Lidl wine suppliers in Tuscany serving up budget classics

Everything is as you expect at one of Florence’s finest Michelin-starred restaurants. 

The only difference is that the white asparagus with buffalo ricotta and lemon I am served at Borgo San Jacopo is accompanied by a crisp, juicy and fresh wine that retails for around £7 a bottle ... in Lidl.

The Gavi DOCG white from the Piedmont region is one of the budget brand’s most popular Italian dry whites, largely because it is “easy-drinking and moreish”.

DOCG stands for “denominazione di origine controllata e garantita”, which is the highest classification that Italian wines can be awarded. 

I can vouch for the easy-drinking part and had I not known it was a Lidl wine, I’m sure I would have guessed that it didn’t arrive on my table via the restaurant’s own cellars.

Of course, I shouldn’t really be surprised. Buying your wine from Lidl or Aldi has become a bit of a badge of honour.

It was the first place I ever bought and enjoyed Prosecco. That was two decades ago, and today, more bottles of that sparkling wine are sold than French champagne and Spanish Cava combined.

I am here as a guest of the German supermarket chain to visit two of Lidl’s key wine suppliers in Tuscany and hopefully learn a few things along the way. 

Like most people, I know what I like but find the dizzying array of choice in most shops intimidating to say the least.

“In my opinion, some supermarket ranges are overwhelming,” says Richard Bampfield, Master of Wine, who has the enviable job of vetting the supermarket’s collection and whose enthusiasm for the craft is infectious. He says Lidl keeps its range relatively small for this reason.

“The wine range at Lidl is broadly speaking arranged into two. There are the bottles standing up on the shelf and they by and large are the core range, which is sold all year round and most retail for under £6.

“There are about 110 wines in the core range and it’s a much smaller core range than other supermarkets, which I personally, see as a strength.”

To be a Master of Wine is to hold an internationally recognised qualification of expertise. The title is granted by the Institute of Masters of Wine following a series of intense examinations. 

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Every two months, Lidl switches up the wine tour, comprised of around 30 nicely packaged bottles which cost between £6 and £12. 

“It gives us a chance to be adventurous, to be bold and it’s in keeping with what Lidl does in the middle aisles, where you have something different every week.

“For me that’s an exciting part of the shop, seeing what’s in there.

“I’d like to think we can bring that to the wine range too.” There are wines in that range that shoppers won’t find in any other supermarket, he says.

Bampfield guides us through the highlights of the chain’s Italy’s wine range including Gavi, Pecorino, Barolo, Prosecco and Vermentino, a typical white grape in Tuscany, which is grown on the coast, has become trendy amongst the young and is a popular Aperetivo. It is crisp, fresh and invigorating.

We visit vineyards owned by two of Lidl’s wine producers during the trip.

Founded in 1882, Piccini began with only seven hectares but now has seven estates across Italy and its brand is classified as one of the most distinguished Tuscan brands in the world. Its wines are distributed in 86 countries.

A favourite of Bampfield's from this producer is the food-friendly and award-winning Chianti Riserva Corte Alle Mura, 2019 (13% ABV and costing £6.49).

Chianti is the most exported wine in Tuscany and this is the highest-rated wine in the core collection and has been awarded 92 “Bampfield points”.

With notes of fruitcake and sweet spice, it is dry with a balsamic finish and should pair well with pasta dishes.

The term “riserva” – at least in Italy and Spain – means the wine has been aged in oak barrels and made from better quality grapes.

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However, in other countries, Bampfield says the title is “meaningless”.

Our trip also takes in a visit to Fattoria Di Calappiano, owned by the Sensi family, which was acquired in the land of Leonardo da Vinci in 1992.

The historic farmhouse dates back to the fifth century and belonged to the Medici family. In 2014, Sensi decided to change its production to 100% organic farming so that they can sustainably coexist for future generations to come. 

We sample the Chianti Colli Senesi, which appears in Lidl’s wine tour. The area is noted for Sangiovese-based red wines that are well-rounded, fruity and easy-going

Another wine we sample that goes down very well with the female contingent on this trip is the Prosecco Spumante Rosé Extra Dry, 2021 (at 11% ABV it sells at £7.49). 

Prosecco rosé didn’t exist as a wine as recently as three years ago and Lidl were the first UK supermarket to put it on the shelf.

It has to be drunk in a reasonably short time to maintain freshness.

The colour has helped rosé become successful, says Bampfield, who describes it as “positivity in a glass”. 

“We are learning that it can be really good,” he says. “They are pushing the boundaries.” His tip is to add frozen raspberries instead of ice cubes because they won’t dilute the flavour.

When I tell my friends my favourite wine on a trip to the Tuscan vineyards was Asti Spumante, this is met with some surprise and laughter.

“When I first started in wine, it was one of the absolute staples,” says Bampfield. 

“It was very popular and deservedly so and it hasn’t changed but in my generation there’s been a reaction to that – ‘we’ve grown up, we’ve moved on to Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio and Prosecco and more sophisticated wines’.

“It’s just not the way I see wine. I love the diversity of wine. Asti is only about 5% alcohol so in that sense it’s low in calories, even though it’s sweet. It’s fizzy but not too fizzy and it’s just flavoursome.” 

Priced under £6, he says it would be great paired with a fruit salad. 

Bampfield says the professionals do their testing in the morning because this is when the senses are most acute.

“We [Lidl] give quite a lot of information,” he says. “ If you are really not sure go to the wine tour and see if any of them ring true to you.

“That’s what it’s all about. As a very general rule, European wines are made to be drunk with food,” says Bampfield.

“Historically, they don’t drink wine in many parts of Europe without food.

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"They will have other things without food but not wine. In the New World, it’s totally different. They worked out fairly early on that most wine in the UK is drunk without food.

“So the New World makes softer wines, softer acidity, smoother and they are easy to drink on their own. But that’s a very general rule.”

There are a few things I learn about wine on the trip. 

The weight of the bottle is not related to quality, nor does the size of the dimple make a difference. There is no reason why canned wine should taste any different, although it tends to be done with cheaper wines. 

And the depth of colour of a red is no indication of quality as more expensive wines, such as Pinot Noir, are lighter.

Most wine gadgets are “nonsense” while decanting makes more of a difference with older wines.

As for hangovers, Lidl’s master of wine says they are caused by nothing more than dehydration, discounting all the other theories including darker drinks causing worse symptoms.

The most important take-away is that while wine is complicated, finding something you like shouldn’t be.

“A good wine leaves a sensation in the mouth,” says Bampfield. 

“It creates a memory so you want to have it again.” 

I’ll drink to that.