Discount retailer Aldi is going head-to-head with Waitrose by selling an English sparkling wine from Denbies estate for £14.99 – four pounds less than Waitrose.
From today, Aldi customers will be able to buy Denbies Whitedown’s Brut Non-Vintage from the Aldi website for £14.99 a bottle, while Waitrose’s website lists it for £18.99.
The Surrey sparkler is made from England’s largest vineyard in the South Downs. A blend of Chardonnay and Dornfelder, the fizz is described as being “fresh, and floral with crisp acidity and delicate spice on the finish”.
The homegrown sparkler costs more at Aldi than the retailer’s Veuve Monsigny Brut Champagne, which is priced at £11.49 a bottle.
Aldi has also started selling Denbies Whitedown’s Rosé for £14.99 a bottle, which is described as “fresh and zesty with notes of dried cranberries”.
“English bubbly has gone from strength to strength in recent times, and England is now globally recognised as making fantastic quality sparkling wines – frequently beating Champagne in a number of competitions,” Aldi’s wine advisor, Sam Caporn MW said.
“There’s been a huge increase in demand from shoppers to drink locally produced wines but it can sometimes be expensive. These bottles won’t break the bank,” she added.
According to the Daily Mail, around one in 10 bottles of wine bought in the UK is now purchased at Aldi.
In September we reported that UK supermarket Asda released an own-label English sparkling wine from Denbies priced at £25 a bottle.
Part of the supermarket’s Extra Special range, the fizz is made from traditional Champagne grapes Pinot Noir, Meunier and Chardonnay and boasts “baked apple, citrus and complex toasty aromas”.
