'I tasted more than 150 wines from Tesco - here are my top 10 for under £15'

Apart from a few who still think consumers will pay more if the bottle weighs more, we are all getting used to the idea that a lighter weight bottle is better for the environment, is easier to carry out to the recycling bin, and gives absolutely no indication of the quality of the wine.

Tesco has taken this concept to heart and in a very short time has eliminated 300 tonnes of glass from its supply chain; by simply making sure its suppliers use lighter weight bottles.

During this year they are aiming to reduce the average weight of a glass bottle across their range from the usual 550g to 420g. They have also introduced some extremely lightweight bottles for some of their own-label wines.

They hope that these measures will save yet another 3000 tonnes of glass being used. While we are all getting pretty good at recycling glass, it takes a tremendous amount of energy to re-melt those bottles and make them into other products.

According to the Sustainable Wine Roundtable, an organisation that encourages the industry to cut its carbon footprint, around half of the carbon impact of wine can be attributed to the glass bottle. So lighter bottles mean a small carbon footprint, which is better for us all.

So, when you pick up a bottle of wine from Tesco’s shelf and think – that can’t be any good, it feels so light – think again.

While Tesco has been cutting back on glass, they have also been working on wine quality and have added Master of Wine Beth Kelly to their buying team. She has a vast amount of experience from working with Majestic and Marks and Spencer.

I tasted through 152 wines from the Tesco range last week – many of them new wines or new vintages and I was impressed by the way the range hit the mark for quality and especially for value.

With £15 as my top price, here are my top ten best buys from the Tesco range.

Whites

Tesco Finest Floreal 2024, Vin de France, £8: Launched last year, Floreal is a new disease-resistant grape variety, which means that the farmer doesn’t have to drive up and down the rows of vines on his tractor, compacting the soil and spraying chemicals. I tasted last year’s vintage, and it was perfectly acceptable with a light, perfumed aroma, ripe citrus notes with hints of passionfruit and melon, but this year it is better. More aroma, more weight and a rounder flavour. Try it as an aperitif or with salads and fish.

Six Poets Chardonnay NV, California, £8.75: Surprisingly dry for a Californian Chardonnay, this has peachy fruit with just a hint of oak to fill out the palate. Perfect with roast chicken.

Tesco Finest Chenin Blanc Torrontés 2024, Mendoza, Argentina £9: It is hard to believe that it is twenty years since the charming José Alberto Zuccardi visited the York Food and Drink Festival and poured his wines for an audience in York Minster Chapter House – “the best place I have ever given a tasting” he declared. Now Zuccardi is one of Argentina’s most celebrated companies and this blend of Chenin Blanc and Torrontés has lively tropical fruit flavours with a crisp finish.

Visio Vintners We the People Pinot Grigio 2024, Western Cape, South Africa, £9.50: There is a face peering out from the label of this wine, but this is not one person. It is a compilation of the faces of many of the workers at the Visio Vintners Empowerment Trust established by well-known producer Kleine Zalze.

Visio Vintners is a black-owned company with 20 hectares of their own vineyards, making seriously good wine. With my head down, tasting through all the Tesco wines, I didn’t really notice the label. It was the quality of the wine that made me look up and see what it was. With ripe pears, nectarines and floral notes this is a lovely wine for springtime.

Yealands Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2024, Marlborough, New Zealand, £11.50: A definite step up from the regular Yealands Sauvignon, this bounces across the tastebuds with zesty lemon, lime, peach and passionfruit flavours. If you are not sure whether you are picking up the regular or the reserve, look for the flowers and butterflies on the reserve label.

Reds

Marqués do los Zancos Rioja 2024, Spain, £6.25: A great value Rioja that will happily sit alongside a mid-week pizza or a weekend barbecue. Made from 100% Tempranillo grapes sourced from a multitude of family-owned vineyards and aged without oak to keep the fruit fresh and lively.

Tesco Finest Wrattonbully Cabernet Sauvignon 2023, South Australia, £11: Everyone loves a good Aussie Cabernet, and this one is exceptional value. Limestone soils, topped with red loam gives structure and depth of flavour to the wine, with creamy blackcurrant fruit, enough silky structure to cope with a steak and a long, rounded finish.

Querencia Garnacha 20213, Catalunya, Spain, £12: Life has changed for the Garnacha (Grenache in France) grape variety. It used to be lost in blends, playing a minor role, but now it takes centre stage in wines such as this. Made from dry farmed grapes, grown at high altitude, this wine has cranberry, cherry and strawberry fruit, laced with herbs and backed with a freshness that makes it perfect to pour alongside spiced sausages or a chorizo topped pizza.

La Masseria del Borgo Primitivo di Manduria 2023, Puglia, Italy, £12.50: Deep, plum and black cherry fruit with hints of chocolate and herbs, this can cope with whatever comes off a barbecue.

Devil’s Corner Pinot Noir 2023, Tasmania, £15: Once you get used to how the locals pronounce Launceston, with an emphasis on the ‘ces’ in the middle, it is easy to get around Tasmania. Empty roads, gorgeous scenery and a climate that is almost like our own. Chilly breezes sweep across this surprisingly large island, with warm pockets of land where great wines are made. This is a delightful Pinot, with gentle cherry fruit and complex savoury notes.