A bottle of Bordeaux sold for less than two euros? No doubt a boon for consumers, a heresy for producers, a new scandal for Lidl after that of Monsieur Cuisine Connect. The winegrowers denounce a strategy that is both bad and disadvantageous in the wine market. Anger that the German brand, known for its (very) broken prices, does not understand. Explanations.
A wine sold at 1.69 euro
On the occasion of its wine fair launched on March 10, Lidl offered a promotion of a bottle of Terres d'Exception 2019 in AOP Bordeaux. For the purchase of a box of six, it is sold 1.69 euros against 2.53 euros per unit. A price so low that success was immediate and stocks were exhausted on the first day of the event. This is not the first time that the German giant has offered such a low price for a product of this type since already last year, the 2018 vintage of this same wine was sold for 1.89 euros. Only this year, the news goes badly with the winegrowers who denounce a bad strategy. The specialized site Vitisphère reports the words of Cédric Roureau, president of the Syndicat des Courtiers de Vins et Spiritueux de Bordeaux, la Gironde and du Sud-Ouest. The latter declares that "to exit at 1.69 euro, the purchase of wine had to be done at an extremely low level. What does no one do any favors to have bordeaux at this price"Scandalized, he adds that"Bordeaux must make people dream and not become a starter highlighting a food side".
Lidl defends itself from a "Bordeaux bashing"
Accused of damaging the beautiful image of Bordeaux (hence the term "bashing"which means" denigrate "in English), Lidl wanted to justify himself. Johann Boluda, head of the brand's liquids division in France, said that"these prices are applied by the purchase of substantial volumes". To this he adds"that in Bordeaux, prices have been relatively low for two years. (…). This is not an internal strategy, we adapt to market prices, (…) to supply and demandThe bottles sold at 1.69 euros are displayed on the front and are very popular with consumers, fond of promotional offers of this kind. Lidl also wanted to add in an interview given to Capital that their goal is absolutely not to damage the image of Bordeaux but rather to make it shine in the eyes of buyers: "the brand's desire is absolutely not to "break" the price of Bordeaux wines. The proposed price (…) allows volumes to be sold because of the poor sales in Bordeaux. This also makes it possible not to lose the taste of the wine for consumers. The brand therefore goes against the grain of Bordeaux bashing and also sells classified grands crus".
Read also :
⋙ How to choose the right wine: 5 mistakes to avoid
⋙ The infallible trick to cool wine quickly without ice cubes
⋙ Covid-19: Aldi and Lidl have started selling self-testing