Lidl unveils ‘lighter’ Mediterranean wines

Lidl is focussing on lighter wines from the Mediterranean for its summer Wine Cellar, with around 35 wines rolling into store on 25 May.

Lidl rolled out its Spring collection before Easter

The lighter styles include a dozen wines from both the South of France and Spain, as well as wines from Portugal and Italy, two from Bordeaux and one from Chile. Wine buying manager Anna Krettmann argued these were more suited to the time of year than the more “Bordeaux-heavy” Wine Cellars that the discounter had originally focussed on in its Wine Cellar, and which played a key role in the winter and Christmas Wine Cellar events.

“People don’t want the most powerful, complex wines for a dinner or home or for lunch with friends and they are going for a more refreshing style,” she told db.

Lidl’s consultant MW Richard Bampfield added that there were some wines that were hard to find, such as an “unquestionable unusual” red Fronton, from Arborescense in the South West of France (RRP: £5.99), or the two “interesting” Chardonnay Viogners, one from the Val de Salis in Languedoc-Rousillon, the other a Chardonnay Viogner Reserva Privada from Viajero in Chile (RRP: 4.99), as well as a sparkling Ribeiro Santo from Dão in Portugal (RRP: £8.99).

However Bampfield said his star wine from the Mediterranean Collection was a Palmela from Portugal (RRP: £4.99), a “perfumed, light wine’ made from 90% Fernão Pires, and 10% muscatel de Setúbal which was both “grapey and a bit spicy”, marking it out as a bit different to Portuguese Vinho Verdes.

“It is intriguing, but things like a Picpoul de Pinet and whites are seeing such a resurgence, and some lower alcohol wines in taste are on trend,” he said.

Other wines being rolled out included a Brunello di Montalcino (RRP: £15.99), a Madiran from Terrefortes du Plateau 2013 in South West France (RRP: £5.99), a Somontano Crianza (RRP: £4.99) a Côtes de Gascogne Doux (RRP: £6.99) and a sweet Juraçon from the South West of France (RRP: £7.99).

The team are also looking to roll out more Austrian and Hungarian wines in the next Wine Cellar in the summer, which have sold well in previous Wine Cellars, and are set to boost its core range by around 20 wines in the next year, including 15 mid-tier New World wines towards the end of this year.

“We know that we are well-covered with standard New World wines, but the next step is missing,” Krettmann said. “We are looking to fill that gap and give customers that opportunity.”