[Drinking] Buying wine in France

[Dorset Seagull]

Myself and Mrs DS are off to Cherbourg in a couple of weeks and need to take advantage of the hyper market to stock up the cellar (Under stairs cupboard!) We are mainly red wine drinkers and I am after any tips for making sure we get the best reasonably priced wine on offer without making any glaring school boy errors.

Any advice would be much appreciated

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Myself and Mrs DS are off to Cherbourg in a couple of weeks and need to take advantage of the hyper market to stock up the cellar (Under stairs cupboard!) We are mainly red wine drinkers and I am after any tips for making sure we get the best reasonably priced wine on offer without making any glaring school boy errors.

Any advice would be much appreciated

We (me and a pal) used to go regularly. I tended to go for whatever had a gold or silver award sticker. I also (still) hold the bottle up to the light and look at the wind i the narrowest bit of the neck to make sure the wine is 'heavy'. I can't comment n prices now. When we were in the EU £3 a bottle was top of my range. I'm a very sophisticated drinker.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Cotes du Rhône Village - never had a bad one.

 

[WATFORD zero]

Well taste it, obviously

 

[bhafc99]

An app like Vivino might be some help.

 

[Ding Dong !]

Can't beat a bottle of Blue Nunn

 

[Machiavelli]

Myself and Mrs DS are off to Cherbourg in a couple of weeks and need to take advantage of the hyper market to stock up the cellar (Under stairs cupboard!) We are mainly red wine drinkers and I am after any tips for making sure we get the best reasonably priced wine on offer without making any glaring school boy errors.

Any advice would be much appreciated

Yes, you'll get cheaper prices as France doesn't impose the VAT and duty (now c£2.50 a bottle, and rising) that we have in the UK. Whereas previously there were no restrictions for personal use, you can now only bring back 24 bottles per adult. That is, of course, one of the many 'dividends' and 'bonuses' courtesy of Brexit.

 

[keaton]

Cotes du Rhône Village - never had a bad one.

Indeed. Just got back from Dieppe where Auchan had a special offer which looked decent(had all the correct labels etc) at about £2.25 a bottle

 

[Insel affe]

Mad Dog 20/20 Blueberry is always a winner in our house when England are on.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Anything from Loire Valley is generally good and value for money ( I could be considered a bit biased though ! ).

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Buy LOTS.

 

[LeicesterGull]

I had this discussion with a friend recently, he regularly visits family in France. He told me the bargain hypermarket visits are a thing of the past and I'm better off buying in the UK. He also told me we don't need to paint our lights yellow to visit France!

 

[jcdenton08]

Myself and Mrs DS are off to Cherbourg

Don’t forget your umbrella!

A little 1960’s French cinema gag for everyone to enjoy, there.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

I had this discussion with a friend recently, he regularly visits family in France. He told me the bargain hypermarket visits are a thing of the past and I'm better off buying in the UK. He also told me we don't need to paint our lights yellow to visit France!

As some one who spends about a third of the year in France I'd suggest your friend is shopping in in the wrong place. Super U do a very decent SB for around three Euros.

Addition - only challenge is the limits you can bring back with you, although the French don't care and British customs are so understaffed you're unlikely to be caught

 

[BluesRockDJ]

For what it's worth, lived in France for ten years and a good friend of ours suggested looking for "mis en botteille"........means it's bottled at the vineyard.

 

[Weststander]

Love this.

 

[zefarelly]

I like a Bordeaux . . .generally lean toward a superiere . . . Vivino, as has been suggested is a good reference tool

5 euros a bottle and up and you can get what would cost at least a tenner here . . . Ie pretty good wine

go to a sensible supermarket, not a UK booze market thats just profiteering by selling paint stripper and vinegar to ignoramus.

I was in France a few weeks ago . . . You can't get as much wine on a Lambretta as you can in a car. But you can get some on board

 

[Thunder Bolt]

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

 

[Is it PotG?]

What's wrong with quality local gear?

 

[bhafc99]

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

Tip: you can get round this by drinking a couple of litres of the wine before travelling back. Then urinate out and re-bottle the wine on your return - result: 18 litres of French wine, 2 litres of German wine.