Asda – wine range improving

Mel Jones writes: 

Having been less than positive about the Extra Special range at Asda, when reporting here on how excellent Sainsbury’s Taste the difference is, I sloped along to their press tasting, not expecting much. The venue, the roof pavilion of the Royal Festival Hall, was excellent – central, cool, silent apart from witty asides from wine writers, and with views of its clean-lined and peaceful roof garden on one side and the Thames on the other.

When assessing the wines I found myself comparing them with Asda food. Grocery shopping at Asda is, firstly, cheap, but also quite...