Wine is a competitive business these days with more retailers than ever
vying for your business. As with any business price is a big weapon. The
German discount supermarkets shook everyone up with their knock down
prices and the others haven’t taken the challenge laying down. There are
more special offer on at the moment than ever and today (5/5/04) on the
Dublin Life Show on News Talk 106FM after the 3pm news Martin will
discussing the bargain offerings.
Think
cheap and people think Lidl and Aldi
but there’s often more to wine than price as I discovered when
trying a mixed case from Lidl. They were cheap but very disappointing.
Aldi wines are cheap and, in my experience, much more reliable.
Tesco has reacted most
aggressively to the Germans and each month they have a bargain offering,
which they say is half price. In the UK this is usually operated as a
BOGOF multi-buy or Buy One Get One Free. The current offering is the
wonderfully (or maybe tackily) named Australian pair called Nude.
There’s a Nude Chardonnay and A Nude Shiraz and we hope to have one on
the show. Both selling at a bargain €5.49 and be quick or you’ll miss
them. Rather like the naked chef, who got his name from a desire to strip
food back to basics, Nude wine means that’s there’s no oak, just
unadulterated fermented grapes. Tesco back up this offering with 20% off
selected Australian wines including lots of big name brands. Be quick, the
offer is on until May 16th but the shelves were being rapidly
cleared in my local branch last weekend.
Not
to be outdone Dunnes has some offers too. From May 10th
until 30th they
have a multi-buy on their South African range Oude Kaap of buy any three
for €20 when one is normally €7.99 (16.67% off)and discounts on their
very good Clos Malverne and L’Avenir ranges too, also from the cape.
More dramatically they will be offering an Argentinean range called Las
Marias with a Torrontes, a Malbec and a Barbera at €10 for 2 or €6.39 for
one, which, without having tasted them, looks like a serious bargain.
O’Briens too has a range of great offer on at the moment and a
couple really caught my eye, which will be tasted on the show today. Xanadu
Riesling 2003 from Frankland River in W.A. is a serious bargain at just
€7.99 reduced from €13, scores 89/100 and must be the best
buy in the country right now with its classic zippy fresh lime fruit and
dry palate. Another superb value wine at €12.99
reduced from €16.99 is an Argentinean wine called Clos de Los Siete 2002
made by Michel Rolland, scoring 90/100. It’s a fabulously
rich and chocolaty blend dominated by Malbec. Rose fans should look out
for an excellent Italian called Vigna Corvino reduced by€2 to just
€7.99.
Oddbins
also has a number of offers on at the moment along with their permanent 7
for 6 offer on Champagne. Their superb Gimmonet 1er Cru at €25.59
would be my choice for a wedding even without the discount.
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