'It makes sense to stock up if you're taking the car'
With tax and duty in the UK now accounting for more than half the cost of a £4.99 bottle of wine, it must make sense to stock up if you're taking the car to mainland Europe. But what's the best way to do it?
In France, the European country I know best, local co-operatives are a good starting point. At the co-op in the southern Languedoc town of Florensac the other week, for example, you could buy a 10-litre box of rosé for €16.80. That's the equivalent of €1.23 for a standard bottle, or £1.06 at the current exchange rate.
Supermarkets have similar bargains, though if you're not buying local wines, they also have a lot of dross. I'd much rather buy from small independents and pop-up shops that open for the summer. The Cave à Vins on the Marseillan road out of Agde, say, sells the excellent *Domaine la Grangette l'Enfant Terrible Picpoul de Pinet* (12.5% abv) for €5.60 (£4.83), or less than half what you'd pay back home. (Check wine-searcher.com for UK stockists.)
Going direct to the producer can be tricky, particularly if you make an appointment and subsequently decide not to buy, so it may be easier to handle a foire aux vins (wine fair), where there are a number of producers to choose from. Or visit a producer whose wines you already know. Bruno Sorg in Alsace is one personal favourite.
Then there's always Calais and its environs, where Majestic and the Wine Society still have outposts (in the latter's case, in Montreuil). Their range is more limited than it is in the UK if you turn up on spec, though you can pick up other wines if you order at least a week ahead.
The Society's prices are at least £18 a dozen cheaper, plus, if you order in advance, an extra €3 off an unsplit case. And the wines don't have to be French. That would bring the robust, spicy* Vranac Montenegro Dry Red* (13% abv), already well priced at £6.95, down to £5.18 a bottle if you pre-order, and the deliciously limey *Tyrrells Old Winery Verdelho 2012 *(12% abv) down from £8.50 to £6.69.
Majestic is even cheaper if you are looking for bargains. At the time of writing, Torres's very serviceable light, creamy *Viña Sol 2012* (11.5% abv), for instance, was €4.18 a bottle if you buy two or more bottles, though the store's website showed the sterling equivalent of that as £3.49, rather than the £3.61 on my currency converter. Still great value.
matchingfoodandwine.com
Photograph: Katherine Rose Reported by guardian.co.uk 1 day ago.
With tax and duty in the UK now accounting for more than half the cost of a £4.99 bottle of wine, it must make sense to stock up if you're taking the car to mainland Europe. But what's the best way to do it?
In France, the European country I know best, local co-operatives are a good starting point. At the co-op in the southern Languedoc town of Florensac the other week, for example, you could buy a 10-litre box of rosé for €16.80. That's the equivalent of €1.23 for a standard bottle, or £1.06 at the current exchange rate.
Supermarkets have similar bargains, though if you're not buying local wines, they also have a lot of dross. I'd much rather buy from small independents and pop-up shops that open for the summer. The Cave à Vins on the Marseillan road out of Agde, say, sells the excellent *Domaine la Grangette l'Enfant Terrible Picpoul de Pinet* (12.5% abv) for €5.60 (£4.83), or less than half what you'd pay back home. (Check wine-searcher.com for UK stockists.)
Going direct to the producer can be tricky, particularly if you make an appointment and subsequently decide not to buy, so it may be easier to handle a foire aux vins (wine fair), where there are a number of producers to choose from. Or visit a producer whose wines you already know. Bruno Sorg in Alsace is one personal favourite.
Then there's always Calais and its environs, where Majestic and the Wine Society still have outposts (in the latter's case, in Montreuil). Their range is more limited than it is in the UK if you turn up on spec, though you can pick up other wines if you order at least a week ahead.
The Society's prices are at least £18 a dozen cheaper, plus, if you order in advance, an extra €3 off an unsplit case. And the wines don't have to be French. That would bring the robust, spicy* Vranac Montenegro Dry Red* (13% abv), already well priced at £6.95, down to £5.18 a bottle if you pre-order, and the deliciously limey *Tyrrells Old Winery Verdelho 2012 *(12% abv) down from £8.50 to £6.69.
Majestic is even cheaper if you are looking for bargains. At the time of writing, Torres's very serviceable light, creamy *Viña Sol 2012* (11.5% abv), for instance, was €4.18 a bottle if you buy two or more bottles, though the store's website showed the sterling equivalent of that as £3.49, rather than the £3.61 on my currency converter. Still great value.
matchingfoodandwine.com
Photograph: Katherine Rose Reported by guardian.co.uk 1 day ago.