Generic Wine? Not at all!

Disclosure

When I was a kid, I remember the first generic item we purchased. It was a bag of wanna-be Doritos. They came in a yellow bag and we got them at Eagle. Generics were a new thing back then and we weren’t sure what to expect. Surprisingly, those generic wanna-be Doritos were very good.

DH also vividly recalls his early experience with generic products. Green beans in white cans with black writing that simply said “Green Beans”. His mom used to purchase them (and other generic foods) at an Aldi store in the nearby larger town. They regularly carpooled to it with a family friend to stock up.

That was a long time ago and a lot has changed since then. Generics have transformed into reputable and widely accepted store-brand alternatives. As I recently discovered, Aldi has transformed dramatically also. Through an outreach campaign with Mom Central, I was informed that in addition to some brand-name products, some Aldi locations now sell wine.

Wine. At Aldi! Seriously! Who knew?

When Mom Central first set out feelers for people to participate, what came to my mind was the award-winning Two Buck Chuck wine that hails from Trader Joe’s. The award-winning wines have made quite a name for themselves. (Come to find out, Trader Joe’s and Aldi are sister companies.) I’m excited to hear that Aldi is setting itself apart also and carrying more variety! The wine shelves at Aldi aren’t stocked with generic products but rather high-rated wines at discount prices.

In preparation for a few holiday parties, we made a trip to Aldi. I haven’t been to an Aldi in years… We had a new one open up in a very popular area of town but I figured they didn’t carry the kind of variety we would need so I shopped elsewhere. Much to my surprise, they had a LOT of variety. Cannot tell you how excited I was to see they have Haribo Cola Gummies for about half the price of what we usually pay.

Next, we found the alcohol… A lot. And cheap inexpensive! We grabbed multiple bottles including 3 rated in the 80s, a Moscato and an ice wine. Yum. We walked the store and purchased multiple items to make stuff for the holiday parties we would be attending. We also picked up some groceries for personal use, including fresh produce and dairy (and an awesome Chocolate Cheesecake!)

We were amazed at the variety of products that Aldi now carries – various types of specialty pastas, gourmet foods like prosciutto and cheesecake and an entire line of fitness/diet foods that included cereals, yogurts and ice cream treats. I was truly amazed by how different the store is from my last visit!

The only thing I didn’t like is that they don’t accept credit cards. Cash or debit cards, so they say. That’s tough considering I don’t own a debit card and the maximum amount of cash I carry is $20! The next time I plan to shop at Aldi, I’ll just need to make sure I have more cash with me.

If you are planning any New Year’s parties where you plan to serve wine or other goodies, Aldi is worth checking out. Visit their website to see if your Aldi carries wine. There’s also a store locator feature in the Aldi app that shows if they carry wine but you can also use it to check out what’s on sale!