[Drinking] Buying wine in France

[Machiavelli]

What's wrong with quality local gear?

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That's delicious, but the reds are largely sh!te, and all the wines are expensive -- we could even develop a new term English fizz conservatives/nativists (delete as appropriate).
France has some wonderful wines of all colours and styles, with plenty of quality at a range of prices, and they don't charge VAT and duty on it.

 

[Dorset Seagull]

Be aware you’re limited to 18 litres (24 bottles of still wine now).

We aren’t actually on a booze cruise so won’t be a problem. Although the driver has a nice big Volvo there won’t be much room left after the 4 of us have loaded the cases. Although it is tempting to cut down on the wife’s packing to make more room

 

[MTSeagulls]

Can't beat a bottle of Blue Nunn

Piat D'or surely?

 

[Elbow750]

If you're there more than a few days, then visit the hypermarket when you arrive and buy a selection to test while you're there. Back in the day I used to like the really cheap and cheerful stuff. I Euro a bottle was fine for me and tatsed better than £5 a bottle in the UK.

Enjoy.

 

[zefarelly]

Be aware you’re limited to 24 bottles of 'visible' wine in you lugguage'

little known fact . . . . 3 cases of claret fit in a race car seat and are safely secured by the race harness.

 

[South Stand Bonfire]

Buy LOTS.

This!

 

[BNthree]

Personally I like fizz a lot so would be on the lookout for whatever offers the supermarket has on “cremant de (insert area here)”. Pretty much always made to same methods as champagne but not in the Champagne region so can’t be labelled as such. Cremant de Dordogne is very drinkable.

 

[dstanman]

Used to enjoy the day booze cruise's back in the 80s / 90s collecting tokens in the paper and got some great cheap wines to bring back, along with driving round Calais. Not so sure if it still works out a great bargin these days.

 

[Johnny Robinson]

A bottier with an R on the lid means ’récoltant’ which means that it has been bottled at the vineyard.

Here’s à link to full details:

Que représentent les couleurs et les lettres sur les capsules des bouteilles de vin ? - MJG Briu

Il existe au total 8 couleurs de capsules différentes dont 4 dédiées aux vins. - La couleur " lie-de-vin " représente les vins de table - L'orange est réservé à certains vins spéciaux (vins de liqueur), comme le Pineau de Charente ou le Macvin du Jura - Le bleu est réservé aux vins de pays

www.mjgbriu.fr

 

[MTSeagulls]

Used to enjoy the day booze cruise's back in the 80s / 90s collecting tokens in the paper and got some great cheap wines to bring back, along with driving round Calais. Not so sure if it still works out a great bargin these days.

They were great for £5 I think. Get up around 3:30am drive to Dover for the 6am Ferry.
Fry up on board. Get off and straight to the hypermarket. Stock up on wine and beer, cheeses, croissants and pain au chocolat, Milka chocolate bars and sometimes other little nic nacs.
Eat a horse steak in the hypermarket restaurant and then back for the 16:00 return ferry. Usually home by 19:00.
Great days out.

 

[Flounce]

little known fact . . . . 3 cases of claret fit in a race car seat and are safely secured by the race harness.

I am liking your style, cases rather than cardboard boxes

I live up to the Southern Softy tag in summer and pretty well exclusively drink Provence Rose and I defy anyone to find a bottle in the UK under 10 pounds that comes close to a 4 to 5 Euro bottle in France. I have come to the conclusion that Rose does not travel well as most on sale in the UK are pretty grim in comparison to how they taste in France, even though they are at least twice as expensive.

 

[Flounce]

They were great for £5 I think. Get up around 3:30am drive to Dover for the 6am Ferry.
Fry up on board. Get off and straight to the hypermarket. Stock up on wine and beer, cheeses, croissants and pain au chocolat, Milka chocolate bars and sometimes other little nic nacs.
Eat a horse steak in the hypermarket restaurant and then back for the 16:00 return ferry. Usually home by 19:00.
Great days out.

Day trips to Calais, Moules et Frites and buy a flick knife as a youngster.

 

[Flounce]

That's delicious, but the reds are largely sh!te, and all the wines are expensive -- we could even develop a new term English fizz conservatives/nativists (delete as appropriate).
France has some wonderful wines of all colours and styles, with plenty of quality at a range of prices, and they don't charge VAT and duty on it.

Quality of English whites is OK but expensive

 

[Thunder Bolt]

I am liking your style, cases rather than cardboard boxes

I live up to the Southern Softy tag in summer and pretty well exclusively drink Provence Rose and I defy anyone to find a bottle in the UK under 10 pounds that comes close to a 4 to 5 Euro bottle in France. I have come to the conclusion that Rose does not travel well as most on sale in the UK are pretty grim in comparison to how they taste in France, even though they are at least twice as expensive.

The French don’t export their good stuff but keep the best for themselves, usually fairly regional.
If you want sparkling, forget champagne and look for a good Cremont. There are regional cremonts which are grown in exactly the same way in other areas but as good. Cremont d’Alsace, for example.

 

[DavidinSouthampton]

What's wrong with quality local gear?

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It’s blooming expensive!

 

[CheeseRolls]

Burgundy reds such as Fleurie or Morgon can be good buys and can be drank slightly chilled in the summer. I favour Vin De Pay D'Oc for value reds from the south.

 

[DavidinSouthampton]

The French don’t export their good stuff but keep the best for themselves, usually fairly regional.
If you want sparkling, forget champagne and look for a good Cremont. There are regional cremonts which are grown in exactly the same way in other areas but as good. Cremont d’Alsace, for example.

Cremant tip seconded! We have a friend whose family used to be wine producers in Alsace - not of sparkling - but they were rude about cheap champagne.
We also sometimes do what has already been suggested which is look out for gold or silver medal winning wines…… which at least means they’re not total carp!

 

[raymondo]

I am liking your style, cases rather than cardboard boxes

I live up to the Southern Softy tag in summer and pretty well exclusively drink Provence Rose and I defy anyone to find a bottle in the UK under 10 pounds that comes close to a 4 to 5 Euro bottle in France. I have come to the conclusion that Rose does not travel well as most on sale in the UK are pretty grim in comparison to how they taste in France, even though they are at least twice as expensive.

Agree about the Provence Rosé. But even when we bring home a few decent bottles...they somehow don't taste as good on a rainy Wiltshire autumn evening...not sure why.

 

[zefarelly]

If you're there more than a few days, then visit the hypermarket when you arrive and buy a selection to test while you're there. Back in the day I used to like the really cheap and cheerful stuff. I Euro a bottle was fine for me and tatsed better than £5 a bottle in the UK.

Enjoy.

Which kind of confirms how much the gov. And supermarkets make from us . . . .

Agree re Cremont etc . . . And the fact the best stuff stays local. Italy is the same, food and wine from EMilia Romagna stays there.

I hae been known to head home from Modena with 4 kg of Parmigiano in my suitcase.

 

[amexer]

What's wrong with quality local gear?

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Very nice but very expensive £20 plus a bottle. We get through 3 bottles a week and cant justify cost of English wine