Top Wines Under £10 from 2017

I have hosted over 30 pop up wine bars as Princess and the Pinot in my first year and I'm feeling pretty chuffed. The wines change each month so you can imagine we get through a lot of different wines, and we're always on the hunt for wines that are great tasting and good value for money to showcase at our events. Here are our Top Wines Under £10 from the year. As you can see there are more reds than whites, and this is partly because reds are more popular at our pop up wine bars, but also because quality reds are easier to make than quality whites.

Learn more about Princess and the Pinot pop up wine bars at www.princessandthepinot.com/events

(Listed by type of wine then £ low to high)

Sparkling

Premier Estates Grand Rosé, Vino Spumante, Extra Dry, NV, 11%, from www.premierestateswine.co.uk £9.99

White

Puklavec & Friends, Sauvignon Blanc / Pinot Grigio, Slovenia, 2016, 12%, from Waitrose £7.99

Baily & Baily “Folio”, Riesling, Clare Valley, Australia, 2015, 11.5%, from Waitrose £8.49

Black Shack, Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand, 2015, 13.5%, from Wine Rack £9.19

Borgo Magredo, Sauvignon Blanc, Friuli, Italy, 2015, 12.5%, from Wine Rack £9.99

Dr Loosen Grey Slate, Riesling, Feinherb, Mosel, Germany, 2014, 10.5%, from Waitrose £9.99

Rose

Oaken Grove, Benham Blush from oakengroveyineyard.co.uk £50 for 6

Red

Little Penguin, Shiraz, South Eastern Australia, 2013 13.5%, from Wine Rack £6.99

Cono Sur “Bicicleta”, Pinot Noir, Chile, 2016, 13%, from Sainsbury's £7.00

Dark Horse, Cab Sav, California, USA, 2015, 13.5%, from Sainsbury's £8.00

Paso Primero Tinto, Cab Sav / Merlot / Temperanillo, Somontano, Spain, 2016, 14.5%, from tanners-wines.co.uk £8.50

Anciano Gran Reserva, Tempranillo, Valdepenas, Spain, 2007, 13%, from Waitrose £8.99

Climbing, Shiraz, Orange, Australia, 2014, 14%, from Waitrose £8.99

Mulberry Bush, Shiraz / Merlot, Robertson, South Africa, 2015, 14%, from Laithwaites £8.99

Porta 6, Tinta Roriz / Castelão / Touriga Nacional, Lisboa, Portugal, 2012, 13.5%, from Majestic £8.99

Trivento Reserve, Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina, 2016, 12.5%, from Wine Rack £9.19

Pisano Cisplatino, Tannat, Progreso, Uruguay, 2015, 13.5%, from M&S £9.50

Columba Bianca Vitese, Nero D’Avola, Sicily, Italy, 2016, 14%, from wine-discovery.co.uk £9.50

Rex Mundi, Shiraz / Grenache, Roussillon, France, 2016, 13%, from Laithwaites £9.99

Learn more about Princess and the Pinot at www.princessandthepinot.com

To see the full list of Top 50 wines with tasplease click HERE

How to choose cheap wine

Happy 2013!

I have the flu, so haven't posted since the new year, and I suspect people are detoxing after the holidays, so I thought I would give a few simple tips for buying cheaper wine.

1. If you have a red and a white at the same price point (and have no preference), go for the red as its easier to make red one (white requires more balance of acidity and flavours are more delicate).
2. If you're buying in a restaurant or bar, and you think the establishment cares about its wines,go for the house wine, this should have been selected to represent their values at a reasonable price. But be sure to check prices for glasses vs bottle, as I recently found two restaurants in London were charging more per ml for the bottle than for glasses, as I suspect they had found many people say "oh lets get a bottle", either that or the people writing the prices on the menus were idiots!
3. Don't buy discounted wines in the supermarket. They have false deals that make you believe the wine is worth more, but it isn't. Take the deal price as the representation of quality.
4. Have a price in mind when going in store, have a look at the wines at that price point, but don't be afraid of spending £1 more, for cheaper wines, £1 can make quite a difference in quality.
5. French wines can be really differentiated, so it might be safer and cheaper to go for an Italian wine (see my Italian wine blog post for tips). My favourite wines at the moment come from Chile and Luis Felipe Edwards have some really great wines at cheaper price points. Winemakers in Chile are trying hard to break the global wine market so you can get some cracking value for money.

Hope this helps!!