Aldi boosts gifting and builds Lot Series

Aldi’s new ‘craft wines’ may have grabbed all the headlines in the last few weeks, but the discounter has renewed its focus on gifting for Christmas, and released the latest wines in its Lot Series.

Gifting is a key plant of its Christmas strategy and a big area of focus, buyer Mike James told db, as it offered consumers greater choice and potentially extended the retailer’s market.

“If it would work better in pretty packaging that will double our market,” James said. “Some people like it for the [wine], others see the box and think that is great for a gift. But the important thing is making sure the quality is right, rather than shoving inferior wine in a pretty box,” he added.

As part of this, it has rolled out two-bottle wine Bordeaux and Italian Classic wine gift packs comprising a Chateau Larteau 2012 & Chateau Gran Pey Lescours 20112 Bordeaux Gift Pack (RRP: £19.99), a Chianit Classico DOCG 2014 & Barbera D’Asti 2014 DOCG Italian Gift Pack (RRP: 16.99) as well as a selection of port books and gift packs.

James has also added a new Malbec magnum, following the success of the Prosecco that was launched last year. James said although it seems “counter-intuitive” given the increased price point, the rationale behind this lay in understanding that wine was different to drinks categories, primarily due to its sociable nature.

“It is about celebration – you share wine, which you don’t do with a gin or a craft beer. It is a product that you delivered to a table. Magnums accentuate that sharing idea, plus adds a bit of theatre,” he told db.

Aldi has also added a range of wines for Christmas

Lot Series

The discounter has also released a new tranche of wines in its £9.99 Lot Series, comprising a Baden Pinot Blanc 2015, an Argentinian Chardonnay 2015 from the Uco Valley, a Douro Grande Reserva 2013, a Wrattonbully Shiraz 2015 and an Old Vines Pinotage from Stellenbosch.

“Christmas is quite traditional [and people like to trade up] so if people like Sauvignon Blanc, they buy a Sancerre, a Chardonnay, they buy a Chablis. So we have to offer those, but let’s get some traction with the New World. So there is the Wrattonbully Shiraz for people who are used to a Coonawarra or Barossa Shiraz, likewise the lovely Stellenbosch Pinotage,” he said. “We are using new world’s famous areas and showing the alternatives

Aldi’s volume sales of wine now stands at about 90m bottles, and its beers, wine and spirits sales grew 6.5% in the first half of the year, James said, adding that it was keen to build on the success of its inaugural Wine Festival that ran during the Autumn.

“Considering some were ‘unusual’ they sold very well – we had some real successes and would like to do a similar exercise as it is a good way to try and test price and varietals – it good steer as to what works and what doesn’t.”