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Post by rabbit on Oct 31, 2022 9:46:33 GMT 1
Any cave à vin will sell wine in cardboard or wooden boxes
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Post by traveller on Oct 31, 2022 11:09:22 GMT 1
Buy the wine you want, stick it in a cardboard box and stuff paper around the bottles. Job done. And buy some decent parcel tape to seal the boxes. My husband has the calculation of what can be imported and what will fit in our car down to a fine art, including several wine boxes which we find very good value and good quality. |
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Post by annabellespapa on Oct 31, 2022 11:13:29 GMT 1
Hi JD, I use the bottle bags, that I used to get for free from UK supermarkets when you bought six bottles, I have about 8 and take them with me to the French supermarkets, the checkout staff always comment that they are a good idea.
I have been to the wine cave at Ouistreham, they have a front and back entrance, so you can't miss it, just after the last petrol station, go to the next island and take the first exit and it is up there about 1/2 a mile on the left. You can reserve online but you are taking a bit of a gamble if you don't know what you are looking for.
I go early to our local Lidl, the trolley they use to re-stock the shelves has the wine in boxes on the trolley so I just help myself.
Don't make the mistake I used to make, the boxes are called Cartons not Boites.
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suein56
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Southern Morbihan 56
Posts: 6,526
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Post by suein56 on Oct 31, 2022 13:52:32 GMT 1
go and ask the assistant on the wine aisle for boxes I tried that in one Intermarche and one L'eclerc and they both said .......NON  As Anabelle'spapa said . . don't ask for 'boîtes' ask for 'cartons'. Don't forget to say 'Bonjour' first and ask for (her) help before launching into your request. |
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Post by specsavers2 on Oct 31, 2022 14:32:21 GMT 1
Our guy that works in our local le clerc is always very helpful.
If he has boxes in the store room he generally will help.
As Sue says’ a wee bonjour and requesting and thanking helps a lot.
He is happy to look for empty boxes if he doesn’t have any full boxes out back.
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Post by annabellespapa on Oct 31, 2022 16:29:49 GMT 1
I remember the wine fairs of twenty years ago, we had friends who had a B&B in Normandie but would offer meals with wine included, they would go to the supermarket and buy a years worth of cheap plonk in one go (about 1200 bottles)in those days the more you bought the cheaper it got or the more free bottles included, a full trailer load, as the wine was drunk he would put the empty bottles back into the boxes in the trailer and on his way to the next years wine fair he would drop it all off at the bottle bank.
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Post by annabellespapa on Oct 31, 2022 16:46:54 GMT 1
I have been to the wine cave at Ouistreham, they have a front and back entrance, so you can't miss it, just after the last petrol station, go to the next island and take the first exit and it is up there about 1/2 a mile on the left. You can reserve online but you are taking a bit of a gamble if you don't know what you are looking for. The petrol station also sells wine by the box, in fact as you fill up a guy sometimes gives you a voucher for 10% off, never used it as I am normally fully loaded. The wine on BF is good they did an Argentinian Malbec at £3.50 a bottle which was good, buy it by the case, give them your reg number and they will stack behind your car... or they did do. La Vielle Ferme wine, available at Waitrose at £7'ish a bottle is available on the same deal about £3.50. |
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Nifty
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Posts: 3,756
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Post by Nifty on Nov 2, 2022 9:58:47 GMT 1
I think the thing about wine is that is so variable; a bit like people.
The only solution is to keep testing it with the utmost vigilance.
Not all wine travels or keeps well. it may better to drink it asap.
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Post by omegal on Nov 2, 2022 13:34:30 GMT 1
I remember the wine fairs of twenty years ago, we had friends who had a B&B in Normandie but would offer meals with wine included, they would go to the supermarket and buy a years worth of cheap plonk in one go (about 1200 bottles)in those days the more you bought the cheaper it got or the more free bottles included, a full trailer load, as the wine was drunk he would put the empty bottles back into the boxes in the trailer and on his way to the next years wine fair he would drop it all off at the bottle bank. Blimey that's a lot for a B&B but of course it was a table d'hotes and some could go through many bottles in a year. As a restaurant we had all our alcohol and wines delivered, one big point is that if one carries more than so many litres in your own vehicule you will need a facture from the supplier but it meant even then you could only carry so much wine, I forget the actual regs as its over 15 yeas since we sold up and retired. |
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Post by cernunnos on Nov 2, 2022 13:59:25 GMT 1
I remember the wine fairs of twenty years ago, we had friends who had a B&B in Normandie but would offer meals with wine included, they would go to the supermarket and buy a years worth of cheap plonk in one go (about 1200 bottles)in those days the more you bought the cheaper it got or the more free bottles included, a full trailer load, as the wine was drunk he would put the empty bottles back into the boxes in the trailer and on his way to the next years wine fair he would drop it all off at the bottle bank. Blimey that's a lot for a B&B but of course it was a table d'hotes and some could go through many bottles in a year. As a restaurant we had all our alcohol and wines delivered, one big point is that if one carries more than so many litres in your own vehicule you will need a facture from the supplier but it meant even then you could only carry so much wine, I forget the actual regs as its over 15 yeas since we sold up and retired. Private transport of wine in France maximum is 90 litres. |
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Post by annabellespapa on Nov 2, 2022 14:02:13 GMT 1
I remember the wine fairs of twenty years ago, we had friends who had a B&B in Normandie but would offer meals with wine included, they would go to the supermarket and buy a years worth of cheap plonk in one go (about 1200 bottles)in those days the more you bought the cheaper it got or the more free bottles included, a full trailer load, as the wine was drunk he would put the empty bottles back into the boxes in the trailer and on his way to the next years wine fair he would drop it all off at the bottle bank. Blimey that's a lot for a B&B but of course it was a table d'hotes and some could go through many bottles in a year. As a restaurant we had all our alcohol and wines delivered, one big point is that if one carries more than so many litres in your own vehicule you will need a facture from the supplier but it meant even then you could only carry so much wine, I forget the actual regs as its over 15 yeas since we sold up and retired. They also sold up a few years ago and now live the "Good Life" quite literally in East Anglia as I think their success and the amount of returning customers and the late nights was affecting their health, good fun to visit but I wouldn't want to live it. |
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Post by omegal on Nov 2, 2022 17:25:09 GMT 1
Blimey that's a lot for a B&B but of course it was a table d'hotes and some could go through many bottles in a year. As a restaurant we had all our alcohol and wines delivered, one big point is that if one carries more than so many litres in your own vehicule you will need a facture from the supplier but it meant even then you could only carry so much wine, I forget the actual regs as its over 15 yeas since we sold up and retired. Private transport of wine in France maximum is 90 litres. Yes from memory around that amount but you must ensure you can offer proof that every bottle in your car/van etc is not for business use. For restos we just had to show the sellers/cave facture and the quantity were as per the facture but as I said for the most part it was delivered, or we would go to our preferred '"caviste" to collect a box or two. |
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Post by beejay on Nov 3, 2022 18:35:23 GMT 1
I have been to the wine cave at Ouistreham, they have a front and back entrance, so you can't miss it, just after the last petrol station, go to the next island and take the first exit and it is up there about 1/2 a mile on the left. You can reserve online but you are taking a bit of a gamble if you don't know what you are looking for. The petrol station also sells wine by the box, in fact as you fill up a guy sometimes gives you a voucher for 10% off, never used it as I am normally fully loaded. The wine on BF is good they did an Argentinian Malbec at £3.50 a bottle which was good, buy it by the case, give them your reg number and they will stack behind your car... or they did do. La Vielle Ferme wine, available at Waitrose at £7'ish a bottle is available on the same deal about £3.50.
Aldi UK are selling an Argentine Malbec for £3.79 I wonder if it's the same one. Lidl UK sell a USA Malbec for £4.79 and an Argentine Malbec for £5.95. The US version is my preferre choice.
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Post by annabellespapa on Nov 4, 2022 11:53:29 GMT 1
Lidl France sells a Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon for €1.99 (sometimes even cheaper), which is quite drinkable, haven't tried Aldi or Lidl in the Uk for a while but have been impressed with some of their South American and Australian wines in the past.
Malbec is one of my favourites.
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Post by cernunnos on Nov 4, 2022 18:09:34 GMT 1
Living in the second largest wine producing country in the world , I prefer French wine , for one obvious reason .  |
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