There are pretty much dupes of everything these days, from fashion to furniture, but have you considered wine dupes before?
Don’t turn your nose up; consider these ‘rifts’ on either branded wine you’re all too familiar with, or simply regions or grapes you absolutely love, albeit at a fraction of the cost you’d usually pay. It’s common sense to be curious, right?
Take Whispering Angel, everybody’s favourite pale-pink rosé from Provence (in the South of France), whose reputation for quality and quaffability means you’ll pay a pretty penny in restaurants and retailers, but whose unwavering desirability as the summer drink has spawned a thousand copycats. Everyone who’s anyone is producing their own clever dupes to cater to the thirst for the very best bottles at bargain-basement prices.
The oh-so-good Screaming Devil from Asda grabbed the headlines because of its not-too-subtle name. At just £12.97, which is significantly cheaper than Whispering Angel, which retails at around £23, it’s got similar good looks with an equally handsome bottle and the same light colour, subtle aromas and delicate, fruity flavours.
“Wine dupes are definitely rising in popularity, with customers looking to find wines that mimic the characteristics of more expensive and recognisable ones,” Sally Lanham, wine buying manager at Asda, tells me.
“We’re committed to offering our customers wines that offer equivalent or even better quality to these products, but without the hefty price tag attached that these wines often demand. We launched Screaming Devil Rosé last year, and it went viral for its cheeky name spin! It's currently £12.97 and continues to get rave reviews from customers.”
Indeed, one of the customers remarked, “Wow, this really is a beautiful Provençal rose. I always drink roses from this region, and this is up there with the best of them. Please do yourself a favour and buy a few bottles of this.”
How I tested
As a lifestyle writer specialising in food and drink, I’m well-versed in sipping for a living, having put finger to keyboard for The London Standard for the past five years. I also regularly consult directly for food and drink brands – imparting my expertise and creating content – as well as agencies representing both.
For this piece, I started by picking my top bottles across red, white, rose and fizz – those I'm all too familiar with – then hunted down the next best things that didn’t break the bank (including ones that went viral on social). I tried the dupes as I would the originals, from rose in the sun to fizz before dinner, and compared aromas, flavours and price points to deliver fair and consistent verdicts. Bottoms up, I say!
Here, I round up the best dupes to drink so you can judge for yourself.
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Screaming Devil Côtes de Provence
Dupe of: Whispering Angel
When the Angel is Whispering in your ear, but you can’t quite warrant the price tag just before payday, you might want to consider its cheaper, naughtier cousin. She serves up just as much fun, but for far less, and even comes with a glass stopper so you can enjoy on picnics without the need for a corkscrew. Practicalities aside, though, this dupe offers dusty-pink hues, perfumed white peach, bright mango and passion fruit aromas and a vibrant, zesty palate. No wonder it went viral.
Buy now £12.97, Asda
Graham Beck Brut NV
Dupe of: Champagne
More a dupe of a type of sparkling wine than a specific brand, per se, Graham Beck might just be the best-kept secret in wine. Known as the ‘President’s Choice’ because it was served at Nelson Mandela’s inauguration, it’s made using the Méthode Cap Classique – a style that’s identical to that of Champagne – meaning it serves up the same citrussy, biscuity flavours without breaking the bank. Just don’t tell the French.
Buy now £17.00, Majestic
Kooliburra Jammy Red
Dupe of: Jam Shed Shiraz
Even the label of the £5.99 Kooliburra Jammy Red from Aldi looks like the one emblazoned on the bottle of Jam Shed Shiraz, which usually retails for around £8.50. Through a meticulous drying process, this fun and fruity red wine achieved a remarkable depth of flavour for its price point, the technique serving up bright raspberry, ripe plum and intense black cherry flavours. I’ll be honest in saying I’m not a huge fan of the real deal – way too sweet – but you can’t tell the difference between the two, so save yourself a couple of quid.
Buy now £5.99, Aldi
Butter Side Up Chardonnay
Dupe of: Bread and Butter Chardonnay
Leaning into Chardonnay’s reputation, Bread and Butter from a producer in California does what it says on the tin (bottle?) with this bold wine full of citrus and vanilla. You’ll pay for it, though, at around the £16 mark, while Butter Side Up Chardonnay via Asda offers the same buttery profile at the budget price of £10.44. Go on – soak up the oak.
Buy now £10.44, Asda
Aldi Specially Selected White Island Spanish Rosé
Dupe for: Castillo de Ibiza Rosé
It’s not hard to work out what Specially Selected White Island Spanish Rosé is trying to masquerade as. With more than a whiff of the £12.50 Castillo de Ibiza Rosé about its name, this one from Aldi enables you to escape to Spain without the plane thanks to its wild strawberry aromas, pink peppercorn spice and a silky-smooth finish of candied raspberries. And all for under a tenner.
Buy now £9.99, Aldi
Andrew Peace Chardonnay
Dupe for: 19 Crimes Australian Chardonnay
Rather than spend a tenner on 19 Crimes Australian Chardonnay, why not save yourself three of your hard-earned pounds by plumping for this number by Andrew Peace instead? Brilliantly refreshing and rich, the Chardonnay is blended with a touch of Semillon to serve up subtle flavours of tropical fruit and delicate citrus, while it’s as cracking on its own as it is with the likes of grilled fish and zingy salads. Just like 19 Crimes.
Buy now £7.35
35 South Merlot
Dupe for: Casillero Del Diablo Merlot
Casillero Del Diablo is a stalwart on the shelves of supermarkets, the smooth, medium-bodied Merlot delivering signature notes of cherries and liquorice with touches of vanilla and toffee. But for a pound cheaper – every little helps, right? – you can enjoy all this (and arguably more) in 35 South Merlot. Its balanced profile makes it a no-brainer for everyday drinking with the same fruit-forward characteristics plus a hint of sweet spice as a little extra.
Buy now £7.50, Morrisons
Pastor’s Blend 2022
Dupe of: Bordeaux
Made from a ‘Bordeaux blend’ – the same combination of grapes you’d find in Bordeaux wines without the eyewatering price tag – Pastor’s Blend 2022 is a steal of a sip. In this bottle, Cabernet Sauvignon leads the charge with Merlot and Cabernet Franc hot on its heels, all three aged for 14 months together in French oak barrels to soften things up without becoming overly woody. Expect blackcurrant, cherry and spice aromas with flavours of plums, blackcurrant, spice and herbs. A seriously easy-going red with a seriously easy-going price.
Buy now £13.50, Ocado
Le Petit Poulet
Dupe of: La Vieille Ferme Rosé, Famille Perrin (AKA ‘Chicken Wine’)
Unless you’ve been living under a booze-free rock, you’ll have heard of ‘Chicken Wine’ – otherwise known at La Vieille Ferme Rosé – a viral rosé nicknamed so because of the chickens on its label.
This year, the clever folks over at Aldi introduced Le Petit Poulet (The Little Chicken) to compete with said bottle, chickens also included on its packaging (just in case you didn’t get the rift).
Better still, it comes in either a box or a bottle, meaning there’s a vessel for every kind of drinker. It’s perfectly balanced with a crisp, refreshing finish and serves up delicate floral aromas and hints of ripe summer berries.
Buy now £6.49, Aldi
