Date night - Expensive vs. Basic Rioja

Ever wondered if expensive wine really is better than the cheap bottles? Can you really tell the difference? Let's test it out.

In this date night box there are two bottles of wine; one from Lidl and one from Waitrose. We've chosen a Rioja from both stores but the Waitrose wine is five times more expensive! It's tough one though because the cheap one is the best we've found that that price point - this is not an  obvious one!

The Waitrose one is a Reserva, which means it has been aged for at least six months in oak barrels before being bottled. The winery is situated in a meander of the Ebro river and the Tempranillo grapes are grown in the alluvial and limestone soils surrounding the winery.

The Lidl one is also made from Tempranillo grapes but has not been been aged in oak at all so has a brighter flavour (though still a little oaky!) It has medium tannins so very easy drinking and has aromas of black plum.

So we have two wines from the same region, made from the same grape, but a huge price difference.

Once you've decided, place your decision discs under your glasses in your wine flight board to lock in your answers and unveil the wine label! 

Whats in the box:

• two anonymised bottles of wine,
• two wine flight paddles to keep track of your glasses
• tasting notes and information on the wines to help you decide which wine you think matches the description.
• decision discs to put under your glasses to lock in your answer