Lidl to host ‘in the dark’ wine events to get shoppers to focus on taste

Lidl is set to stage ‘wine tasting in the dark’ pop-up events in three cities to promote its ranges ahead of Christmas.

The discounter says its research shows 35% of British consumers choose a wine based on bottle design, and 27% based on the label.

In the hope of getting them to focus more on taste, Lidl will have waiters don night-vision goggles to serve them wines in total darkness.

Visitors will first enter a candy cane-striped room called the “discombobulation chamber”, designed to “throw off their senses with clever tricks of scale”.

Once suitably flustered, they will be shuffled into pitch blackness, in which the host, Lidl’s master of wine Richard Bampfield, will “guide their palates through eight exquisite glasses”.

Finally, they will be guided into a third room where, once their eyes have adjusted, they will find a “festive wonderland decked out with real Christmas trees, mince pies, and a cheeseboard of snacks,” according to a spokeswoman.

Bampfield said: “We want to encourage visitors to see if they can identify a wine’s quality in a completely new setting - using darkness to dispel common prejudices that come with buying wine.

“This is a unique opportunity to forget everything you thought you knew about wine and come and challenge your senses with us.”

Named Lidl Chateaux Noir, the event will take place on Friday 8 and Saturday 9 November at 46 Great Titchfield Street, Soho, London, before travelling to the Deansgate Underground Arches, Manchester on 16 and 17 November, and Argyle Street Arches, Glasgow, on 23 and 24 November.

Tickets cost £4 plus a 90p booking fee, with proceeds going to the NSPCC. They are on sale at lidlchateauxnoir.eventbrite.co.uk.