sant’Antonio, whose vineyards lie between Soave and Valpolicella. The name “Scaia” is a Venetian dialect word meaning a flake of stone, chalk or limestone. The Scaia project was launched in 2006, with the aim of creating wines in a modern style, outside the restrictions of the denomination system. It cannot be labelled Valpolicella DOC…
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Melpo Valley of the Muses Rosé
This is a Rosé, 2024 vintage, from Mount Helicon near Athens in Greece, made from a blend of Syrah and the lemony freshness of Greece’s pink-skinned Roditis Alepou variety. It is a deep dark orange, which immediately sets it apart. At 12.5% abv, it feels nicely balanced rather than heavy. There are red fruit aromas, followed by a full strawberry taste and slight lemon that makes it instantly likeable. The texture is excellent, full-bodied for a rosé, soft and round, with a generosity you do not find in lighter Provence-style bottles. It seemed slightly sweet at first, but testing proved…
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The Society’s Exhibition “Selección Especial” Rioja Reserva
I first came across this wine at The Society’s recent press tasting, when it was such a new vintage that it did not yet have a label. Wines without labels always make me wonder whether they will feel quite the same once they are actually on sale. For me, this was one of the best wines in the tasting, so I had to give it another try now that it is generally available. First of all, it comes from La Rioja Alta, one of the names best known for traditional, age-worthy Rioja wines, and widely considered one of Rioja’s classic…
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Majestic Definition Tasting
In late May 2026, I attended a consumer wine tasting at Majestic Wine in Woking. The evening was led by Pete, a familiar face there with 18 years of experience at Majestic and, outside of wine, an accomplished international marathon runner. The theme of the tasting was the “Definition by Majestic” range, with eight wines showcased throughout the evening. Definition is the retailer’s premium own-label collection, created to capture the classic style and character of renowned grape varieties and wine regions. The range is produced in partnership with world-class winemakers, with the aim of offering authentic regional expressions that reflect…
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Why Choosing Wine Still Feels Like Guesswork
The Press Democrat has an interesting article that argues that wine’s biggest challenge is not competition from beer, spirits, cannabis or younger generations. Instead, many consumers struggle to predict what a bottle of wine will actually taste like before buying it, which leads to disappointment and discourages repeat purchases. The article draws on research from the Wine Market Council and flavour-analysis company Quini. Their findings suggest that wine is much harder for casual drinkers to understand than beer or cocktails. Many consumers cannot tell from a label whether a wine will be dry or sweet, and a majority say wine…
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Wine Thermometers
Wine temperature matters because it changes what you can smell, taste and feel. Cooler wine tastes fresher, sharper and more restrained. Warmer wine smells more expressive, feels fuller and shows more alcohol. Too cold, and aromas are muted, tannins can seem harder, sweetness is less obvious and the wine may taste thin. Too warm, and alcohol can feel hot, acidity can sag, fruit can seem jammy and sparkling wines lose freshness faster. A wine thermometer is mainly useful because “room temperature” is often misleading. The old idea of serving red wine at room temperature comes from cooler rooms, not modern…
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Carpineto Rosso di Montepulciano
A slightly different review this time, more of a lesson learned than a straight write-up. I picked up this Carpineto Rosso di Montepulciano recently while in Italy, the 2022 vintage. Carpineto is a Tuscan producer founded in 1967 in Dudda, Greve in Chianti. This wine comes from Montepulciano in the province of Siena, under the Rosso di Montepulciano DOC appellation. (It has absolutely nothing to do with Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.) It is a blend of mainly Sangiovese, known locally as Prugnolo Gentile, with Canaiolo. I looked it up while I was in the Italian shop and it seemed very well rated,…
Pick Lists
Majestic | The Wine Society | Tesco | Waitrose | Sainsbury’s | Morrisons | Co-op | Asda | Aldi | Lidl | £7 and Under | Over £20
Did You Know?
Rías Baixas wines reached more than 107 countries in 2025 and exports represented 31 per cent of the denomination’s total sales. More
Light Strike Can Cause Wine Degradation in Just One Day. More
People actively adjust their wine choices depending on who might see them. More
In the UK, 73% of Alcohol is Bought From Retail Rather Than Hospitality. More
UK wine production reached 124,377 hectolitres that year, meaning the UK accounted for roughly 0.05 per cent of world output. More
For Crémant, grapes must be harvested by hand and the wines must undergo at least nine months’ ageing before release. More
In 2024, the UK was the second-largest export market for Champagne globally, after the United States. More
Local UK bottling of wine represents about 40% of imported wine. More
Around 1% of people, typically severe asthmatics, have a sulphite sensitivity. More
A large 80% of Australian wine arrives in the UK in bulk. More
Only about 0.02% of Australia’s landmass is dedicated to vineyards. More
In 2024, New Zealand produced only 1% of the World’s wine. More
In 2024, the US imported 37% of World production of Pinot Grigio and the UK was is in second place at 27%. More
In 2024, the UK was South Africa’s largest export market, with 40% of total exports. More
In 2024, the United Kingdom imported 22.3 million bottles of Champagne, a decline of 12.7% compared to the previous year. More
Larger Champagne producers source grapes from as many as 80 different vineyards throughout Champagne. More
Champagne houses and growers collectively produce around 300 million bottles annually. More
In 2025, the Champagne region was home to about 2,124 Champagne houses and approximately 19,000 growers. More
Provence is one of the leaders in the conversion to organic viticulture, with 61% of vineyards certified. More
8% of the South Africa’s grape production is Fairtrade-certified. More
Up to 80% of wine aroma compounds come from grape skins. More
Glycerol is the third-largest component of most dry wines after water and alcohol which is why they so often feel ‘smooth’ or ‘silky’ in the mouth. More
Humans are more than 400 times more sensitive to bitter than sweet. More
Humans can detect the earthy molecule geosmin at about 100 parts per trillion and camels are so sensitive to it they can locate damp ground from roughly 50 miles away. More
During the phylloxera crisis of the nineteenth century, 90% of Europe’s vineyards were destroyed. More
In 2025, for La Vieille Ferme, also known as “The Chicken Wine”, sales surged by 49.4% to £110.8 million. More
In 2025, in the UK, Yellow Tail held the top position with sales, marking a 9.8% increase over the previous year. More
In 2024, the UK was the second-largest wine importer in volume and value. More
In 2024, the UK was the fifth-largest wine-consuming country globally. More
In 2025, global wine consumption continued its downward trend, estimated at 214.2 million hectolitres, the lowest since 1961. More
In 2025, online alcohol sales had a 20% increase in value over five years. More
In 2025, the number of UK vineyards rose to 1,104 and wineries to 238, with land under vine expanding to 4,841 hectares, a 510% increase since 2005. More
Moët Hennessy alone commands nearly 46.66% of the Champagne market, with the top three producers together holding about 61%, and the top five controlling over 72%. More
In 2024, the Champagne market was worth roughly €3.92 billion. More
In the marketing year 2023/24, white wine accounted for roughly 55% of Spain’s output, whereas red and rosé together made up about 45%. More
In the UK, 92% of wine is consumed within 48hrs of purchase. More
The majority of wines, 95%, use commercial rather than wild yeast. More
Between 0.5 and 10 litres of water, per litre of wine, are needed for cleaning during winemaking. More
Machine harvesting can achieve up to 100 tons of fruit per day vs 1 ton for a human. More
In Germany, 2025 was the smallest wine vintage since 2010. More
The majority of vineyards, 90% in 2019, are farmed with heavy chemical interventions. Only 6% are organic. More
90% of low and coastal areas in south Europe and California will no longer be able to produce good wine by the end of the century. More
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