Wine buffs fooled by undercover ALDI stunt

By Editor on August 17, 2024

Wine buffs have been fooled by an ALDI stunt at the Royal International Horse Show in the UK that convinced them they were sipping premium-priced wine.

A video shows a flamboyant wine merchant – known as ‘Justin Youraldi’ – pouring out glasses of red, white, and rosé to the well-heeled attendees.

While they thought they were sipping on wine the world’s most exclusive vineyards, costing nearly 10 times the price, they were in fact enjoying more modestly priced wines as low as $10.

However Justin Youraldi was serving up ALDI wines.

One surprised wine taster can be heard exclaiming in the video: “I can’t believe that! I’m staggered! I’m off to ALDI, you’ve won a customer”.

New data by ALDI reveals sales of its wines are soaring, with a 23% increase compared to the same time last year, as shoppers look for value in their purchases.

Research by the supermarket of 2000 wine drinkers shows that people revel in fooling friends with a bargain, as 43% say they’ve served a low-cost wine and received compliments. Meanwhile, 38% say the more expensive options are completely over-rated.

A quarter (24%) admit they wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between a £5 and £50 wine, and one in six (17%) believed that rosé is made by mixing red and white wine.

40% agreed that wine rules are snobbish. In fact, the majority (65%) of British wine drinkers agree people should be able to enjoy wine anyway they see fit, rather than be told how to drink it, with many throwing out the rule book and doing just that.

55% fill a glass to the brim rather than measuring it out, nearly four in 10 (38%) drink rosé all year round, and 49% served red directly from the bottle, without letting it ‘breathe’ first.

People are embracing their own way of drinking wine by mixing in lemonade (27%), and more than 1 in 10 (12%) say they’ve even added a cube of ice to a glass of red.

When shopping for wine, 29% simply opt for the bottle that is cheapest. Only 14% of Brits said purchases were influenced by the advice of wine experts compared to 42% who said a special offer swayed their choice.

Despite their thriftiness, British wine drinkers would happily fork out up to £16 for good quality.

Watch the video below: