WHEN it comes to alcohol, the British thirst for a bargain is insatiable. In England, the annual hop across the Channel to stock up on as much cut-price wine and beer as your car's suspension can endure has long been a national institution.
When I was a teenager, I spent a summer working with a team of Spanish luggage porters at an upmarket London hotel. They didn't earn much, but when it came to dinner time, boy, they could spend. Fresh fish, prime cuts, spectacular vintages – they cou
ldn't get enough. Paying £15 for a bottle of wine – they didn't bat an eye. Can you imagine the locals doing that?
I have always suspected that, despite the proliferation of upmarket retailers and lavish food halls, deep down we feel that splashing the cash on groceries is slightly distasteful. In these chastened times, with all the talk of credit squeezes and financial meltdown, we have the perfect excuse to indulge in something we all secretly relish: thrift.
So, with a few pennies in my pocket, I pottered down to my local Lidl to find out just how cheap wine can get. It has to be said, though, that good-quality wine has never been so affordable in the UK. Supermarkets are tripping over themselves to discount alcohol, with wine at the forefront. A random search on my list of August offers throws up the Co-op, which is running an offer on South Africa's Spier merlot, a perfectly acceptable glass, for £3.99 a bottle (see Deals of the Week, below). That's only a little more than a large frappuccino in your local coffee shop. Quite where the profit lies is anyone's guess.
When you consider factors such as the price of land, grape-pickers' wages, winery running costs, not to mention the bill for barrels, transport and packaging, and then taxes and the retailer's margin, £3.99 is a pretty small price for a bottle of wine.
Lidl takes discounting to the extreme. The last time I was in a shop like this was when I was teaching in a town just north of Bruno, in the Czech Republic. Signs advertising deals for under a pound scream out. The wine prices also compare with Bruno circa 1991.
Sadly, Lidl was out of stock of its £1.59 Prosecco, but what did catch my eye was an attractive-looking Bordeaux 2006 for £2.98. Readers of this column will know that it's very hard to get anything decent from this region under £10. Alas, however much I wanted to be impressed, I just wasn't. The wine wasn't undrinkable, but it was certainly very thin. Sure, you could serve it with some cold meat or a roast, but it wouldn't have anyone crying out for more.
Lidl does have some interesting wines, but they all cost nearer the £5 mark. I have to admit, though, numerous taste trials have led me to conclude that there is no great conspiracy behind wine prices. Despite the odd anomaly, you generally get what you pay for.
Viajero cabernet sauvignon rosé, Central Valley, Chile, £3.99This has an extremely bright, almost disturbing, bubblegum colour. There is plenty of fruit, the acidity is not overdone and it is pleasantly dry on the palate. But generally it doesn't cry out for a second glass, which is what rosé should be all about.
2004 Barceliño Catalunya Do Barrica, Spain, £4.99 This is actually rather good – lots of inky, black-cherry fruit and that warm oak smell you only get with wines from this part of Spain. For just under £5, it gives most Riojas in this price category a run for their money.
2007 Chardonnay, South-eastern Australia, £4.99A good old-fashioned, commercial-style chardonnay from southern Australia. Plenty of oak and reasonable fruit. Chill it down and it makes an acceptable aperitif – don't overdo it, though.
Stockist: Lidl (
www.lidl.co.uk)
Deals of the week2007 Spier Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon, South AfricaUsually £4.99 – now 20% off at £3.99, Co-op
2006/07 Jackson Estate Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New ZealandUsually £9.99 – now 20% off at £7.99, Waitrose
Ruggeri Prosecco Frizzante Spago, ItalyUsually £8.99 – get two bottles for £15 and save £3, Lockett Bros (01620 890799,
www.lockettbros.co.uk)
The full article contains 730 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
