Where in France for booze. (1 Viewer)

Aug 15, 2014
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Being a non drinker I have never needed to know of outlets for the stuff however, I am soon going to France with my two sisters who are a wee bit partial to drinking :drink: and intend to bring as much back as I will let them :whistle:
So basically, a question for the knowledgeable drinkers please, where is the easiest/best place to buy the stuff as we return via Calais.
Many thanks in advance. :notworthy2:
Norman.
 

DBK

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Jan 9, 2013
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Lidls or similar. I've tried a wine warehouse type place once, never again. Vast range but no one could have tasted them. Big supermarkets generally only stock stuff which is drinkable. :)
 

Snowbird

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Two sisters partial to a drink. First question, are they married. Second question, how old are they. Third question, would you like me as a brother in law :).

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Mar 11, 2013
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Check out Pidou web site drinks you'll recognise at reasonable Price's and a good exchange rate.If you pay using a Halifax card choose to pay in Euros you'll get an even better rate.

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Lenny HB

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Lidl & Aldi only stock a limited range of wine and we have not been impressed with them. We find Auchan does one of the best ranges depending on where we are we stock up at Dieppe, Boulogne or Dunkirk, avoid the one at Calais to many illegals around.
 
Mar 23, 2012
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Majestic in calais can pre-order they will pick it ready on a trolley and often vouchers available for money off depending on the spend and possibly some money off the crossing. Auchan next door if needed and petrol station ( its the one near the tunnel we use)

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JFD

Apr 9, 2015
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We have found that it's worth a little diversion away from where the tourists frequent. There's a little town called Guines, just to the South West of Calais, with a couple of supermarkets, and mostly French shoppers. Great value wines to be had, plus cheaper fuel!!
 

denisejoe

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Aug 6, 2014
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Never seen illegals at Auchan only coppers by the dozen. They use it as their watering hole when they're relieved from tunnel duties.

We buy most of our wine in Lidl or Auchan.

Joe
 

Welsh girl

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I bought 12 cartons of rose wine in Lidl yesterday on the way to the ferry in Santander 59cents each bargain should last me a year. I usually drink echo falls at £5.99 a bottle when in the uk, what a difference.

Oops, that's Spain, sorry!

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Feb 16, 2013
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I am really surprised no one else recomends carafour at cite Europe they have every wine you can think of from 1 euro a bottle, easy to get to excellent mh parking, can stay the night, just round the corner from the tunnel, can't fault it(y):)
 

Techno

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Carrefour, at cite Europe, just over the fence from the tunnel departure, cheap as anywhere, stock everything, and you can stay on the car park for the night if you want!
Ditto and I prefer bottles myself, huge choice at good prices even Scottish Whisky is cheaper than here
 

Techno

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I'm quite happy to pay between €4 and €8 per bottle and over time we tend to know the ones we like.
Similar wines here would be 3 times the price.
The drinks warehouses tend to stock a lot of foreign wines just like here so little point if you want French

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Jul 5, 2013
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Another vote for Carrefour in Cite Europe. So easy for the tunnel and Autoroute.

We always stay on their car park first and last night. Quiet and no problems. They now have a 24 hour garage that is accessible to motorhomes with cheap diesel and LPG, as well as a dump point and water fill facility. What's not to like?
 
Apr 22, 2013
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The problem I've found is that French supermarkets seem to stock a different selection from town to town. I'd buy a bottle in one town and like it but having moved on, I failed to find it at my next visit. So I came up with a plan, that worked on our last trip. As our first and last nights are a Boulogne, which is also our fuel stop (50.732418, 1.668253) we bought a selection of 8 bottles in the Auchan there and sampled them during our trip. Each was rated out of ten, by the time we were back in Boulogne we have one rated 9 and two at 8. I took a picture of them with the iPad, and took the iPad into the store to ensure I got the exact same wines. That was the red sorted, I intend to do same with the white when to cross later this week.

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Jul 5, 2013
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The problem I've found is that French supermarkets seem to stock a different selection from town to town. I'd buy a bottle in one town and like it but having moved on, I failed to find it at my next visit. So I came up with a plan, that worked on our last trip. As our first and last nights are a Boulogne, which is also our fuel stop (50.732418, 1.668253) we bought a selection of 8 bottles in the Auchan there and sampled them during our trip. Each was rated out of ten, by the time we were back in Boulogne we have one rated 9 and two at 8. I took a picture of them with the iPad, and took the iPad into the store to ensure I got the exact same wines. That was the red sorted, I intend to do same with the white when to cross later this week.
Good idea. My problem is that I prefer Italian white wines. And French supermarkets have a poor selection of "vins etranger" (foreign wines).
 

Steve101uk

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Jun 6, 2012
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we tend to buy boxes as they are much lighter too carry. Often we buy at the Auchan at Boulogne. Decent wines and very cheap. Be a shame if we vote out of the EU, stocking up of cheap booze will be another perk we will lose!

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Jan 2, 2015
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I think that this store is mentioned by someone above but I will put their website on.....

http://www.calaiswine.co.uk

We use them on every trip. about 1/2 mile from the ferry terminal (see below)

Capture.JPG


They are british owned and you can pay in Sterling cash. or Euros by card. They have a tasting bar that is always open. They have a huge selection of wines from all over the world and always have a good selection of Three for £6 offers.
Their website gives a good report on each wine they sell and most of them are available in the UK at 3 or 4 times the price.

I got some of this (amongst others) on the last trip...

http://www.calaiswine.co.uk/banrock-station-shiraz-mataro

£2 at Calais, currently on offer at Sainsbury's for £6.50.

I use them because we are near the end our trip and can empty our fresh and grey water tanks beforehand and use the extra payload for the wine!
 
Jan 8, 2013
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We have just left Pidou with our summer stock of 6 crates. Good wine at £2.50 a bottle - on average. Exchange rate was €1.30 to the £

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Nov 11, 2013
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A few years ago we stayed t a gite in Normandy with some friends and the wether was horrid. One night we decided to have a rose wine tasting session, so bought quite a few bottles/plastic flagons from quite expensive to about a euro. After the first round of tastings the good stuff was much nicer than the cheapies, after the second round the gap had narrowed and from the third glass on every one tasted exactly the same! The moral is only buy a little of the good stuff to get you past the sober drinkings then go onto the rocket fuel and save a fortune!
 

denisejoe

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Last time we were in France (Christmas/New Year) we bought 5l box of a cabinet sauvignon from Auchan for €5.99! It was really good and wish we'd bought more. Bet we won't be able to get any more when we go over in June! We like boxes as we can just have a glass with dinner or have 2 or 3 during an evening.

Denise

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tonka

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Two sisters partial to a drink. First question, are they married. Second question, how old are they. Third question, would you like me as a brother in law :).

@Snowbird .. Dave.. Did I mention i have 5 SISTERS. ???
4 are "FOOTLOOSE"..... Takes a strong bloke to handle one of our lot.. :doh:
One will be in Benidorm soon with Irene for a week.. God help Cafe Benidorm..

Oh yea.. DRINK... Certain wineS can be a lot cheaper in Calais, Spirits seem to be as dear as UK..
 

snowdrops

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We've taken a liking to the gorgeous rose wines from Provence. A red lover by nature and hate the sickly rose stuff sold, but the aforementioned is stunning. We tend to stock a mega stash at the big supermarket in Montelimar before we head up. Bottles average 4 euro but get to double that as you go further up. Not sure if thats too far down ? The lady at the checkout crossed herself when saw the stash last time :giggler:
 

Graham and Jane

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We always use Carrefour at cite europe. They have a great selection of wine. And we stay overnight in car park. Never had a problem

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