Students on a budget will be grateful for the bargains on offer in discount supermarkets. Photograph: Paul Bradbury/Getty Images/Caiaimage

Budget booze tips for students (and their parents)

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Lidl and Aldi, as ever, stock some amazingly cheap reds, plus one or two alternatives to take advantage of while stocks last

Traditionally, the end of September is the time of year when wine critics turn their attention to the needs and budgets of student drinkers, the aim being to wean them off cider and Jägerbombs, and on to a lifetime’s appreciation of fine wine. As with everything else in the past 20 years, however, things have changed. For one thing, students have – or at least behave as if they have – more money (judging by the bins at the end of my street, those who can afford to live away from home subsist on takeaway pizza and Deliveroo, rather than rustling up a homemade spag bol), and according to the stats, a third of their age group don’t drink at all.

The people who are most in need of budget booze recommendations, therefore, are not students but their hard-pressed parents: the much-put-upon bank of mum and dad, probably all the more so if the children are still in residence. So how little can you pay and still get a decent glass – without popping over the Channel (which may well not be easy in a few weeks’ time, anyway)?

I was pretty staggered to find a couple of drinkable reds for less than £4 at Aldi the other day. The better of them was a Spanish shiraz for just £3.69 (see today’s) – it would make the perfect base for a sangria if you’re still in holiday mode, incidentally.

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Whites, meanwhile, are for some reason trickier. I found only one for less than £6 to recommend at the recent Aldi and Lidl tastings, and that was an Aussie chardonnay, but don’t let you put that off – they’ve really improved no end. And if you enjoy fizz, it’s worth revisiting cava, which is better value than prosecco these days – or at least it is if you’re looking for a dry wine: prosecco is always slightly sweeter, and sometimes unpleasantly metallic, too. Aldi’s basic one (again, in the ) is just £5.29, which is extraordinary for a bottle that wouldn’t look out of place on Roman Abramovich’s yacht. And the £6.99 organic version in the same range (namely, Contevedo), which comes into stock , is even better.

In fact, although I like Lidl’s regular Wine Tour offers, I think Aldi has the edge in the latest tranche that has just hit the shelves. It has a bigger basic range and on the whole sharper prices, though the wines that are available online only are quite ambitiously pitched. Wine ain’t going to get cheaper, that’s for sure, so snap these up while you can.