Supermarket invests in Scots stores with bumper festive drinks offering

Lidl has launched a festive French wine tour along with their Scottish gin selection, finds Rosalind Erskine

Supermarket chain Lidl is investing heavily in their drinks offering this Christmas with the launch of a festive wine tour following hot on the heels of their successful Scottish Craft Gin Festival events.

Serving as the inspiration for this year’s wine tour, there are no fewer than six bottles from that famous French wine making region, The Rhone Valley, on offer.

In stores now, the collection of Rhône wines start from only £5.99 and highlights how the region has taken centre stage as a source of quality and value. Carefully selected by Lidl’s buying team, the range showcases the best wines from the region at price tags that won’t break the bank.

Famous for their red wines, Lidl have also sourced whites and sparkling expressions from the region, which are not often seen in the UK.

Bottles on offer will include the sparkling Cuvée Cesar, Clairette de Die AOP – an exclusive to Lidl stores; the rich Les Aumoniers, Côtes du Rhône, Seguret AOP 2016; and a dry muscat wine from Café Terrasse Muscat, the Vaucluse IGP 2017. The jewel in the crown of the tour will be the Vacqueyras, AOC, 2016, billed as a cheaper Châteauneufdu-pape (as it uses grapes from the same region), it was extremely popular in Scotland when it was last available in store, with Scottish customers buying up more than 50 per cent of the UK national average of this premium wine.

The wine tour follows its successful inaugural Scottish Gin Festival earlier this year, which saw shoppers snap up 130 bottles per hour in the first week of sales, and the launch of Aquine, its own brand Scottish gin, created in partnership with the Glasgow Distillery in a deal worth £500,000.

The supermarket chain have also added to their popular Hortus gin range, with the addition of a festive Gingerbread Gin Liqueur, as well as becoming the first UK retailer to go on a nationwide tour with their own pop-up gin club, when they announced Lidl House of Hortus last month.

Sales of the brand’s gin range have increased by 41 per cent in the last year across UK stores; testament to the chain’s success in sourcing as well as the country’s growing interest in the juniper spirit.