Sainsbury's drinks aisle contains the 'best kept secret' in wine for just £10

Four bottles of Taste the Difference wine from Sainsbury's, placed on a red, blue and yellow backdrop — Sainsbury’s has some hidden gems in its wine aisle (Picture: Sainsbury’s)

Supermarket own label wineshow do we feel about them?

I speak to people all the time who would rather stick fishhooks in their eyes than take a bottle of Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference, Tesco Finest, The Best by Morrisons or any other supermarket branded wine with them to a gathering. Drink them behind closed doors though? No problem.

What’s the deal with that? Well, primarily it’s the anxiety that they’ll be seen as skinflints, candid, or simpletons who don’t know much about wine. Without being dramatic, buying wine is a deeply psychological process which has a lot to do with your sense of self. The bottle you bring round to the neighbors represents you as a person, your social standing, your hopes and dreams and your self-worth. Or it does in your mind anyway.

What will people think of me? How am I coming across? Will those people over there, who I’ve never met before, look down on me? Is this wine going to make me look like the village idiot? Does my hair have enough volume? Sorry, that last one was my own intrusive thought. Basically then, bringing a wine to a party is the equivalent of turning up naked, clutching a printout of your bank balance and asking the room to hold up score cards. Which, incidentally, will be mine Halloween costume for next year.

The answer? Care less, which is my solution to most things. Also, rest assured that supermarket own-brand wines are made by some of the world’s top producers, only with a dinkier price tag. Big-name winemakers are queuing around the block to make wine for the supermarkets, as it gives them a foothold within the retailer to get their higher-end wines listed, more bargaining power and the ability to shift mega volumes of wine. Trust me, I’ve been at the meetings.

Sainsbury’s was actually the pioneer, first releasing an own-label range in the 1960s, then came M&S in the 70s. Today, these ranges represent outrageous value for money while often introducing us to new and exciting grapes we wouldn’t normally have the gumption to try. Often, the supermarket buyer works with the producers to come up with a blend that will suit their customers, so even if supermarkets use the same wine producer, the wines will usually taste different.

So, remember this. You’re not a tightwad for buying a supermarket own-label wine, you’re super smart and you know what you’re doing. And I haven’t been sponsored to say that, sadly.

With that in mind, here are the Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference you need to be getting cozy with this autumn, including a drink that’s considered the ‘best kept secret’ in the world of wine:

Best Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference wines

Sparkling

Crémant d’Alsace, France, £11.50

Bottle of Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Crémant d'Alsace wine — It’s made by a star wine producer (Picture: Sainsbury’s)

Bottle of Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Champagne Brut — The £22 champagne has won awards (Picture: Sainsbury’s)

Bottle of Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Jurançon Sec wine — A mouth-tingling wine (Picture: Sainsbury’s)

Bottle of Sainsbury's Taste the Difference New Zealand Pinot Gris wine — This one is by an award-winning winemaker (Picture: Sainsburys)

Bottle of Sainsbury'sSainsbury's Ile de Bauté Rosé, Corsica wine — This is one of wine’s ‘best kept secrets’ (Picture: Sainsbury’s)

Bottle of Sainsbury's Discovery Collection Castelão wine — The Discovery range is worth a go (Picture: Sainsbury’s)

Barbera d’Asti, £8.75 (£7.25 with Nectar)

A bottle of Barbera d'Asti from Sainsbury's — Three stars for this one, and it’s under a tenner (Picture: Sainsbury’s)

I scribbled three stars next to this one in the tasting booklet, along with ‘great value’, so it must be good. Produced by Claudio Manera who heads Araldica, Piedmont’s most modern and forward-looking wine cooperative. It’s situated right in the heart of Barbera d’Asti, working with 230 growers to source the best quality grapes. The result is a soft wine with morello cherry and Italian sausage notes and a quenching freshness.

St-Emilion, France, £14