Aldi plonk costing £5.99 beats expensive wines to take gold medal
An Aldi Australian wine costing just £5.99 has taken gold at the Oscars of the wine world. It was up against wines worth three times as much, and came out ahead, to take gold. The supermarket actually picked up an impressive 14 medals at the competition - including one incredible bargain that costs under £5.
The International Wine and Spirits Competition does blind taste tests in order to identify the best wines in each category. Aldi's gold medal winner was a sweet dessert wine - Aldi's Berton Vineyards Botrytis Semillon - in the Australian Botrytis Semillon category. It came out ahead of a competitor Botrytis Semilon from Waitrose - costing £19.99.
Aldi also won a Silver Outstanding medal for its Iron Horse Barossa Valley Shiraz 2015 red wine (which costs £6.99) as well as silvers for its Callia Magna Argentinian Malbec 2014, Estevez Pinot Noir 2014, Exquisite Collection Clare Valley Riesling 2016, Lot 17 Wrattonbully Shiraz 2015, Exquisite Collection Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2015, Exquisite Collection Hawke's Bay Merlot 2014, and Lot 13 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc White 2015.
It took bronze for The Project Sauvignon Blanc 2016, Exquisite Collection Argentinian Malbec 2015, Lot 21 Argentinian Chardonnay 2015, Estevez Cabernet Carmenere 2014 and Exquisite Collection South Australian Shiraz 2015.
Bargains?
They're not all sold for bargain basement prices. The Lot 17 Wrattonbully Shiraz 2015 and Lot 13 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc White 2015, for example, cost £9.99.
Some are incredible bargains though. Notable budget wines include Exquisite Collection South Australian Shiraz 2015 for £5.79, The Project Sauvignon Blanc 2016 for £5.99 and Exquisite Collection Argentinian Malbec 2015 for £5.99. The cheapest wine of the bunch was the Estevez Pinot Noir 2014, which sells for £4.79.
Why?
Aldi has been doing increasingly well in this competition over the years - as it has in a number of other wine competitions. The supermarket has picked up more than 130 awards for its beers, wines and spirits - including being named Supermarket of the Year at the Drinks Retailing Award back in February.
Back in August, Aldi boss Matthew Barnes, admitted one key strategy was attracting middle-class shoppers by stocking high quality alcohol, and then persuading them to come back for a wider variety of items.
It's the same shoppers he is targeting with healthier foods such as quinoa and bean salads - as well as spirallised vegetables and cauliflower rice, and 'special buys' that include brands like Dyson.
But what do you think? Do you buy your wine at Aldi? Is there anyone left who wouldn't even consider it? Let us know in the comments.
