Trip to France for champagne

Deedavid · 07-11-2016 12:16pm #1

Hi all, am thinking of doing a trip to Cherbourg in France to get some champagne for a wedding. I am just wondering if a Peugeot partner van would be big enough to carry 250 bottles of it? Any one ever done this trip and any advise would be greatly appreciated! Many thanks.

Carawaystick · 07-11-2016 5:07pm

I carried 150 bottles in a standard family saloon with a bootful of luggage before, so a few in the boot, and the back seat full to the door handle level, you get a surprising amout in the rear foorwell.
I suspect you'ld get the 150 bottles in an empty boot no hassle.

magicbastarder · 07-11-2016 6:24pm

it's 250 bottles though, and given it's champagne, the glass will be heavy - so just bear in mind that the load would be equivalent to three adults, if you did take the car.

Alun · 07-11-2016 6:29pm

Out of curiosity I've just weighed a standard 75cl bottle and it comes in at a whopping 1.64kg!

So 250 bottles will weigh 412.5kg, so rather more than 3 adults, more like 5, unless they're a bit on the porky side

magicbastarder · 07-11-2016 6:36pm

wow, i'd assumed maybe a kilo or slightly more per bottle.

i just weighed a bottle here (aren't boardsies a posh lot that we have champagne bottles just sitting around waiting to be weighed) and it came in at 1.66kg.

Alun · 07-11-2016 6:40pm

magicbastarder wrote: »

wow, i'd assumed maybe a kilo or slightly more per bottle.

Me too, the champagne itself will be around 0.75kg, so that's a good amount of glass.

A normal bottle of wine weighs in at between 1.2 and 1.3kg, by the way.

afatbollix · 07-11-2016 7:32pm

250 bottles is about 1500 glasses of champagne. Do you really need that much? You get 6 glasses to a bottle of champagne. That is going to be some wedding.

Not sure what champagne you are looking to get but the UK in the run up to xmas has the best deals around.

Lidl sells it for a £10er a bottle and stack it by the pallet load or most places do buy 6 and get 25% off bringing brands such as Lanson down to £15 a bottle. You will not be able to beat that in France if you want a branded champagne. The UK supermarkets are ruthless and get it cheap from France. (Example Moet sells a bottle in there cellars for €36 in Sainsbury's it can be as cheap as £20.)

Seth Brundle · 07-11-2016 7:35pm

Also (and not transport related) remember that whilst Champagne is a sparkling wine, there are many other cheaper but superior sparkling wines that aren't from the Champagne region.
Might be an easier trip also!

Orobhsa · 07-11-2016 9:42pm

Revenue have limits on what would be deemed ok for personal use - 60l champers. 250 bottles would be well over that& might get hit for extra duties

irishguy · 07-11-2016 9:59pm

Deedavid wrote: »

Hi all, am thinking of doing a trip to Cherbourg in France to get some champagne for a wedding. I am just wondering if a Peugeot partner van would be big enough to carry 250 bottles of it? Any one ever done this trip and any advise would be greatly appreciated! Many thanks.

Is it really that much cheaper with all the transport costs? Try up north instead

http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/Shopping/FindProducts.aspx?query=champane&store=Sainsburys

They have 25% extra off if you buy 6, you can also order it all online for pickup. They will load it into your car and away you go.

Cookie_Monster · 07-11-2016 10:04pm

may not be worth it trip alone, but if part of a holiday it most certainly is. My father in law picks up about 250 bottles of wine a year in Italy, under 2.50 a bottle for stuff you'd easily pay 12-15 for in Ireland!

Del2005 · 08-11-2016 4:30am

Orobhsa wrote: »

Revenue have limits on what would be deemed ok for personal use - 60l champers. 250 bottles would be well over that& might get hit for extra duties

The limits are BS, UK motorists got it challanged and won, and used as a guideline for when they'll start quering the amout you have. OP is getting them for a wedding so there is no issues

dudara · 08-11-2016 4:56am

In addition to champagne, check out "cremants" which are sparkling wines made in the same way as Champagne, but not within the Champgane triangle. They can offer great value for money.

And yes, the traditional champagne bottle is quite heavy - it has to be in order to handle the fermentation that happens in the bottle

munchkin_utd · 08-11-2016 11:14am

Del2005 wrote: »

The limits are BS, UK motorists got it challanged and won, and used as a guideline for when they'll start quering the amout you have. OP is getting them for a wedding so there is no issues

uk motorists dont have to deal with the irish laws, and the irish authorities could quite easily confiscate your booze and let you go to court to get it back.

From the sainsburys link, something like Valdo prosecco would be a great alternative to French champagne. The bottle looks the part considering its for a wedding and to my taste buds its lovely. I only ever came across it from having to buy a heap of it for an irish wedding in germany in the cash and carry.
Only 9stg in Sainsburys, so €10.11. From the price history it gets reduced to 7.50stg (€8.43) every few months. Even at the old exchange rate it'd be value for money but now its a bargain.
http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/sainsburys-price-comparison/Champagne_And_Sparkling_Wines/Valdo_Prosecco_Marca_Oro_750ml.html?TrackingCode=121.tWnfMXdjYU6fsq2oSae1RA

Deedavid · 08-11-2016 11:52am

Thank you all for your comments! We will be getting a very very good deal from the vineyard- well worth it! Just trying to figure out if we need a bigger van than the small ones such as berlingo or partner kangoo etc! Not all the champers would be for wedding, some for lead up and than there are a few party's before and after where we could serve it! And anything left over, can be for us!

jackofalltrades · 08-11-2016 2:50pm

Deedavid wrote: »

Thank you all for your comments! We will be getting a very very good deal from the vineyard- well worth it! Just trying to figure out if we need a bigger van than the small ones such as berlingo or partner kangoo etc! Not all the champers would be for wedding, some for lead up and than there are a few party's before and after where we could serve it! And anything left over, can be for us!

How are the vineyard packaging the wine?
Is it in cardboard boxes or wooden crates?
Get the weight and dimensions of the box, then work out the total weight and volume that you need.
You'll have a better idea of the kind of van that you will need then.

R.O.R · 08-11-2016 3:49pm

Payload (max weight it can carry) of a standard Partner Van is 650kg, so you need to make sure the total weight is less than that, otherwise you'll be overloaded and could be fined (and it's quite a high amount) if you unlucky enough to be stopped.

Most small vans would have a similar payload, but 250 bottles gives an allowance of 2.6kg per bottle, and based on previous weights in the thread, you should be OK at that.

Interior load volume on a Partner is 3.3m3 (cubed):

1.8 Metres load length
1.5 Metres max load width (1.23 Metres between wheel arches)
1.25 Metres max load height

Most small vans (Combo, Connect, Kangoo) have fairly similar dimensions. If they are 12 bottles to a crate, then it's 21 crates which I reckon will fit in a small van.

jackofalltrades · 08-11-2016 6:15pm

That payload weight includes the driver and any passengers(if being brought).
You also have to take into account the weight of the wooden crates.
If a crate weighs 5kg and you've got 21 of them then that's another 105 kg to factor in.
412kg of wine + 105kg of wooden boxes + 80kg driver + 15 kg luggage = 612kg.

That's getting very close to the limit on a new bottom of the range partner, which is 625 kg.
I can't imagine that it would be great to drive at the weight either.

Idbatterim · 08-11-2016 6:26pm

if you are paying to hire a van, might be better to just take less bottles back and use your own car...

Deedavid · 09-11-2016 12:42pm

Yes hiring a van as my car wouldn't suit it! Might just go for the next size up instead! Can anyone recommend any where else good over there in Cherbourg to buy some wine or brandy? Thanks

Idbatterim · 09-11-2016 1:08pm

one poster on another forums mentioned very cheap whisky and spirits in sainsbury newry. i was on their website, 25% off 6 bottles or more of wine and champagne I think. with the weak sterling, would that be worth considering?

Muahahaha · 10-11-2016 7:48pm

yeah I know wine in Cherbourg is cheap but by the time youve paid for a return ferry and hired a van Im guessing you would be down close to 700 euro. I would have thought that with sterling gone so cheap a trip to Northern Ireland would be more economical for getting champagne

LeChienMefiant · 10-11-2016 9:11pm

You're right guys not worth it. Don't waste your time reading rest of thread.

OP, enjoy yourselves, have some craic and forget the begrudgers. Auchan and Carrefour hypermarkets are well worth a visit. The prices in Ireland are not comparable at all and if northern Ireland was competitive with France there would be grid lock on the M1.

Atlantic Dawn · 10-11-2016 9:17pm

Deedavid wrote: »

Yes hiring a van as my car wouldn't suit it! Might just go for the next size up instead! Can anyone recommend any where else good over there in Cherbourg to buy some wine or brandy? Thanks

Most rental companies will not let you take a van outside the island of Ireland.

jackofalltrades · 10-11-2016 9:31pm

Deedavid wrote: »

Thank you all for your comments! We will be getting a very very good deal from the vineyard- well worth it!

Are the vineyard delivering the wine to Cherbourg for you?

Muahahaha · 10-11-2016 9:55pm

LeChienMefiant wrote: »

You're right guys not worth it. Don't waste your time reading rest of thread.

OP, enjoy yourselves, have some craic and forget the begrudgers. Auchan and Carrefour hypermarkets are well worth a visit. The prices in Ireland are not comparable at all and if northern Ireland was competitive with France there would be grid lock on the M1.

Cant stand the way people throw around the begrudgery accusation like confetti. No one here is begrudging the OP a trip to Cherbourg FFS. Its going to cost them €700-900 for van hire and a return ferry to France. Its a 40 full hours on the boat, probably a 3 day trip in all. Posters are just saying to check out prices up north, with 25% offers and the crash of sterling there is excellent value to be had. And unlike Cherbourg going up north can be done in a single day.

Terrontress · 10-11-2016 11:56pm

This is £9 / bottle in Tesco

http://m.tesco.com/h5/groceries/r/www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=277967554

While the hypermarché in France is charging the guts of €25 for an unknown bottle

http://vin.e-leclerc.com/vente-vin/produit/philipponnat-royal-réserve,40432/

I've no idea what deal you're getting off the vineyard, but when you factor in your time, the ferry costs, the diesel and general hassle, surely you're not going to save a bean over going North. It's all risk and no reward.

I've driven from Calais to Champagne to rent a gite for a fortnight and it was a pain in the brown. To do it in a van, fill the van, turn round and drive home just isn't worth it unless the champers is free.

J.pilkington · 11-11-2016 3:28am

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

may not be worth it trip alone, but if part of a holiday it most certainly is. My father in law picks up about 250 bottles of wine a year in Italy, under 2.50 a bottle for stuff you'd easily pay 12-15 for in Ireland!

Man that sounds like a horrible drive from Italy to Ireland with that much extra weight especially with the hilly motorway terrain

StupidLikeAFox · 11-11-2016 3:44am

Muahahaha wrote: »

Cant stand the way people throw around the begrudgery accusation like confetti. No one here is begrudging the OP a trip to Cherbourg FFS. Its going to cost them €700-900 for van hire and a return ferry to France. Its a 40 full hours on the boat, probably a 3 day trip in all. Posters are just saying to check out prices up north, with 25% offers and the crash of sterling there is excellent value to be had. And unlike Cherbourg going up north can be done in a single day.

Its also significantly more likely that customs will catch you when you are coming off the boat, as opposed to coming down the M1.

Cookie_Monster · 11-11-2016 3:59am

StupidLikeAFox wrote: »

Its also significantly more likely that customs will catch you when you are coming off the boat, as opposed to coming down the M1.

customs can't do anything anyway. It's already been established that large quantities fall under personal use. 250 bottles over the course of a year is entirely acceptable

J.pilkington wrote:

Man that sounds like a horrible drive from Italy to Ireland with that much extra weight especially with the hilly motorway terrain

plus a roof box plus two bikes on the back.

Terrontress · 11-11-2016 6:58am

StupidLikeAFox wrote: »

Muahahaha wrote: »

Cant stand the way people throw around the begrudgery accusation like confetti. No one here is begrudging the OP a trip to Cherbourg FFS. Its going to cost them 700-900 for van hire and a return ferry to France. Its a 40 full hours on the boat, probably a 3 day trip in all. Posters are just saying to check out prices up north, with 25% offers and the crash of sterling there is excellent value to be had. And unlike Cherbourg going up north can be done in a single day.

Its also significantly more likely that customs will catch you when you are coming off the boat, as opposed to coming down the M1.

A wedding invite should be enough to keep Customs happy.

Trip to France for champagne

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