The Aldi Wine Club - how I've found it so far

In November, I wrote about how I was lucky enough to be selected as a member of the Aldi Wine Club. I've now had three little parcels of joyful wine sent to my door, so I thought I'd write an update on my experience. 

At the start, I was slightly sceptical in all honesty because I don't buy that much supermarket wine and I was worried I'd end up drinking lots of wine that I didn't like that much. 

But, I've loved receiving the emails to tell me my latest batch of wines to taste is on its way. And, then waiting for the special little parcel to arrive at the door to try. 

Two Pinot Noirs I was sent to try. The one from
Marlborough was particularly good

As well as the excitement of new wines to try, I've been pleasantly surprised to enjoy drinking nearly all the wines that I've been sent.

My particular highlights have been the New Zealand Pinot Noir which is from their Exquisite collection. At just under £7 a bottle, this is a pretty classy Pinot Noir at a really affordable price. I also really liked their Prosecco Superiore which tasted much more expensive than you'd think from the actual price point. 

I'm a creature of habit when it comes to buying wine, so I often end up buying the same thing or wines I know I'll probably like. So, the best part about being part of the Aldi Wine Club has been getting to try lots of different wines that are slightly out of my purchasing comfort zone. For example, I would never have gone and bought a sparkling Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough region of New Zealand. But I was sent one as part of a special Aldi Wine Club package and it was really different and delicious. We drank it with a mild chilli and because of the lime notes, it went really well.

Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc? I'd never
tried one before either

There have been a couple of wines which I found a bit average (although actually really drinkable) but I guess some of that comes down to personal taste and you're not always going to love everything.

Overall, I've loved it. I think I get kicked out of the club at some stage as they constantly refresh members. And, I've noticed they're currently advertising for new recruits so if you're interested, then why not give it a go?

In the meantime, I'll wait to see if I get another little surprise in the post! And, hope I don't get kicked out just yet! 

How do you review wine in 140 characters?

I was recently lucky enough to be asked to join the Aldi Wine Club. I say ask. I begged and they accepted. 

If you haven't heard of the Aldi Wine Club, it's basically a club for amateur tasters to review some of the wines the supermarket has on their shelves. The deal is, they send me wine every month and I have to write a review on Twitter.

Which means writing a review on a bottle of wine in 140 characters. And, using the #AldiWineClub hashtag.

So, I was delighted when my first batch of wines turned up this week. A bottle of Prosecco and a Chardonnay. 

At first, I was quite excited because I'd received two wines I wouldn't generally buy. 

I like white wine, but I'd usually buy a Sauvignon Blanc rather than a Chardonnay. So the Chardonnay Pays D'oc wouldn't be something I would generally buy. And, I love Prosecco, but it's the sort of thing I would choose for a special occasion and would probably splash out. So the Valdobbiadene Prosecco Spumante DOCG retailing at £7.49 wouldn't be something that would end up in my basket.

But I love to try new wines, and I was super excited to receive something different to the usual. Plus, I could tell friends and family I was a wine taster for Aldi. Recognise.

However, my initial excitement quickly turned to panic. How do I review a bottle of wine in 140 characters? 140 characters is nothing! And, I'm opening the first bottle this weekend, so any advice would be gratefully received!

Mull it over

I've mainly only had mulled wine at Christmas markets or as Vin chaud on the side of a mountain. But I'd never made it myself or revealed the mysterious mix of spice, fruit and wine.

So for Christmas last year, I threw a mulled wine and mince pie party with a twist. I made a selection of mulled wines and asked my guests to blind taste the various blends in order to crown the Queen of mulled wines.


All the ingredients for a drunken party!

 My main aim was to test the difference between the shop bought pre-mixed blends and spice sachets and the recipes from scratch, mixed with real spices and fresh fruit. So these were the blends my guests taste tested:

• A bottle of preblended mulled wine from Waitrose
• A sachet of mulled wine spices from Tesco, which I added to some red wine
• A Jamie Oliver recipe for mulled wine
• A Delia Smith recipe for mulled wine

So, who was crowned the Queen?

The outright winner was the mulled wine sachet from Tesco, followed by the bottle of blended mulled wine from Waitrose. The least favourite option was the Delia recipe.

Personally, my favourite my guest's last choice! Probably because it contained some cherry brandy, so was a bit more potent. Plus, for my personal taste, it had a stronger and more natural flavour than the sachet or the blended bottle.

Overall, it was a brilliant party and my house smelt wonderfully of spices and alcohol for several days afterwards. Much better than a candle or a Christmas smelling air freshener.

Top tips for throwing a mulled wine party

1. If you're short on time, the bottled version was the simplest and quickest to prepare. Although I did chop in some slices of orange, so my testers couldn't tell the wines apart from appearance, this isn't essential. From a preparation perspective, the Jamie Oliver recipe was the most time consuming as you had to dissolve some sugar in a small amount of wine and vanilla pods before adding a whole ensemble of ingredients

2. If you're on a budget, then again, the preblended bottle works out the most economical at around £4.00 a bottle. Otherwise, if you're making the stew yourself you can get reasonably priced, strong red wine from Aldi and Lidl. And, since you're adding spices and fruit, I'm not sure the quality makes that much difference

3. If you have fussy tasters, lay off the star anise. I personally love the aniseed taste, but it's not to everyone's palette, so if you're making the Jamie recipe, leave it out

4. Don't over stew the lemons. If you're adding lemons to your liquor, put them in about five minutes before the end. If they cook for too long, they can make the wine bitter

5. Serve your wine in style. I got some pretty Russian tea glasses from Ebay, they really made a difference to the presentation and only cost around £15

6. Don't throw this party if you have a cream carpet

7. Drink sensibly. If you can.