A genuinely discounted, non-loyalty card, price?

The general consensus is that loyalty cards at UK supermarkets are a good thing.  The supermarket rewards you for shopping with them by offering cardholders a discount on a regularly changing range of products.  Of course some people rightly argue that such schemes enable supermarkets to buy valuable data on customers' shopping habits as well as many shoppers suspecting that discounted loyalty card prices are the true value of the goods in question and the non-discounted price displayed is wildly inflated just to suggest a bargain.  Nevertheless, in the case of supermarket wine purchases it's hard to maintain you never choose a bottle on the basis of the attractive 'Clubcard' / 'Nectar' / 'More' etc price on display. Add the frequent '25% of 3 bottles' or 'Buy 6 bottles, Save 25%' (i.e. you bulk buy and they sell more wine) and it's quids in all round.  

Or is it?  I'm a regular shopper at Sainsburys but happened to be in a Morrisons store recently where a few keenly priced bottles caught my eye.  On closer inspection the prominent price displayed was the 'More' card price and, although presumably I could have signed up for the card there and then, I couldn't be bothered and walked out.  It got me thinking though whether there are any supermarket retailers these days where you can pop in and buy perhaps just one or possible two bottles at a genuinely discounted, non-loyalty card, price.  Granted it's a challenge but I take my hat off to Waitrose that offers this possibility for the majority of the year. (Just occasionally, for example in the run up to major festivities, they revert to a 'Buy any 6, Save 25%' type deal and temporarily strip out all discounted prices).  

As an example, see below for details of 6 discounted white wines available at Waitrose at the time of writing (Feb 2025).  The discounts have been in place for a few weeks now and have another 3 weeks to run until 11 March (although one is listed as running until 15 April). Taken together they represent a good cross-section of inexpensive, drinkable 'everyday' wines and consumer reviews are positive.

Terra Sagrada Blanco - £6.49 reduced from £7.49 until 15/04/25

80% Verdejo, 20% Sauvignon Blanc.  Verdejo is Spain's answer to aromatic Sauvignon Blanc and accounts for around 40% of white wine production.  It is grown at scale in the Rueda region in the province of Castilla y León. Like here it is often blended with Sauvignon Blanc to produce a crisp, citrusy, and refreshing wine.  It is light in comparison with many Verdejos that are typically 13.0% or l13.5%.

Sorcova Feteasca Regala - £5.99 reduced from £8.99 until 11/03/25

Translating as 'Royal Maiden' the Feteasca Regala grape is unique to Romania.  UK retailers have quite rightly been looking to Eastern Europe in recent years as a source of interesting good value wines and Asda and M&S to my knowledge have examples of this distinctly floral variety producing wines with a delightful lingering finish.  I see this principally as an aperitif wine although note that the Waitrose website recommends it to accompany creamy pasta and seafood.   

Laurent Miquel Nocturnes Viognier IGP Pays d'Oc - £7.99 reduced from £9.99 until 11/03/25

Typically you would expect a 100% Viognier wine to be a fuller bodied wine with strong tropical fruit flavours but this bottle from a renowned Languedoc producer is harvested and vinified in a way that results in something far lighter and sprightly.  The grapes are picked at night to maintain freshness and while the resulting wine has hints of stone fruits on the nose it is predominantly light and crisp.

Eccelsa Fermentino - £8.99 reduced from £9.99 until 11/03/25

This wine brings back memories of Sardinia where we had a great holiday last summer. Vermentino is the principal grape for white wines on the island and although this bottle is no match for the best wines of the Vermentino di Gallura DOCG it is a good representative everyday glass.  Pale straw in colour, it is characteristically light bodied, zesty and high in acidity. In the Mediterranean you would be drinking with seafood and as an aperitif.  In the UK the choice is yours!

Paolo Leo Fiano dal Salento - £7.99 reduced from £10.99 until 11/03/25

Paolo Leo is a respected wine producer in the heel of Italy and there are a number of wines in Waitrose, both red and white, from this stable (including the Triade Bianco below).  The Fiano grape is grown extensively in the Italian south from Campania to Puglia.  This medium bodied wine is not one for the Savvy B drinkers but it's a pleasure for those who appreciate something smooth, buttery and bright with a pleasantly lingering finish.

Triade Bianco - £6.99 reduced from £9.99 until 11/03/25 

Another well-balanced Paolo Leo wine this time made from Fiano, Falanghina and Greco grapes from Campania.  Not particularly well-known varieties they nevertheless combine well in this blend.  Tropical fruit and a hint of almond on the nose leads to pleasant acidity and freshness in the mouth.  Smooth and refreshing.

I genuinely believe that all 6 of these wines are worth trying at their current discounted price and remember you can buy any of them individually, 2 of them, or any combination you like.  Here you do NOT have to buy three or half a dozen in order to get the discount and nor do you need to have a Waitrose loyalty card.  And even better, come the middle of next month when the current deals expire there will almost certainly be similar discounts on a different selection of bottles in store.

Remember, the six bottles above were merely my 'example' selection from Waitrose current offers.  You do not need to buy white wine.  There are many more wines (red, white, rosé, sparkling) discounted at any one time.

And finally, here's a thing. If you still feel inclined to only purchase wine in cases of 6 you can currently make up your own 'mix 6', one of each of the wines above, for just ...... £44.44