Aldi launches Fairtrade Shiraz for a very keen £6.49

If you want proof that decent wines don't have to cost the Earth, Aldi has available in stores now, the Cambalala South African Shiraz Pinotage Blend (£6.49, 75cl) which is light to medium ruby red in colour with aromas of red and black cherries, brambles and a sprinkling of white pepper. It’s juicy and easy to drink with a whisper of spice on the finish – perfect for stepping into Autumn. (And in the opinion of That'd Food and Drink, laying down for Christmas, too.)

Buying Fairtrade wine like this new blend not only tastes good, but also does good, too. It helps make certain ensure farmers and workers receive a fair price, plus an additional premium to help their community invest in essential services like education, sanitation and health care.

Julie Ashfield, who is MD of Buying at Aldi UK, says: “As shoppers strive to lead a more sustainable life they increasingly seek out ethically sourced products, and this includes wines.  

“We think its important Fairtrade products are affordable, and that’s why launching this fantastic new blend is a big milestone for us. It’s an amazing quality wine, reflecting the quality of the production and hard work gone into making it”.

Kerrina Thorogood, Partnerships Director at the Fairtrade Foundation, added: “Let’s raise a glass to Aldi for introducing this delicious new line of Fairtrade wine.

“Every sip of Fairtrade wine helps ensure producers get a fairer deal through Fairtrade Standards which include decent working conditions for workers, the Fairtrade Minimum Price and Fairtrade Premium to invest in social, economic and environmental improvements.”

Aldi’s Fairtrade South African Shiraz Pinotage Blend is available in-stores and via Click & Collect now, whilst stocks last.

www.aldi.co.uk

New, improved, larger Co-op launches in Saltaire (West Yorkshire)

The Co-op has launched a new, improved and, larger branch to serve and support the community of Saltaire, West Yorkshire.

The convenience retailer relocated to its new, purpose-built 2,800 sq ft store in Bingley Road, Saltaire, which opens between 7am-10pm daily, and supports 16 local jobs, with new positions also created.

Saltaire’s new Co-op includes: a customer car-park, a free ATM, an in-store bakery, hot food options and, a Costa coffee dispenser. 

This sits alongside an extended, improved range of fresh, healthy products; meal ideas; everyday essentials; food-to-go; Fairtrade products, flowers, chilled beers and award winning wines; ready meals, pizzas and, free-from; vegan and plant-based products, including Co-op’s exclusive vegan range, GRO.

Parcel collections are available from Amazon and DPD, along with the online delivery of groceries through Deliveroo; Just Eat and Uber Eats for added ease, speed and convenience locally.

Craig Watson, Co-op Store Manager, said: “The store looks fantastic and, we are delighted to move into our new home and 'serve-up' a brand new store for the community. The team is very excited, we have been looking forward to relocating and can’t wait to welcome our Members and customers into their new and improved store. 

"Our aim is to operate at the heart of local life. We have worked to develop the range, choice and added services to create a compelling offer to serve our community, conveniently. With a focus on delivering member-value so that the people who own our business, our members, benefit every time they shop.”

In August, Co-op announced its biggest ever single investment in pricing of £70 million, as it extended its ‘member-only’ pricing across everyday essentials, launching with a list of nearly 200 fixed lines including milk, eggs and bread - with a Co-op sliced loaf at a modest 76p.

A funding boost is provided via Co-op’s Membership programme. Membership of Co-op unlocks additional value with personalised offers and Member pricing benefits. In addition, Members are rewarded with 2p in every pound they spend on Co-op branded products which is added to their own personal Membership account balance, with Co-op donating the same amount to local causes and, community organisations, so members can make a difference locally simply by shopping at their Co-op.

A soft plastic recycle unit is also available in store to enable the community to recycle ‘soft plastics’ including: crisp packets and bread bags, lids from ready meals and yogurt pots, biscuit wrappers and pet food pouches, etc. This means all Co-op’s own food packaging is recyclable via either local authority kerbside collections, or its in-store soft plastic recycling unit.

The Co-op is one of the world’s largest consumer co-operatives. Its Members own the business and play an intrinsic part in the governance of the organisation, and enjoy a wide number of benefits including member-only pricing across everyday essentials, money back on own-brand purchases and personalised offers via the Co-op app.

Alongside Food, Co-op operates Funeralcare; Insurance and Legal Services. More information about the benefits of Co-op Membership is available by visiting www.coop.co.uk/membership

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Sainsbury's to launch Good food for all of us

Sainsbury’s is launching a new campaign, promising Good food for all of us, a slogan which will feature in all of its advertising and marketing campaigns from November.

Through the new promise Sainsbury’s wants to provide good food for all customers, whatever their budget, tastes or dietary requirements, and however busy their daily lives.

Tasty, well-sourced food brings families and friends together and makes every occasion special and Sainsbury’s knows good food matters to everybody, every day. In its research 85% of adults said they'd thought about or discussed with someone else what to have for their next evening meal; making it one of life’s enduring and vital questions.

But the truth is, good food isn't easy for everyone to arrange. Many people struggle to find the time, energy and inspiration to plan, shop for and prepare the food they really want to eat or to feed to their families. 59% of people tend to cook the same dishes every week. 

And good food becomes even more challenging where money is tight for many of us, with 9 million adults experiencing food insecurity and 30% of parents skipping meals at least once a week to ensure their children have enough to eat.

Sainsbury’s aims to bring back the spark to mealtimes with Good food for all of us. By providing the widest choice of quality food and pricing its food accessibly and competitively, it's determined to help everyone make the most of their mealtimes.

Radha Davies, Director of Brands, Planning and Creative at Sainsbury's, said: “Everyone at Sainsbury’s is passionate about the food we sell, and this includes not only our 152,000 colleagues up and down the country, but our suppliers, farmers and fishing partners too. 

"Yet we recognise it can sometimes be difficult for customers to have the time, money or inspiration to access the joy that good food can bring.  So, we want to go further by actively helping to put good food - in all of its senses, from quality and taste, to value and accessibility, at the heart of customers’ lives.  Sainsburys has always been a warm, human brand and we'll seek to build even stronger connections with our customers than ever before."  

Over the past year, Sainsbury’s has been working hard to ensure all customers have access to affordable, great value food. The ongoing Aldi Price Match is now bigger than ever before with over 400 products, and since the launch of Nectar Prices last April, there are over 5,000 lower prices available in supermarkets and online when shopping with Nectar, saving customers over £371m.

Sainsbury’s Nourish the Nation community programme aims to ensure an even wider pool of people have access to balanced, nutritional and sustainable food sources, as well as helping to prevent people and communities from falling further into food poverty. 

It's also donated over 15 million meals worth of surplus food through its partnership with Neighbourly, as well as customer food donations redistributed via Fareshare.

Through innovation, Sainsbury’s aims to continue to bring exciting and different new products to customers.  This month it launched the largest lower carbon beef range ever produced in the UK through its Taste the Difference Aberdeen Angus products. Its on-the-go Flourish range was developed earlier this year directly in response to customers’ wants and needs, in this case those who may be time poor and unable to sit and eat.

The new marketing campaign was developed in conjunction with New Commercial Arts and will run across TV, Press, Radio, OOH and Cinema, as well as digital advertising on social media from November onwards. 

As it's only a couple of months to Christmas this type of initiative is most welcome. 

www.sainsburys.com

Tesco locks down 1,000 prices in run up to Christmas and beyond

Tesco is locking more than a thousand prices, price cuts on 100s of products and Aldi price-match on hundreds more delivers great value for customers.

Tesco is locking the price of over a 1,000 everyday products until next year (2024) as part of its plan to deliver great value for customers.

With consumers still facing the cost-of-living squeeze, Tesco's unveiled a price lock on a range of popular products until the new year. It sits with recent price cuts to hundreds of products and Tesco price-matching Aldi on hundreds of other products.

Among the 1,000-plus everyday items to have their price locked as part of the latest round of Low Everyday Prices are Typhoo One Cup teabags, Jacobs’ Cream Crackers and Aquafresh Freshmint Toothpaste.

Tesco UK CEO, Jason Tarry, said the latest round of Low Everyday Prices would help customers manage their household budgets as they go forward into the Christmas period.

He said: “We know this has been a year of careful budgeting for shoppers, with customers wanting to ensure they're getting great value on their shop.”

He added: “By locking over 1,000 prices, our customers know exactly how much they'll be paying for those items today, at Halloween, at Christmas, and into 2024.”

But locking over 1,000 prices is just one way in which Tesco's committing to deliver great value for Britain’s shoppers. The supermarket is also passing on savings to customers wherever it sees opportunities to do so, and is matching over 600 staple products to Aldi on a weekly basis.

Since announcing price cuts to 500 lines last June, Tesco's continued to reduce prices every week since, with hundreds more products now reduced in price. Some of the products to have recently seen their prices cut include Andrex Toilet Tissue (reduced 9%), Free From white bread rolls (reduced by 14%) and Pitted black olives (reduced 8%). 

Jason Tarry went on to say: “Food inflation is still with us, but by cutting prices wherever we can, and by locking others to give customers certainty in their budgets, we are able to provide great value to our shoppers. When you combine that with the over 8,000 Clubcard Prices deals each week, there are thousands of reasons to shop at Tesco.”

www.tesco.com

Wetherspoon Real Ale Festival 11 to 22 October

Between Wednesday 11th October to Sunday 22nd October the Wetherspoon pub company is running another of its highly successful and very popular real ale festivals at all of its pubs up and down the country.

Real ale fans will be able to sample beers from award-winning brewers, taste brews from five international breweries, take a look at 25 ales that are totally new to Wetherspoon pubs and enjoy up to 30 different ales and beers.

Beers you could try will include Conwy Kashmir IPA, Harviestoun Broken Dial, Joe’s Garage

Bohemian Pale Ale, all the way from the Czech Republic, From the USA there's New Realm Hoptropolis IPA, Robinsons Fear Of The Dark, Steel & Oak Easy Stout from Canada, Yazoo Dos Perros from Tennessee, Zululand Zulu Blonde from South Africa.

Also there's Salopian The Murmurings of a Lost Leviathan, Titanic Cherry Porter, Thornbridge Hubble, Wychwood King Goblin, Hogs Back Ratfink & Ripsnorter, Evan Evans Challenger, Maxim Slovenian Pale Ale, Inveralmond Ossian Oatmeal Stout, Castle Rock Phoenix Tears and other beers besides, plus the usual array of other ales. Plus several ciders (including craft ciders, usually) and food is available all day.

Prices may vary between pubs, also check if the Festival Third of a Pint scheme is still operating.

For full details check out the link here https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/news/2023/09/autumn-real-ale-festival

We are fortunate that we have four Wetherspoon pubs all reasonably local to us and we'll plan our visits accordingly. 

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A New Dawn for Fine Dining. The Trencherman's Guide Heralds a New, Wonderful Era for Hospitality

At the recent launch of the 31st edition of the Trencherman's Guide, the South West's original dining guide, Michael Caines MBE, chair of the Trencherman's committee, stated: "Many have declared a new dawn for fine dining in this post-Covid world and this 31st edition of the Trencherman's Guide proves it.

"In the South West and across the rest of the UK, the dining scene is evolving; there's no question about it,' says Michael, a leading light on the South West food scene who owns Michelin-starred Lympstone Manor in Devon, The Cove at Maenporth in Cornwall, and Mickeys Beach in Exmouth. 'Browse the pages of the Trencherman's Guide edition 31 and you'll find, more than ever before, the diverse ways that chefs and restaurateurs are extending their core business to incorporate a variety of dining experiences that don't compromise on quality.

"From wood-fired pizzas served on hotel terraces to family-friendly beach bars and fish shacks in pub gardens, authentic South West dining experiences are now reaching out to an even greater audience, which is fantastic for everyone, including the region's food and drink producers. 

"The ceremony of multi-course meals and starched linen still holds huge appeal to those chasing a real sense of occasion, but it's now time to expand our perspective on the definition of the most exquisite dining experiences."

The annual epicurean bible for the region launched its latest edition on Monday September 25 at Ugly Butterfly by Adam Handling in Carbis Bay with a champagne reception and exquisite four-course lunch. 

This year's guide, covering the entire South West region from Land's End to the furthest reaches of Dorset and the Cotswolds, features 106 restaurants that have surpassed the strict Trencherman's entry criteria. This year's members range from formal restaurants to dining pubs, bistros and even bottle shops.

At the helm of the guide is new editor Abi Manning, who describes it as "a true celebration of the best places to eat in the South West, in their many guises. The concept of fine dining isn't dead, but there's certainly a movement towards a more casual restaurant experience, as shown in our guide. 

"This is the direction the industry is now taking, as a result of food and energy prices putting pressure on restaurants, as well as the cost-of-living crisis for consumers. But quality is still the key and we believe a casual meal using hyper-local ingredients cooked extremely well is equally as valid as a multi-course tasting menu."

Abi points to the 25 new additions to the guide, saying: "It's evidence of the talent that continues to flourish in this food-rich corner of the UK." 

She went on to say: "The guide, and the independent dining scene, is moving into an exciting new era. We're incredibly lucky we have such an abundance of incredible chefs who are paving the way, and along with their teams are finding innovative methods to use the rich produce of our land and sea to create memorable dining experiences."

The guide launched in style at the event in north Cornwall, attended by Trencherman's members and guide partners Dole, The Eco Laundry, PKF Francis Clark, Hallgarten & Novum Wines, Navas Drinks and Trevethan Cornish Craft Distillery. Event suppliers included Yallah Coffee, Matthew Stevens Cornish Fish, Philip Warren Butchers and Otter Valley Farms.

A special and very sumptuous four-course banquet was created by four chefs who appear among its pages: Ugly Butterfly chef-patron Adam Handling (and this year's Champion of Champions on Great British Menu), Guy Owen of The St Enodoc Hotel in Cornwall, Harriet Mansell of Robin Wylde in Dorset and Nicholas Balfe of HOLM in Somerset. Each chef sought to highlight the bountiful produce of the South West, with ingredients including Somerset lamb, Cornish duck, Dorset dandelion root and Cornish seaberry. 

Order your copy of the 31st Trencherman's Guide here at trenchermans-guide.com. 

We at That's Food and Drink are certain that this guide will make an excellent Christmas gift for the foodies in your life.

(PICTURED: Chefs Guy Owen and Adam Handling, editor Abi Manning and chefs Harriet Mansell and Nicholas Balfe, image courtesy of Guy Harrop)

Wickhams Wins at Decanter Retailer Awards

Building on the success after being shortlisted at the Decanter Retailer Awards, Wickhams has this year been crowned well-deserved winner in the prestigious awards. 

The Devon-based independent online wine and spirit merchant won 'Best Specialist Retailer South & Regional France', which was announced earlier this week.

The business was also shortlisted for the 'Best Small Online Retailer' and 'Best Specialist Retailer, England & Wales' categories. A relative newcomer, having only opened for business three years ago, Wickhams winning at the Decanter Retailer Awards 2023 is a high accolade due to the exceptional choice consumers have when coming to wine buying in the UK. 

Said Wickhams' founder Dan Farrell-Wright: “We're obviously utterly thrilled to have won this award. The Decanter Awards really highlight the strength and breadth of the UK retail sector, there is a great deal of competition out there so to win is hugely gratifying. 

"My aim with Wickhams is to provide easy access to great wine for all wine drinkers. We go above and beyond to ensure we know the wines we sell inside out and can offer the best to our customers, which is what I attribute our success to.”

The 2023 edition of Decanter Retailer Awards was led by a judging panel of seven independent experts who thoroughly reviewed and discussed all entries.

One of the judges was wine educator, writer and MW student Leona De Pasquale, who noted: “While unanimous decisions were often reached, some entries required extensive deliberations and votes were required due to exceedingly tight competition. This underscores the vibrant, utterly remarkable wine scene that UK consumers are fortunate to be able to enjoy.”

At the core of Wickhams' business is the desire to offer customers the chance to try new wines, whether in specially curated cases, the mixed-case-of-six value option or via their tasting events. All Wickhams events are interactive, lots of fun and come highly recommended. 

They are hosted by wine expert Pip Vanham AIWS DipWSET and Wickhams' founder Dan Farrell-Wright, alongside other guest hosts. For online tastings, the wines are delivered through your letterbox in tasting size packets large enough for two pours, prior to the event, ready for you to enjoy from the comfort of your own sofa. 

More information of forthcoming events, both online and in-person can be found here 

https://wickhamwine.co.uk/my-events.

https://wickhamwine.co.uk

They have a wonderful range of wines, sparkling and still, red and white, plus a range of gifts, all of which would make excellent Christmas purchases. 

Free garlic bread when you buy the latest Peter Kay book at Morrisons

Morrisons is helping its customers celebrate the release of Peter Kay’s, ‘TV: Big Adventures on the Small Screen’ by offering a free serving of garlic bread with every new book sold. 

Kay, who famously claimed that garlic bread ‘is the future’, is releasing a new book detailing his incredible journey through television to create some of the most popular comedy shows of the last two decades, like Phoenix Nights and Carshare.

The new book is available in Morrisons stores all over the country for £12 and customers will be able to bag themselves a free garlic bread from 28 September to 1 October to celebrate the new launch.

Whether it’s seeing a pack of Hobnobs in the biscuit aisle that reminds customers of Peter Kay or a loaf of garlic bread, it will be impossible to avoid the charm of the Bolton-based joker in Morrisons as he will also be lending his voice to Tannoy announcements in stores up-and-down the country to mark his latest release. (EDITOR: Oh, I'll look forward to listening out for those, the next time I'm in Morrisons, flashing my smile and my Morrisons More Card!)

Lee Newman, Media and Paper Shop Buying Manager at Morrisons, said: "Peter Kay is a national treasure with jokes that make people laugh from Bolton all the way to Amarillo. Hundreds of people will be rushing to grab a copy of his new book, and we know the main man himself would approve of the gift we're offering to our customers alongside it. It’s the future!”

To find your nearest Morrisons store, please visit: https://my.morrisons.com/storefinder. 

Incidentally, I think this will be a "must buy" Christmas stocking filler of a book. Just eat the garlic before you wrap the book up!