The best champagne, prosecco, and sparkling wine for New Year’s Eve – we tried them all

New Year’s Eve doesn’t need to be expensive – but it should still feel special. Whether you’re hosting friends, bringing a bottle with you, or keeping things simple at home, the right prosecco or champagne can make all the difference.

Good champagne doesn’t come cheap, but it also doesn’t have to cost a small fortune. While prices from well-known houses and growers often start around £30 and can climb far higher, knowing where to shop means you can buy a bottle you’re genuinely happy to open at midnight – without overspending.

We’ve searched the UK’s most trusted supermarkets and online wine merchants to find the best prosecco and champagne worth buying right now, including reliable favourites and good-value options for entertaining or gifting. We've added some cracking deals too, but beware: many of these offers are time-limited and tend to sell out quickly in the run-up to New Year’s Eve.

Save 30% (£6.50)

Denbies Whitedowns Sparkling NV: was £21.50 now £15 at waitrosecellar.com

From Denbies, England’s largest vineyard in Surrey’s South Downs, Whitedowns is a fresh, bottle-fermented English sparkling with crisp citrus, floral lift, a touch of brioche, and a creamy, green-apple finish, so it's perfect as an aperitif or with light bites for a relaxed celebration.

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Quick shop: reliable places to buy prosecco & champagne

In a rush? Start here – all are strong on price, quality, and availability.

• Marks & Spencer – shop prosecco and champagne
• Tesco – prosecco and champagne
• Waitrose Cellar – champagne and sparkling
• Majestic – champagne and sparkling
• Laithwaites – champagne and prosecco

Best champagne over £50

Best champagne under £50

Best sparkling wine

Best prosecco

How to choose the right bottle for New Year’s Eve

• Hosting a full house? Go for prosecco – an affordable crowd-pleaser
• Quiet night in? Champagne – one good bottle beats three average ones
• Bringing a bottle? Spend a little more than usual – it shows thought
• Watching the clock? Chill in advance, but avoid over-icing

What makes a good prosecco?

When it comes to finding the best processo, a higher price point doesn't always mean better quality. This is what to look out for when shopping for prosecco:

• Be wary of added sugar: "Proseccos that are fresh and less sweet (with a lower dosage) tend to be better – a high sugar content is often disguising a lower quality wine," Harry Ballman, co-founder of bottle shop and wine subscription service, Cépage, and sommelier at London’s prestigious Wiltons in St James, tells us.
• Look for the DOC or DOCG stamp: "These relate to the quality of a bottle of Prosecco as approved in Italy," Rob Weatherhead, co-owner of Affordable Wines, tells us. "DOC loosely translates to the designation of controlled origin. And means it is of a quality currently applied to circa 300 wines from Italy. DOCG is the next level up again, and currently, there are around 80 wines that have passed the quality certification to warrant this stamp."
• The Glera grape: "Prosecco is made from the Glera grape, but not always 100%. Check the grape makeup of your chosen wine, if possible," Weatherhead adds.

What makes a good champagne?

We've all heard of the big champagne brands, but are they really the best? The experts explain what makes good champagne and share their pointers for selecting the best-quality fizz.

• Check the vintage: "Whilst a lot of what goes on a bottle itself is purely visual and for shelf stand out, if a bottle of champagne makes a big deal about its vintage it is usually because it is worth shouting about," Weatherhead explains.
• Check the sugar dosage: "Brut champagnes that have a higher dosage (6-12 g/l) tend to be rich and have a creamy texture, whereas Extra Brut (3-6 g/l) or Brut Nature (3g/l or less) are fresh and zingy," Ballman explains.
• Look for award winners: "There are lots of awards in the wine industry which doesn't help define the good from the bad. But if you find champagne that has been winning Gold medals at awards, it is a good measure of its quality," Weatherhead tells us.
• Look at the label and neck foil: The team at Louis Roederer Champagne recommends checking that the label and neck foil of your chosen bottle is in perfect condition before purchasing, as it will indicate that the bottle has been stored correctly, which in turn will mean a much better-tasting bottle of bubbly.

How to store prosecco and champagne

If you've taken advantage of the prosecco and champagne deals in this guide and stocked up now for future use, it's important to store your newly purchased bargain bottles correctly. Otherwise, when you come round to drinking the fizz, it won't be at its best, and the money you saved on finding a good deal will have been wasted.

Louis Roederer Champagne, partners of the Spirit of Christmas Fair, explained to woman&home that the key to keeping your champagne in its best condition is both where as well as how you store it: "When storing at home, you want to remember to keep your bottle away from bright light and try to store in a cool place where the temperature won’t fluctuate.

"Where possible, if storing your wine for a short period or time - one month or less - then standing your bottle upright is preferred but is not a must."