Waitrose wine guide
Welcome! I’ve now updated this guide for December, which means you’re about to indulge in my festive and Christmas wine recommendations for 2025! If this is your first time on my Waitrose wine buying guide, you’re dropping in at a good time! Every month, I update this article to share my top picks for what you should be drinking if you shop at Waitrose. Explore sparkling, white wine and red wine recommendations from some of Waitrose’s top wine producers, all in one place.
A bit of house keeping and then we’ll get into it:
Top tip: Bookmark the web page to see the latest Waitrose wine recommendations from Ben each month.
How do I select the wines?
Every bottle recommended in this guide I have tasted. I’ve paid retail price for the wines, unless otherwise stated; for example, from time to time I am lucky enough to taste these wines at trade or press tastings. All the wines are graded on the Ben Franks Wine Rating system (BFWR) and must have at least ★ 1 star to make the guide. The star ratings work much like the Michelin system. No stars, no mention, but if a wine gets a star it means I recommend it as a ‘Good wine’ you should pick up. A ★★ 2 star ‘Great wine’ is a wine you should really seek out, and a rare ★★★ 3 star ‘Outstanding wine’ is one that you won’t forget.
Last updated: 1 December 2025
Prices from WaitroseCellar.com, correct at time of writing.
This month’s Waitrose wine picks: December 2025
Best White
2021 Chablis, Premier Cru Fourchaume, Albert Bichot
★★ Great Wine
Albert Bichot’s Burgundies are always a hit and recently I’ve been totally enamoured by the white wines more than the reds. This saline, flinty but succulent and full Chablis is a beautiful picture of Chardonnay, packed to the brim with citrus and apple.
Pair with roast pork or turkey!
£36.00
Best Red
★★ Great Wine
South Africa produces some of the finest wines for your money. I’m consistently impressed by Reyneke, an organic producer. This is a bold, winter friendly red balanced by baking spice, cedar and a hint of mint. Ignore the naysayer on Cellar, this is fab.
Perfect for roast beef, or a rich mushroom wellington.
£21.00
Best Value
★★ Great Wine
Fancy some Christmas cheer to sip while you cook, chat to family, or raid the chocolates? Honestly, Trivento’s Malbec is your new best friend. I love it. Soft, well-made, satisfyingly fruity, with sweet oak-kissed tannins. Trivento is guaranteed to hug you from the inside, out.
Pair with whatever’s going!
£9.00
English bubbles for Christmas
★★ Great Wine
Ridgeview’s had a tough year, so let’s raise a glass of their’s. This fine, pink fizz has delicate summer berries over a soft, creamy mousse.
Kick off Christmas day breakfast (no OJ), or drink with the cheeseboard!
£39.00
Big festive bubbles...
NV Collection Magnum, Louis Roederer
★★ Great Wine
Louis Roederer is one of my favourite Grand Marque Champagne labels. This magnum is something very special with generous notes of baked apple pie.
The magnum makes a statement, but when it’s this delicious you’ll need it!
£120.00
Lamb or duck, anyone?
★★ Great Wine
A Pinot with bright cherry aromas and a palate of strawberries rolled in balsamic vinegar and black pepper. There’s a lot to like here. NZ Pinot Noir has a soft ripeness to it without compromising on its fresh bite, perfect for gamey dishes.
£27.00
Something sweet?
2021 On The QT Bin 33, Feiler-Artinger
★★★ Outstanding
Just take my money, Waitrose! Similar to Szamorodni Tokajis, this is a blend of botrytis and late harvest fruit that add up to utter magic. Lusciously honeyed but bright with lime tang, give me a big block of Stilton blue cheese and leave me to get fat on the sofa.
£26.50
November 2025’s best picks:
Here’s last month’s round-up of top Waitrose wines, selected for November. These bottles are still top buys, and it isn’t much colder in December, so if you’re looking to up your basket to a dozen or so different things to try, then have a look through this list and October below – there’s some delights.
November’s best Waitrose white wine:
2022 Vérité Viognier, Lauren Miquel (£21.00, Waitrose) ★★ Great Wine
Fabulous Winter white. Full of stone fruits and very satisfying. Laurent Miquel is always a solid choice for great Viognier and this is especially good. If you’ve never tried a Viognier before and wondering what it is, the wine style tends to appeal to Chardonnay or Pinot Gris fans!
November’s pick of the reds:
2021 Toscana Rosso, Villa Antinori (£20.00, Waitrose) ★★ Great Wine
An absolute classic I always like to revisit this time of year. Darker and richer than Chianti with a smooth, crowd-pleasingly silky finish. Villa Antinori may be a very large producer but its consistency year on year is unmatched. This wine is always good!
Great value pick from Waitrose:
2024 Blueprint Grüner Veltliner, Waitrose (£9.00, Waitrose) ★★ Great Wine
Unbelievable value for one of the great winemakers of Austria, Markus Huber. Zesty and peppery, Sauvignon fans should flock to this. Grüner Veltliner has a skin that gives its wines a phenolic, spicy note that give the wine memorable character. Grǔner is easily one of my favourite grape varieties.
Waitrose sparkling wine pick:
2024 Blueprint Grüner Veltliner, Waitrose (£34.50, Waitrose) ★★ Great Wine
Consistently one of England’s all-time best sparkling wines and yet somehow this bottle of Camel Valley remains a steal at this price. Toasty with a fresh citrus tang. Don’t just relegate this to by the glass toasting, serve it with food and it’ll delight.
Special date night bottle choice:
2020 Rully Pinot Noir, Joseph Drouhin (£31.00, Waitrose) ★★ Great Wine
Rully and steak. Forget the Malbec. Rully has a rich intensity for Pinot Noir but it’s full of finesse; this will impress. The last thing you want is to be full and bloated, a date night demands something with style that’s deep with flavour but poised and elegant like this.
November’s “everyday” Waitrose winner:
2022 Classic Côtes du Rhône, Waitrose (£7.50, Waitrose) ★ Good Wine
Young, vibrant and fruity red with spicy Syrah and red fruited Grenache. A simple, enjoyable Winter warmer. In reds, Côtes du Rhône wines tend to punch above their weight because the climate is more reliable for producing soft, satisfyingly ripe grapes that make for easy drinking wines like this one.
For the wine super fans:
2017 Pinot Noir Reserve, Louis Guntrum (£43.00, Waitrose) ★★★ Outstanding Wine
German Pinot Noir? Never underestimate German winemaking. This is layered and viscous, full of cherry, dried strawberry, licks of soft oak and hints of smoke. A real gem.
October 2025’s best picks:
All the way from October… here’s the round up of Ben’s favourite Waitrose wines from October and links to Waitrose Cellar where you can buy them.
Best Waitrose white wine:
2019 Albariño Gran Añada, La Val (£30.00, Waitrose) ★★ Great Wine
I love proper Albariño like this, where the grape’s been allowed to deliver it’s full expression. Multi-layered and ‘succulent’ in the best sense of the word, this is a proper white wine that’s going to get your mouth watering.
Best Waitrose red wine:
2021 Chianti Classico, Villa Cafaggio (£16.00, Waitrose) ★★ Great Wine
For years I was bored by Chianti. Not that it’s bad, but it was missing that special something that would make it memorable. I’m so glad I tried this Villa Cafaggio, which seems to have brought even the difficult 2021 vintage into a fully formed, exciting bottle of red. A great Chianti.
Best value Waitrose wine in October:
2022 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, Champteloup (£11.00, Waitrose) ★ Good Wine
A genuinely fresh white wine. Sip along as you cook and enjoy a glass with pasta. This one’s one of wine’s simple joys and it’s great value.
Best fizz at Waitrose:
2015 Brut Vintage, Louis Roederer (£80.00, Waitrose) ★★ Great Wine
Still my favourite Champagne house by a long shot, Roederer’s 2015 vintage was lees aged for 4 years but has come into a new life of its own after even longer in the bottle. This deep, brioche-laden Champers is a treat for October.
Wine for Halloween?
2023 Blueprint Romanian Pinot Noir, Waitrose (£7.50, Waitrose) ★ Good Wine
Why not go for something from Dracula’s homeland? Let’s be honest, while you’re juggling trick or treaters and snuggling inside to the sound of fireworks, a bit of simplicity is a comfort. This Pinot Noir is juicy and delicious, what more could you ask for?
Last of the Summer rosé…
2024 Organic Susumaniello Rosé, Terre di Faiano (£10.00, Waitrose) ★ Good Wine
I’ve really fallen for the Susumaniello grape, especially when it’s pink. This version from Terre di Faiano is a little fuller than examples I’ve tried previously; a perfect rosé wine for the chillier evenings.
Something new:
NV Verdelho 15-Year-Old Madeira, H&H (£22.00, Waitrose) ★★ Great Wine
Madeira remains one of the best value wines you can buy, simply because no-one seems to be drinking it. All the better for those in the know. This Verdelho balances the more complex, nutty flavours of great Madeira with a nice note of sweetness to offset its spicy, alcoholic kick.
Thank you for reading this month’s recommendations! See you next month and don’t forget to bookmark this page so you can find it next time.
Need a reminder about how the BFW rating system works? Read all about it here.
