Best proseccos 2021: From artisan producers to supermarket chains

Best: Overall

Rating: 10/10

This is simply the perfect prosecco – a great balance between the cheap and cheerful versions and the more elegant and poised style of valdobbiadene. And although the latter is often a little bit more expensive, this is terrific value for money for a really high-quality wine. It’s perfect for some everyday sparkle but also a great bulk buy for a party, where it would be best served with starters or canapés. Either way, you’ll enjoy the light, fragrant aromas of spring hedgerows and orchards, followed by lovely flavours of English pears and green apples.

Best: Bargain buy

Rating: 9/10

It is remarkable how Aldi can consistently source wines at these kinds of prices, but cast aside any suspicions about anonymous European wine lake bottles. This one is sourced from a small organic vineyard, just 30km north of Venice, where the glera grapes are hand-picked from vines grown without chemicals. The result is just fabulous: refreshing stone fruit flavours and sumptuous floral aromas. It’s the ideal anytime aperitif and would be perfect for a special brunch. And there is an equally excellent rosé version as well.

Best: Rosé prosecco

Rating: 7/10

Surprisingly, final approval for prosecco to be sold in the rosé style, where some pinot noir grapes are added to the dominant glera, only came from the Italian wine authorities last year, but the business had been building up to it and so there are already loads of excellent examples out there. This one from Hometipple is simply gorgeous, with generous, fullsome red berry fruit flavours – think dark autumn raspberries, but very dry on the finish – making it brilliant for pairing with food, particularly fish dishes, whether that’s garlicky prawns or spicy crab cakes.

Best: Luxury buy

Rating: 9/10

If the Valdobbiadene area delivers the best prosecco, then the vineyards of the steep hillsides in Cartizze, where the quality of its wines were being celebrated as far back as the 14th century, deliver the best of the best, the so-called “grand cru” of prosecco. Reputedly, the value of vineyard land here is more than that in other fabled Italian wine-growing regions such as Barolo or Montalcino. So this wine is about as special and elegant as you can get for prosecco, although the price remains relatively modest, compared to, say, premium champagnes. The elevated growing position gives intense, clean, vibrant flavours of spring blossoms and orchard fruits. This is a wine to be enjoyed as a special occasion aperitif.

Best: For parties

Rating: 7/10

The relatively modestly priced prosecco makes it the ideal wine to bulk buy for parties: it makes any occasion more special and will deliver more sheer enlivenment per pound than, say, a similarly priced bottle of still red or white. And, while everyone loves a glass of sparkling, it’s also great for making cocktails or an Aperol spritz, so the party goes with a swing. This is a terrific buy from a reliable high street retailer. Organic, well priced and full of lovely citrusy flavours: what’s not to like? 

Best: Celebrity buy

Rating: 8/10

The latest recruits to the growing list of celebrity wine ventures, following in the footsteps of the likes of Gary Barlow’s reds and Kylie Minogue’s rosés, are the Delevingne sisters: supermodel/actor/socialites Cara and Poppy and their older and much less high-profile sister Chloe, who have recently launched this determinedly upmarket prosecco in conjunction with an established, sustainable and organic estate in Valdobbiadene. While it is very much marketed as their venture, curiously, the Delevingne name doesn’t actually appear on the attractive bottles. Celebrity associations aside, this is a terrific special occasion prosecco that’s full of light, bright bubbles and lovely floral aromas.

Best: Present

Rating: 7/10

A bottle of sparkling is a great bet for a present or simply to take along to a gathering, but how to make it just a bit more special? Well, Bottega has the answer with this unashamedly blingy bottle. The special treatment of the glass gives a shiny metallic quality to the bottle here, making it a sparkling pink both on the outside and on the inside. And it is not just about the glamour, as the wine is a pitch-perfect, very dry rosé, suitable as both an aperitif and as an accompaniment to fish dishes – particularly sushi or fried calamari.

Best: Organic buy

Rating: 9/10

While many rightly consider prosecco a mass-produced wine, such is its ubiquity, there are now a wide range of organic and/or vegan, artisan producers around that strive for quality wines with individuality. The Terre dei Buth winemakers, based in Treviso, specialise in a limited selection of sparkling and still wines, with low-key but highly distinctive labels and a simple, organic-led approach. And the result is fabulous – it’s a little deeper and richer than some other prosecco, with some slight brioche hints and fulsome flavours of apples and pears.

Best: Bottle design

Rating: 7/10

This is just a fabulous-looking bottle from esteemed and long-established producer Allesandro Gallici, created especially for Laithwaites in honour of the wine merchant’s 50th anniversary. But it is what’s in the bottle that really counts and this is a very well-made wine, produced with premium organic grapes and to strict vegan standards. It has real depth on the palate, with ripe orchard stone fruits and a fine, persistent mousse. Another one suited to gifting.

Best: For low sugar

Rating: 9/10

The perception that a lot of prosecco, particularly at the budget end, is a bit on the sweetish side – caused by over-enthusiastic use of the “dosage” that goes into most sparkling wines – has put off a lot of potential consumers. So here comes this determinedly low-sugar option, which is really just a very dry rosé, with really full red fruit flavours of raspberries and wild strawberries. It’s the ideal accompaniment to a variety of seafoods, but will be particularly good with a prawn risotto.