Summer Madness

The Co-op launches hot Chilean deals and Waitrose majors on Vins de Pays while Oddbins unleashes its multi-buy fizz mechanic

Ay Carama!  It’s Chilean wine month at the Co-op where the white and red wines of the month are both Co-op own label, down from £3.99 to £2.99 (all offers July 11 to July 31). The fine wine of the month is the Trio Chardonnay/ Pinot Grigio/Pinot Blanc, down £2 to £3.99, and there’s £1 off Chileno Merlot rosé, pink wine of the month, down to £3.49. As well as the straight reductions there are also tempting multi-buy deals on the Co-op Australian Lime Tree Grenache, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon; usually £4.49 they are now three for £10. The same deal also applies to a couple of Portuguese wines, namely Cork Grove Fernao Pires Blanc 2004 and Merlot Castelao 2003, a useful ploy for encouraging trial of these lesser-known wines.

Meanwhile at Somerfield, Californian wines have been the star buys this month with £3.50 off Kendall-Jackson Collage Semillon/Chardonnay and Cabernet/Merlot, down from £6.99 to £3.49 from June 8 to June 21. But from July 6 to August 2 Italian and Australian wines are back on the gondola end with Somerfield’s Pinot Grigio 2004, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 03 and Brown Brothers Dry Muscat all down £1 to £3.99. Fizz fans also have something to celebrate as Banrock Station Sparkling Shiraz NV is down £1.50 to £6.49 and Champagne Lanson NV is down £4 to £15.99.

Oddbins also has a range of fizz on offer with the multi-buy mechanic of 15% off more than one bottle, 20% off more than three and 25% off more than six, working across several labels including Pommery Brut Royal NV and Perrier- Jouët NV. Meanwhile, Laurent Perrier Ultra Brut NV is down from £31.99 to £26.99, a reduction of £5, and Moët Brut Rosé NV is down from £30.99 to £26.34, with Veuve Clicquot NV down £3 to £28.75. For still wines there are a number of two-for-£10 deals, including Castel’s Bordeaux 2002, Xanadu Secession Red 2001 and Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc 2003 from Australia and several Chilean varietals from Errázuriz (all offers from July 4 to August 1).

Meanwhile, Morrisons has 20% off all South African Wines from July 4 to August 3 – that’s everything from Kumala to KWV.

Waitrose is taking advantage of the good 2004 vintage in the south of France with 20% discounts on a selection of Vin de Pays wines, including La Baume Merlot Vin de Pays d’Oc, down £4.99 to £3.99, Herrick Shiraz and Chardonnay down from £5.35 to £4.23, Paul Mas Sauvignon Blanc Vin de Pays d’Oc, and Les Fleurs Chardonnay/Sauvignon Blanc Vin de Pays des Cotes de Gascogne down from £6.99 to £5.59. Rosé fans are in for a treat as E&J Gallo’s Sierra Valley White Grenache 3-litre bag-in-box is reduced £4 from £17.49 to £13.49.

This month our secret shoppers have been getting their teenage kicks with a round up of the ready-to-drink (RTD) sector. The range of colours available in this popular section of the drinks aisle is staggering, but the pricing is more uniform than you might have thought.

CORRECTION: Ooops! Morrisons’ Drink Pink promotion runs from June 13 to July 10, not to October 10 as stated in our June issue.