Aldi has just casually launched its most premium wine range yet, just in time for Christmas.

And look, I appreciate the words ‘Aldi’ and ‘super premium’ don’t usually get uttered in the same sentence, but in the retailer’s own words, ‘shoppers can now sip like sommeliers without breaking the bank’.

They definitely had my attention at the last part of that sentence…

The new range includes high-end classics like Chablis Premier Cru, Sancerre and Châteauneuf-du-Pape, alongside a Rioja Gran Reserva and a Napa Cabernet Sauvignon and somehow prices start from just £6.29.

These are the kinds of wines you’d usually source from a wine merchant as they rely on factors like vintage, producer and site-specific vineyards. 

What is ‘premium’ wine?

To put ‘premium’ wines into perspective, they are typically produced in smaller quantities, by independent producers, from grapes grown in famously coveted regions around the world.

They’re usually made as vintage wines, meaning the grapes have to have been grown in the year stated on the bottle (or usually 85% do), from the better vineyard plots and they showcase a high level of provenance and grape varietal specificity.

Many are organic or biodynamic, shunning the use of chemicals in favour of sustainable methods. All of these factors push up the price.

This is the opposite to Aldi’s successful business model of working with top tier cooperatives across the world to procure their value wines. They tend to purchase in such high volumes that it means they can negotiate the best possible prices. Hence, my jaw is constantly on the floor when I attend their tastings.

What’s in Aldi’s new wine range?

There are 16 different wines in the new premium range, across red, white and rosé and they span a good number of the globe’s finer wine-producing countries – we’re talking Italy, Spain, France, United States and South Africa.

The selection includes the kind of appellations you’d find on Michelin Star wine lists or tucked away in private cellars of the annoyingly wealthy.

Prices for these bottles range from £6.29 to £21.99 at Aldi, which is remarkably cheaper than you’d find them in fancy restaurants.

Now, because I associate Aldi with the budget side of the wine world, I was curious to dip into this range and see what I thought. And full disclosure, I was sceptical going into it.

But after tasting the entire range, I’ve hand-selected five wines from a decent spread of price points and interest levels that I think should be on your shopping list on the run-up to Christmas.

Here’s the best of the bunch…

Specially Selected Stellenbosch Chardonnay, South Africa, (£6.29, 75cl)

Located east of Cape Town, Stellenbosch is looked at as one of South Africa’s finest winemaking regions. It’s sun kissed, so it tends to produce wines with ripe, vibrant aromas and flavours, with phenomenal freshness. This one was the major standout of the range for me, with rich, mineral and voluptuous flavours of nectarine, peach and mango with a balancing spritz of lime on the finish. It actually impressed me more than a bottle I recently tried in a fancy restaurant, which cost £125.

Specially Selected Chablis Premier Cru, France,(£21.99, 75cl)

A Chablis Premier Cru is currently on the list at Claridge’s Hotel for £1,175. That’s extreme, but Premier Cru is a massive step up in quality to regular Chablis. The vineyard sites (climats) with the best soil and climate are reserved for Premier Cru status. Aldi’s is a whisper of Claridge’s price tag, yet has elegance, minerality and Chablis’s typical tension, with flavours of tangerine, yellow plum and Golden Delicious apple crumble.

Specially Selected Cigales Rosé, Spain (£8.99, 75cl)

Just call me the Graped Crusader, as I’m the biggest advocate for rosé being consumed in all seasons, as it’s by far the most versatile style of wine you’ll find. This is from northeastern Spain, with bright red fruit and precise zing-factor, making it a true gastro-rosé. It’s a term I’ve literally just coined, as it matches phenomenally well with all things foodie. Try this with your turkey and trimmings in a few weeks and thank me later.

Specially Selected Moldovan Rară Neagră (£7.99, 75cl)

This is one of the real stars of the show, but strap yourself in for something different. First of all, this wine is from Moldova, made from a rare Transylvanian grape called Rară Neagră (rara-nee-egg-ra). Moldova has an established winemaking history stretching back 3,000 years, and you can tell. This is fruit-tastic, with lashings of crunchy plum and blackberry flavours, and a more serious line of cedar-like oak running through it.

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From ingrown hairs, uncomfortable underwear and downright terrible sex, our private parts go through a lot.

And of course, there’s also some pretty nasty STIs we have to be aware of, including common infections like chlamydia, and lesser-known ailments such as shigella.

But there’s one infection we’re betting you haven’t heard of which is sweeping the UK, and it affects your groin and bottom.

It’s called trichophyton indotineae, described as a ‘turbocharged’ fungus.

Here’s everything you need to know.

What is trichophyton indotineae?

‘It’s essentially a more stubborn and aggressive version of ringworm,’ Dr Chun Tang, GMC registered GP at Pall Mall Medical, tells Metro.

‘It’s a fungal infection that can form on your skin, hair or nails, but unlike the typical strains this one doesn’t always clear up with antifungal medicines.

‘That’s why it has caught the attention of doctors internationally. It behaves like a turbocharged form of the same fungus.’

It was first seen in South Asia, particularly in India, where it’s warm and humid. ‘Crowded living spaces and the widespread use of steroid creams have helped it to spread,’ Dr Tang adds.

‘As so many people travel it has naturally begun appearing in other countries, including over here.’

In fact, Professor Darius Armstrong-James, a fungal expert at Imperial College London told The Sun cases in the UK have surged 500% in the past three years.

‘The important point is that dermatologists are seeing far more infections,’ Dr Tang explains.

What are the symptoms?

If you happen to contract this infection, there will be signs.

‘People usually develop itchy, red, inflamed patches of skin that can crack or become sore,’ Dr Tang says. ‘The rash is sometimes circular, but not always, and it often looks more severe and widespread than typical ringworm.’

It can affect many areas of the body, scalp, nails, feet or groin and bottom area – really no place is off limits. On your feet the doctor explains it can look like a more serious form of athlete’s foot.

While unpleasant, for most healthy adults, these symptoms aren’t dangerous.

‘It can be very uncomfortable and disruptive,’ Dr Tang adds. ‘The itching can make it hard to sleep and get through daily life and scratching can damage the skin and sometimes cause secondary infections.’

Once the infection clears up, the area may look a bit lighter or darker than usual for a while, but this typically fades, and scarring is rare unless the skin has been badly scratched or infected.

How contagious is it?

For Dr Tang, the bigger concern is how easily the virus spreads, rather than the symptoms.

‘If one person in a household becomes infected, it can quickly pass to others unless it is treated promptly,’ he says. ‘It spreads through direct contact with infected skin, which can include hugging, sharing a bed, or other close household contact.’

And yes, while it’s not classed as an STI, it can be passed on if you’re having sex – so you’ll want to avoid doing the deed if you suspect you’re infected.

It can also be passed on through shared towels, clothing, bedding or gym equipment. This is unlike chlamydia, despite gym goers concerns last year.

Trichophyton indotineae spreads in this environment because it’s especially warm, sweaty and damp, so make sure you’re fully wiping the equipment you use.

‘Contaminated surfaces such as exercise mats, gym showers and changing rooms can carry it too,’ Dr Tang says. ‘Unlike some other fungal infections that come from animals, this strain is mainly passed from person to person.’

Can it be treated?

Now don’t be alarmed, but some infected with this fungus have found it to be drug-resistant. This doesn’t mean you’re stuck with the symptoms, though.

‘We tend to use oral antifungal medication to treat trichophyton indotineae because creams alone aren’t enough for this strain,’ Dr Tang says.

‘Normally, terbinafine is our first-line treatment for ringworm, but this strain is showing increasing resistance to it. When that happens, we switch to alternatives such as itraconazole, and most people respond well.

‘It’s important that people don’t self-treat as getting the right diagnosis is essential to help clear it up.’

If it’s not responding to medication, the doctor says you simply need to tell your doctor and choose a different medication or a longer course of treatment.

Unfortunately, just because you’ve had it once, doesn’t mean you won’t get it again. ‘Fungal infections don’t give you immunity, so you can catch it again if you are exposed,’ Dr Tang says.

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Black Friday is a jammy time to snap up a good deal, and if you’re looking to save hundreds on a fab piece of tech, the Garmin epix™ Pro (Gen 2) Sapphire Edition is now 50% off at £449.99 at Ernest Jones. 

Yes, we know it’s a pricey splurge but this isn’t just a smartwatch. It’s a true game-changer for an active lifestyle, whether you’re commuting back and forth to work, hanging out with your mates, hitting the gym for a sweat session or getting outdoors for a tough hike.

Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2) Sapphire Edition 51mm Black Strap Smartwatch

The Garmin epix™ Pro is a powerhouse smartwatch with a stunning 51mm AMOLED display, weeks-long battery life, and 24/7 health tracking. It offers advanced sleep insights, a handy LED flashlight, and comes with a sleek black fabric strap for everyday style.

Buy Now for £449.99 (was £899.99)

One of the best features of this watch is its long-lasting battery, offering up to 31 days in smartwatch mode and 58 hours in GPS mode. So from lengthy workouts to weekends in the great outdoors, you’re covered.

The 1.4-inch AMOLED screen also has a light and crisp display, and it’s even easy to read in direct sunlight. The new sapphire crystal lens not only looks sleek, but it’s also scratch-resistant, while the fibre-reinforced polymer case is durable without feeling too bulky. Ernest Jones even has a feature to try the watch on your own wrist to see if you like the style!

If you’re big on that health and fitness hype, this watch can measure a ton of impressive metrics. We’re talking VO2 max to look at your cardiovascular fitness, while the PacePro™ guidance offers insights and helps you plan your workout to best improve your performance. 

The ECG app can detect irregular heart rhythms, while the Pulse Ox measures oxygen saturation, with low levels potentially signalling respiratory problems. The HRV status can help gauge your recovery time, and you can use the Body Battery™ energy monitoring for stress and sleep coaching, ensuring your health is at its peak, whether you’re up and active during the day or trying to rest at night.

For natural explorers, the epix™ Pro is built for adventure. It comes with built-in GPS, maps, ABC sensors and an LED flashlight.

You can also download music to create the perfect playlist for your workouts, and get smart notifications so you stay connected. And if you’re short on pocket space, leave your purse or wallet at home and use the Garmin Pay™ when you’re out and about. 

Heading out alone can be scary, especially in winter with the short days and dark nights. But this watch also has incident detection, which uses built-in motion sensors and GPS to detect any unusual movements during an outdoor workout, whether that’s a fall while running or a crash during a cycle. It can even send your real-time location to a pre-selected emergency contact in an instant, and you can also trigger it manually if you feel unsafe while you’re out on your own.

And look, we know that this is still a pricey splurge, but with its extensive health tracking, advanced performance features, and 50% off, it’s certainly an investment that’s hard to pass up…

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