Cheap but nice tasting champagne

Lil2002

For ideas on the prices in France http://www.tesco-france.com
They also regularly send out vouchers by email AND do special offers for weddings and such.

shelly

morlandbanks wrote:

I'm not sure if they still do it, but Asda used to do 'Charlemaine' (sp). My mum always bought it at Christmas and it was only something in the region of £3 for a huge bottle. I know it's hard to believe, but as someone that's had my fair share of real champers in the past, it's actually really nice! Especially if you like your bubbles not to sharp. I hope they still do it, because I fancy a drop now!

I was going to post exactly the same!! I love this stuff. At our wedding we had Moet (yuck!!) on the top table and Charlemagne on the other tables. I ended up saving a bottle of the Charlemagne to take with us to our hotel the night before we flew to our honeymoon. I don't shop in Asda so don't know if they still sell it but for the money its worth getting a bottle to try. Failing that I'd recommend Asti.

Doozergirl

If, like the heading says, you are looking for cheap but nice tasting champagne you can fool people with cava but stuff like Asti and Charlemagne won't fool many. Asti is really bleurgh.

At our wedding reception drinks were kir royales made with cava (the best thing for the OP, IMO) and chambord. Some people knew it was kir royale, others thought it was pink champange. As the drinks were poured and offered on trays, no one had the opportunity to work out whether it was champagne because they didn't see the bottle.

For speeches, there was a champagne glass at each place setting and the waiters poured Veuve Clicquot from the bottle into each glass so people did know what they were getting then!

I'd budget for 5 glasses out of a bottle, you can eek 6 but it's better to be safe than sorry. Wine for the table you should budget half a bottle per person.

Doozergirl

poochel wrote:

Another idea instead of adding strawberries to champagne/asti/prosecco/whatever is to add wild hibiscus flowers in syrup to the glass. It doesn't matter how cheap and nasty the champers is as the syrup and the flower really mask the taste. The bubbles in the champagne cause the flower to open up and then when you've drunk the drink you eat the flower. It has a really unusual and delicious raspberry/rhubarb taste.

That's amazing! I want to see pictures of it in the glass! :J

Guinea_2

Lil2002 wrote:

For ideas on the prices in France http://www.tesco-france.com
They also regularly send out vouchers by email AND do special offers for weddings and such.

Thanks for this info. But....can anyone help me now? Let's say we go to France to Tesco (!) and get wine and champagne. I am absolutely NO GOOD at choosing wine as I don't actually drink it! This week I have tried a couple of bottles (for testing purposes!) but I must admit that they all taste the same to me and that is D.I.S.G.U.S.T.I.N.G. :lipsrseal So...can anyone (if you have time that is) look at the Tesco France site and give me a rough idea of what I can get that is nice tasting for around £3 a bottle. Red and white wine for £3 a bottle. For the champagne we could go up to about £6 or £7 I think. Last of the big spenders I hear you all cry(!):shocked:

MANY, MANY love, hugs and thanks to everyone!:iloveyou:

Moonbeam

White Wine - I would suggest for value for money either tesco's own White Merlot or Finest Pinot Grigio - both very nice very easy drinking wines

For Red the E&J Gallo Merlot is also very nice and good value for money and Lindemans Merlot is very nice...

These are all very easy drinking and won't break the bank...:D

Congratulations by the way.........:D

Clive_Woody

I have always been a big fan of Laithwaites, they are a mail order wine company that offer a satisfaction guarantee, if you don't like the wine for whatever reason you can send it back for a refund.

For a very nice Champagne style win for less than £10/bottle try this

http://www.laithwaites.co.uk/product~product_code~50269~mscssid~278879874DC94418AFDBA21E28936946.pasp

..or if its pink wine you want try this

http://www.laithwaites.co.uk/product~product_code~50326~mscssid~278879874DC94418AFDBA21E28936946.pasp

or this

http://www.laithwaites.co.uk/product~product_code~50362~mscssid~278879874DC94418AFDBA21E28936946.pasp

Their telephone order line is very helpful, so if you want to have a chat give them a call. They may be able to mix a case of some possibilities for you to try before you order in bulk for the wedding.

For a very drinkable red for on the table I would suggest you try (£4.33 bottle if you buy 24 bottles)

http://www.laithwaites.co.uk/product~product_code~38685~mscssid~278879874DC94418AFDBA21E28936946.pasp

...and the white to match...

http://www.laithwaites.co.uk/product~product_code~25040~mscssid~278879874DC94418AFDBA21E28936946.pasp

both classed as Table wine due to retrictions on labelling in Italy, but both superb wines available at bargain prices.


"If you're not fully delighted with any wine, for any reason, we'll come and collect it and give you your money back. No quibbles, no fuss. It's as simple as that!
Just give us a call."

showtunesgirl

Champagne actually gives me a headache, in fact most white wines do. Therefore, though I will be serving my guests champagne, I will probably be drinking Banrock Station Sparkling Shiraz It's a sparkling red, not a sparkling rose, but a red! It tastes nice, is a lot cheaper than champagne as well as being a bit different!

pboae

Have a look at Day Tripper the site is clumsy but it has great info on it. They also list the offers, cos some of the big warehouses will pay your ticket over there if you are spending more than £250-£300

I would also go for Cava over Champagne, but have you considered buying some cassis and doing Kir Royale? It makes a change from Bucks Fizz (and it's a prettier colour!)

Sensemaya

Cava tastes just the same as champers. 3 for £9 from Asda....even better. When you have consumed them, go on to red wine.

Tip: When being taken out to outrageously obscencely overpriced hotels, take the booze with you.Pay for one bottle if you want to sup in the bar after hours.

£18.95 for one house red wine bottle...£14.50 plus for breakfast. We didn't bother with breakfast. Preferred to stay in bed