Aldi will start selling orange wine for £6

Aldi is preparing to launch a Chardonnay/Sauvignon Blanc blend this weekend.

The wine — which Aldi claims has aromas of “quince, Williams pear and a hint of vanilla,” is produced by Cramele Recaș, a Romanian estate which has ramped up its UK exports in recent years after seeing its sales soar by 35% in 2017.

Retailing at £5.99, Recas’ orange wine is produced without using sulphites or animal byproducts, making it both vegan-friendly and part of the growing natural wine trend. The wine will hit shelves this weekend, on Saturday 11 August.

It is made with 85% Chardonnay and 15% Sauvignon Blanc grapes. Its amber hue comes from a long fermentation, with skin contact at lower than average temperatures, which the producer claims gives the wine flavours of “stone fruits, backed up with a powerful tannin structure and long finish.”

Recas debuted its first line of orange wines at Prowein last year, distributed in the UK by Copestick Murray.

Philip Cox, the winery’s commercial director, said it was launched in response to consumer demand for diversity in the category.

“Orange wine is increasingly popular within certain circles in the wine world,” he said at the time of the release of the winery’s 100% Chardonnay ‘skin contact’ wine.

“We believe that this winemaking philosophy which will continue to gain momentum and indeed plaudits in the coming months.”

Orange wine has appeared in an increasing number of places in the UK. Doug Wregg of natural and organic wine importer Les Caves de Pyrene told db in December that his business now imports 100 orange wines into the UK.

Last year, research firm Nomisma published a study which found that, in Europe, organic viticulture has almost tripled in one decade. Now with over 293,000 hectares, Europe hosts 88% of all organic viticulture.