Car to France - Cheaper wine

CarPark

I'll be getting married in September, and i am wondering if i can get a deal on wine.

I have heard of people bringing the car to France on the ferry and picking up a load of wine at the port, then coming back.

Apparently i can bring back 90 litres of wine.

If anyone has done this, would you mind giving some specifics.

Namely:
What ferry did you get?
Where did you land?
Where did you buy the drink?
How far away from the port did you buy the drink?
How much did you pay/bottle?
How much would you have paid for the same bottle in Ireland?

Would you do it again?
Any major problems?

Sorry for the very specific questions, but i'll need the information!
Thanks very much.

hot fuss

Hi,

I looked into this before my wedding, but it looked like it was working out too expensive. We only needed about 60 bottles of wine and with the ferry price for a van and two people, and accommodation for one night in France it wasn't working out worth our while.

We went to Sainsburys in Newry when they had a sale on and got FANTASTIC deals that proved to be really worthwhile and saved us a lot of money.

That would be my suggestion - check out some of the wedding message boards for more info on the France thing - confetti.ie or weddingsonline.ie

olaola

Heya -

Irish Ferries are doing their mini cruise from 30th August.
You get about 9 hours ashore and it is €99 pp and €59 for a car when two people travel. There is no other company that you can do a mini cruise with.
http://www.irishferries.com/fares/irl_fra/index.shtml#4
You will be able to bring back more then 90l... as much as you can pack in really.

I would say - go to Cherbourg. There are many places within about 5 mins drive (max) of the port. You'll have plenty of time to get what you want!

Roscoff is only really a small (pretty) little town. There is a wine warehouse on the hill as you come out of the port or could drive to Morlaix.

Wine and beer is really cheap - I also stock up on other things - saucisson and the like. €4 would get you a decent bottle of wine that would probably cost you more than a tenner here. A tenner would get you a VERY decent wine. You'll get deals on cases too. Champagne, Sparkling wine and spirits are also a good purchase.

I'm planning to do it again in Oct, just talking about it today actually!

At the end of the day you have to add the €250 on top of the wine you're buying to cover your trip (not including food!). But then it is a weekend away and a bit of craic, so it might be nice to mooch off before your wedding!

If you want any more info - drop me a pm

Echelle

All the large French supermarket chains ( Carrefour, Monoprix, Leclerc, Intermarche etc) do a Foire aux Vins ( Wine Fair) towards the end of September /early October. These are well advertised and good value,Some French news magazines even do special reports on which supermarket has the best wine, best prices etc.

Echelle

I've just checked the Carrefour supermarket site...Their Wine Fair is from 15 -29th Sept. You can take it all the other supermarket chains will have their fairs at the same time.

olaola

There is a Carrefour about 5 mins drive from the port in the centre of Cherbourg.
It looks like they chuck loads of stuff and pack the place with wine during their wine fair.

nilhg

http://www.normandiewine.com/

I've been to these guys many times, maybe a shade more expensive than the supermarket but english speaking, great range, great service.You can preorder and they will have your order ready if you are likely to be in a hurry. I've seen Irish guys filling small trucks outside their shop and heading back to the ship.

White Horse

I wouldn't buy at wine warehouses that cater for ferry passengers. In my experience they are much more expensive than wine warehouses that cater for French people.

I would head for Morlaix and search out local retaillers.

This summer I bought most of my wine in Concarneau and found prices to be up to 50% cheaper than at ferry ports.

In addition, the quality of wines on offer at the ports tends to be quite low.

nilhg

White Horse wrote:

I wouldn't buy at wine warehouses that cater for ferry passengers. In my experience they are much more expensive than wine warehouses that cater for French people.

I would head for Morlaix and search out local retaillers.

This summer I bought most of my wine in Concarneau and found prices to be up to 50% cheaper than at ferry ports.

Fair enough but my post was in the context of a mini cruise to Cherbourg, a place I've been through 8 or 9 times.

White Horse wrote:

In addition, the quality of wines on offer at the ports tends to be quite low.

Can't agree there, both the supermarkets and the warehouses have a much bigger choice than inland, some even sell wine from other countries!!