Ten bottles of mulled wine – including supermarket offerings from Aldi, Lidl and Tesco – were sipped and savoured by our 63-strong consumer panel in a blind-taste test to uncover the best.
Sainsbury's triumphed over the competition, but some pricier supermarket mulled wines failed to impress.
Eat well, live better and stay healthy:Best mulled wine
Sainsbury's was the standout winner in our test, followed by Co-op.
Aldi and Lidl didn't score quite as well, but both are slightly cheaper and offer a decent compromise between price and quality.
Best Buy: Sainsbury's Mulled Wine – 73%
£3 for 75cl (£4 per 100cl), 5% ABV (alcohol by volume)
If you're in the market for mulled wine, don't mull it over, buy this one.
Sainsbury’s mulled wine was the clear favourite in our taste test, achieving high scores from tasters for its looks, flavour and mouthfeel.
Most thought it had well-balanced sweetness and bitter notes, and two-thirds also said the strength of the spice flavour was just right. A similar number felt the fruitiness hit the spot, too.
More than half of our tasters thought the strength of the alcohol flavour was just right, though just under a third wanted a stronger hit.
Overall, this is a real crowd-pleaser that should go down well with guests.
Co-op Mulled Wine – 68%
£4.50 for 75cl (£5.99 per 100cl), 8% ABV
Co-op’s festive wine offering lost some ground on flavour compared to Sainsbury’s, but it's still a solid choice.
More than half of tasters approved of the level of alcohol flavour – though bear in mind its 8% ABV makes it the third strongest wine on test. It also impressed with its fruitiness.
Around half felt that the sweetness and spice levels were spot on, but a third would have preferred a slightly spicier kick.
Three Mills Mulled Wine – 68%
£4.50 for 75cl (£5.99 per 100cl), 5% ABV
This mulled wine is on par with Co-op for both price and overall approval from our tasters.
Most thought it got the sweetness and bitterness balance about right, looked the part and tasted suitably fruity.
It's 5% ABV, and most were happy with the strength of boozy flavour, though a third felt it was somewhat lacking.
Available fromAldi Mulled Wine – 67%
£2.79 for 75cl (£3.72 per 100ml), 5% ABV
Another decent wine, it's also the joint cheapest on test. Our panel liked the look of it and thought it had a pleasant mouthfeel.
Nearly two-thirds felt the bitterness levels worked well, with more than half enjoying the sweetness and fruitiness. A similar proportion said the spice levels were about right.
The strength of the alcohol flavour was rated well by more than half of our tasters, but around a third wanted a stronger taste.
Available from .Lidl Baywoods Mulled Wine – 67%
£2.79 for 75cl (£3.72 per 100ml), 5% ABV
Lidl’s offering scored the same as Aldi overall, gaining high ratings for its attractive colour and pleasant mouthfeel.
Around two thirds of tasters loved the fruity bitterness, with a slightly smaller proportion saying the sweetness was right.
More than half approved of the strength of the alcohol flavour and festive spice levels.
Available from Lidl (in-store only). – we test supermarket versions against Baileys to find the bestHow mulled wine from Asda, M&S and Waitrose compares
Asda is a smidge behind Aldi and Lidl, followed by M&S and Waitrose.
Tesco Vineyards mulled wine came in last overall, losing marks for both alcohol and spice flavour. Here's how the rest measured up:
Asda Mulled Wine – 66%.£3 for 75cl (£4 per 100ml), 5.5% ABV, available from .Waitrose Mulled Wine – 65%.£5.49 for 75cl (£7.32 per 100ml), 10% ABV, available from .M&S Red Mulled Wine – 64%.£6 for 75cl (£8 per 100ml), 11% ABV, available from M&S (in-store only) and .Morrisons Winter Warmer Mulled Wine – 64%.£4 for 75cl (£5.33 per 100ml), 5% ABV, available from . Tesco Vineyards Mulled Wine – 62%.£3 for 75cl (£4 per 100ml), 5% ABV, available from .How alcoholic is mulled wine?
It depends which one you buy – we found levels vary considerably. Typically mulled wine is less alcoholic than standard wine. The bottles we tested range from 5% ABV up to 11% ABV.
A higher alcohol content didn’t equate to better scores in our taste test though. In fact, our top Best Buy from Sainsbury’s contained the joint-least alcohol at 5% ABV.
A small 125ml glass of 5% mulled wine is 0.6 units, while the same amount of 11% wine comes to 1.4 units. The government recommended limit is 14 units per week.
Most shop-bought mulled wine contains similar ingredients: red wine, water, sugar, spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves), citrus and berries – but we found some curious extras cropped up in the ingredients lists, including carrot and hibiscus.
Tips for making the best mulled wine
If you buy pre-made mulled wine, you can pep things up by adding spices such as cinnamon sticks and star anise, or citrus fruits. These can add flavour and a sense of occasion.
Our wine experts also recommend a dash of ruby or tawny port – or brandy – to enhance the flavour.
For stronger bottles, you may want to add a little water to make it go further.
It's also easy to make your own mulled wine if you prefer.
Pour a bottle of red wine into a large pan then add a cinnamon stick, a couple of star anise and a few cloves. Pop in two strips of lemon or orange zest (or slices if you prefer), plus about four tablespoons of sugar and heat gently.
Some people prefer to infuse the spices by heating them with sugar and a little water first and then add the wine and fruit. This helps to avoid overheating the wine or stewing the fruit.
There's no need to shell out on a pricey red wine for making mulled wine. Instead, go for a cheap and cheerful juicy, fruity choice, such as primitivo or Chilean merlot.
– see which bottles our expert tasters recommendCan you get alcohol-free mulled wine?
Low or non-alcoholic mulled wine is available in most supermarkets. Here's what we found:
£1.89 for 75cl – £1.79 for 75cl – £3 for 75cl – £2.50 for 75cl – £3 for 75clIngredients typically include grape juice, elderberry juice, redcurrant juice, oranges and lemons alongside the classic mulled wine spices, such as cinnamon and cloves.
How we tested mulled wine
All the mulled wines on test were blind-tasted and rated by a panel of 63 people in October 2024 at our specialist test lab.
We recruited a panel of people who buy and drink mulled wine, and who broadly represent the demographic profile of adults in the UK (age range, gender split and more).
We pay for all our test samples to maintain our independence, and where possible we buy from stores just as you would.
We heated the wines gently according to the instructions on the bottle.
The taste test was blind, so our testers didn’t know which brand they were trying. They tasted the wines in a different order that was fully rotated to avoid any bias. Each tester had a private tasting booth so that they couldn’t discuss what they were tasting or be influenced by others.
The tasters rated the taste, aroma, mouthfeel and appearance of each mulled wine, and told us what they liked and disliked.
The overall score was based on:
These weightings are based on what people ranked as the most important attributes when tasting mulled wine.
Price and availability checked: 3 November 2024
source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/best-mulled-wine-aWIIJ6t1MkJp