When you think of a champagne bars, you probably imagine business meetings, extravagant dates and big bills.
But one of the UK’s best value supermarkets has now ventured into the glamorous world of champagne bars.
In what they claim is the the UK’s cheapest Champagne bar in one of the UK’s most expensive postcodes, Aldi will be selling its award-winning Veuve Monsigny Champagne for just £2.33 a glass.
The supermarket’s first ever premium drinkery is in an area where house prices average £1.8 million, and is just a stone’s throw from the swanky bars of Selfridges and Claridge’s, which sell Champagne at seven times the cost.
In what they claim is the the UK’s cheapest Champagne bar in one of the UK’s most expensive postcodes, Aldi will be selling its award-winning Veuve Monsigny Champagne for just £2.33 a glass
The luxurious ‘Veuve Champagne Bar’ stunned passers-by when it opened in 14 Gees Court, St Christopher’s Place in London’s busy West End on Wednesday and will be open until 11pm on Sunday 12th December.
Members of the public were invited in to sample the Champagne, not knowing Aldi was behind the bar.
On tasting the bubbles, shoppers described it as ‘tasting like Moet & Chandon’ and ‘cheaper than you’d expect to pay anywhere in the country, let alone London’ and estimated that it should be sold at an average of £13.50, before being shocked as Aldi was revealed as the brand behind the bubbles.
Olivia Jones, 26, from Manchester: ‘The bar looked VERY interesting from the outside and I couldn’t believe it when I was told the price – I thought a glass of Champagne like that would cost around £12, especially after trying it. But £2.33 is crazy.’
Another visitor, Abi Digby, 25, a nurse, from Southampton said: ‘I came up with my husband for a taste of festive London – and the Aldi Champagne Bar has just topped everything off very nicely. I’m no Champagne expert but this tasted like Moët, and I was always told that’s as good as it gets.
Caroline Branton, 51, from St Albans, Hertfordshire said: ‘I thought Champagne was too expensive – but clearly that’s no longer the case if this is anything to go by.’
The supermarket’s first ever premium drinkery is in an area where house prices average £1.8 million, and is just a stone’s throw from the swanky bars of Selfridges and Claridge’s, which sell Champagne at seven times the cost.
Aldi’s award-winning bubbly, which is now the second best-selling Champagne in the UK, in fact retails at just £13.99 a bottle – almost six times cheaper than shoppers thought – making it glass by glass the cheapest on offer in any Champagne bar in the nation.
As well as serving up Aldi’s best-selling Champagne, customers can also choose from Veuve Monsigny Rosé (£2.83 a glass), Zerozecco (49p a glass) and a selection of Champagne cocktails (from £1.09 to £2.69) created by leading mixologist Pritesh Mody.
Adorned with teal velvet, brushed gold and marble interiors, and garnished with festive foliage, the ‘Veuve Champagne Bar’ has the ultimate luxury décor and is in good company with neighbours such as Mulberry, which is a couple of doors down.
Aldi’s award-winning bubbly, which is now the second best-selling Champagne in the UK, in fact retails at just £13.99 a bottle – almost six times cheaper than shoppers thought – making it glass by glass the cheapest on offer in any Champagne bar in the nation
The launch comes as research by the supermarket shows the nation will enjoy approximately 480 million glasses of bubbly this festive period, and Aldi itself has recorded record Champagne sales to date, now selling over 2 miIIion bottles annually.
Julie Ashfield, Managing Director of Buying at Aldi UK, told FEMAIL: ‘We are extremely proud of our award-winning Veuve Monsigny Champagne – it’s up there with the best bubbles available, and we hope our Champagne and pop-up bar help spread some well-deserved cheer among the public this festive season.’
Aldi’s own brand Veuve Monsigny Champagne was born almost ten years ago, in 2012, at the Philizot & Fils winery in the heart of Champagne, France. Lovingly produced by husband and wife duo Stéphane and Virginie Philotz, Veuve Monsigny is matured for over 48 months – that’s two and a half years longer than the minimum requirement for Champagne, and more than 12 months longer than any other UK supermarket own brand Champagne.