2014 Nouveaux wines: Lidl promotes value for money "Gamay Nouveau"

lthough the third Thursday in November marks the release of all ‘primeur’ appellation wines (Côtes du Rhône, Gaillac, Touraine etc), the date is traditionally associated with the launch of Beaujolais Nouveau. So much so that it has become an essential fixture on supermarket shelves. Or has it? The discount supermarket chain Lidl is rolling out a Nouveau campaign “that breaks the mould by avoiding 2014 Beaujolais Nouveau!”, quips French trade magazine Rayon Boissons. Lidl’s communications manager Nicolas Callo ascribes the decision to the increase in prices of Beaujolais Nouveau: “We didn’t manage to come to an agreement on prices for 2014 and so there will be no Beaujolais Nouveau in any of our stores (26 countries across Europe). We opted for a quality-price ratio that was more acceptable to our customers.” Lidl stores are thus marketing a ‘Gamay Nouveau’ priced at €1.99 a bottle, made from the same emblematic grape variety as Beaujolais (and some Loire wines). The varietal wine is labelled Vin de France 2014 at a price point far below that of Beaujolais Nouveau marketed by other retailers: €3.45 for Leclerc’s Marque Repère brand; €3.75 for Carrefour BOB (which is offering two for €6.50); and €4.90 for Monoprix (which is also promoting Chilean and Argentinean wines from the 2014 vintage). Intermarché, on the other hand, is holding a beer festival…

[Source: Vitisphere; Illustration: Picture from the Lidl catalogue (November 19 to 25)]