Discounter courts Waitrose customer

Lidl has spent £1 million developing a range of wines and new in-store fixtures to cater for a “more affluent” customer in the UK.

The new collection, dubbed The Wine Cellar, comprises 19 labels including “specials” such as premier cru Chablis and Châteauneuf du Pape, as well as other classics like Sancerre and Rioja reserva.

The wines will be featured in a separate, red painted area and the bottles will be placed on shelves made from wine crates to give a “rustic feel”.

According to Ian Young, senior buying director at the discount supermarket chain, the new merchandising will be fitted in all 600 Lidl stores in the UK from Thursday this week, and customers will be able to buy the wines from 27 September.

Each of the new wines have been tasted – and scored – by four masters of wine: Richard Bampfield, Ed Adams, Caroline Gilby and Nancy Gilchrist.

The Wine Cellar range can be viewed over the following pages, along with the MWs scores in brackets, and comprises 11 permanent labels plus eight parcels of wine called “specials”.

All the wines are under £10 apart from the Châteauneuf du Pape, which is priced at £12.49, and the Champagne Brut NV at £12.99.

Speaking to the drinks business at the launch of wines on Friday, Lidl specialist wine category manager Ben Hulme said that the selection was designed to serve and attract a new, richer shopper to the discounter.

“The recession has pushed customers to try Lidl out… and as more affluent customers come into the stores we want to make sure they can get the same products they get in the major multiples.

“And maybe we will pull in the type of shopper who goes to Waitrose or Sainsbury’s,” he added.

Lidl’s full range totals 70 wines and the discounter has a 2-2.5% share of the UK off-trade wine market, selling over 25 million bottles each year, according to Young.

The retailer’s best-selling wine is the UK is Californian Zinfandel rosé and all the wines (except for British wine) are are bought centrally in Germany, where Lidl is headquartered.

Although Lidl does not sell wine online, Hulme said a website for buying its full range of labels was a “possibility” but “not imminent”.

Read on to see the new wine range, starting with whites.

Whites

Chablis premier cru 2009 – £9.99 * (82 points)
Pouilly Fumé 2011 – £9.99 * (86 points)
Chardonnay Reserva Privada, Chile, 2010 – £9.99 * (86 points)
Chablis 2011 – £7.69 (87 points)
Bourgogne Aligoté, 2011 – £6.99 (82 points)
Sancerre 2011 – £9.99 (84 points)
Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2011 – £5.49 (88 points)

* denotes that the wine is a “special”

Reds

Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2010 – £9.99 * (87 points)
Vacqueyras 2011 – £9.99 * (85points)
Morellino di Scansano 2010 – £9.99 * (83 points)
Cabernet Sauvignon Gran Reserva Chile 2010 – £9.99 * (87 points)
Bordeaux Supérieur 2011 – £4.99 (87 points)
Médoc 2008 – £6.99 (85 points)
Châteauneuf du Pape 2011 – £12.49 (87 points)
Rioja Reserva 2008 – £5.99 (88 points)
Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva Privada Chile 2010 – £5.99 (87 points)

* denotes that the wine is a “special”

Sparkling wines

Prosecco Conegliano Valdobbiadene 2011 – £6.99 (86 points)
Champagne Brut NV – £12.99 (87 points)

Fortified wine

10 year old Tawny Port – £9.99 * (86 points)

* denotes that the wine is a “special”