# Worth a trip to Cherbourg for cheap beer/wine?



## Humpback

I've seen some brief mentions of such a trip on the forum, and there's not much coming up having done a search.

I'm thinking of doing this with a car or van on the October bank holiday. There's an Irish Ferries trip for €250 designed especially for this kind of thing.

Has anyone here done such a thing? And was it worth it? Or should I just blag a Cash&Carry card and save the travel?

Any thoughts, comments, experiences would be appreciated.


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## Leo

Some wines can be significantly cheaper alright. I believe if you bring back more than 10 cases that you may be asked to proove it's for personal consumption in order to avoid excise. Find links of a couple of the shops near the port and check out their prices. Many of these places will take advance orders, so will have everything there ready for you when you arrive.

I called into a few of these places on the way back to Roscoff after a driving holiday a couple of years ago. I have links to a coupe of places there, and you can get the likes of Guigal's Cote Du Rhone for less than €7 a bottle, it's about €12.50 here! You're not going to save that much on beer, better off with stocking up on the supermarket special offers.
Leo


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## DrMoriarty

Agreed. Up North for beer, o'er the sea only for significant quantities of good wine (or better still Champagne/Cognac, etc.)


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## Alan Moore

*Curious now.....*

.... would be perfect coming up to Chrimbo.

Where did you see the 250 deal?


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## Omega

see this and other threads on the Wineroom for info on buying wine in La belle France.....

[broken link removed]


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## Mourinho

Cash and carring aint much cheaper for beer in my experience that the offers in your local off licence...


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## beetroot

I'm going over in two weeks time, getting all my wine & sparking wine for my wedding, will let you know how I get on. Bit worried about weight... Should a renault megane 1.6 be able to take 15/20 cases of wine????


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## Mac

France is definitely great value for wine, but I recommend you avoid most wine "warehouses" in Cherbourg, who stock overpriced poor quality wine. Most of the names you won't even recognise.

I took the trip last year through Cherbourg --> Bordeaux --> Loire Valley --> Paris --> Cherbourg.

The irish ferries boat was far from luxurious, and is by far the lowlight of the trip!

However, the supermarket leclerc is fantastic for wine (and you can find staff that are extremely knowledgeable and offer loads of advice). There is one in Cherbourg, but it's a grim port town and is best to head further a fields, for example Nantes. I bought most of my wine there last October. They also have an annual  wine sale in late sept  / early october, similar to Superquinn's november wine sale, with reductions in vin d'pays to the cru classe wines. Remember though, supermarkets in France don't open Sundays.

http://www.e-leclerc.com

All in all a great trip.

Mac.

p.s. as for the beer - I'd head to lidl


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## Mac

Took 250 bottles back in an Audi A4 saloon. you'll have no probs but don't buy much else!


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## joe sod

You would want to be bringing back an awful lot of alcohol to get back the €250. Its probably more of an adventure than a money saving exercise. It probably makes sense for people living in the South of England where the trip to calais is fairly cheap. Having said that I'd say if a bus company set up a bus trip to france for this purpose they would do well.


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## Vanilla

You're entitled to up to 90 litres of wine per person ( over 17) ( of which 60 litres of sparkling wine), which at approx 75 cl a bottle, means about 120 bottles of ordinary wine per person. Mr.V and I regularly go to France- at least once or twice a year to visit relatives and usually stock up on the way home. As Mac said, I would avoid the wine supermarkets near the ferry- and anything around Cherbourg or Roscoff- instead to to the nearest large city and find an E Leclerc- or if there is a wine fair at another supermarket, try there. There are wine specialists in all the larger supermarkets and they will let you taste if you are buying a large quantity and will give recommendations- we have yet to be steered wrongly. I think it is worth it as if you buy 240 bottles, you will save a good amount. At one memorable wine fair we picked up 7 cases of chateau neuf du pape at approx €9 per bottle ( which would retail here at a minimum of €20 and more like €25). A case has 6 bottles. Work that out! Also its easy enough to pick a wine in France- they will be labelled with gold and silver and bronze medals for prize winning wines and someone once told me that if you look for a label where it says bottled by the vineyard it can be a good sign as it means the vineyard is proud of that wine. But we don't just buy bottles at €9 or €10, I like muscadet ( not very fashionable I know)- and you can get a very nice bottle for maybe €3 or €4 or even less- I doubt you could pick up a gold medal muscadet  for less than €7 here. And I also like mousseaux, again not very fashionable ( and of course champagne is nicer) but it is very cheap. Although Aldi do a nice one at the moment too.


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## CCOVICH

Vanilla said:
			
		

> You're entitled to up to 90 litres of wine per person ( over 17)



This is a limit imposed by Irish customs or their French counterparts?

(The reason I ask is that I would find it strange if it were an Irish limit given our legal age for buying booze in this country is 18?????)


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## Vanilla

Hi Ccovich, think about it. Over 17 IS 18 ! 

By the way, I suppose whether you are really saving by going to France and buying wine really depends on whether you would be buying the same amount of wine in Ireland anyway. I.e. we bought chateauneuf du pape, but would we have bought it had we been at home? Doubtful...


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## CCOVICH

Vanilla said:
			
		

> Hi Ccovich, think about it. Over 17 IS 18 !


 
Not necessarily, but anyway (technically 17 years 3 monhs is over 17, the same way as someone who is 18 years an 1 day is over 18).  Given that the legal age for purchasing alcohol is 18 (and not over 17) I would have thought that it was more accurate to say that:

You're entitled to up to 90 litres of wine per person ( as long as you're 18 or older)


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## Vanilla

True, good point. I was quoting the Oasis guide which says over 17...

Lastwe travelled to France, we brought a trailer back due to V Jnr.s accoutrements, and I only narrowly persuaded Mr.V that we couldnt bring back an allowance for V Jnr too ( who is nowhere near 18..).


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## CCOVICH

Vanilla said:
			
		

> True, good point. I was quoting the Oasis guide which says over 17...
> 
> Lastwe travelled to France, we brought a trailer back due to V Jnr.s accoutrements, and I only narrowly persuaded Mr.V that we couldnt bring back an allowance for V Jnr too ( who is nowhere near 18..).


 
That's good responsible parenting  .  Shame on Mr. V for even thinking of such a scheme........

I'll take the 17/18 age thing up with the government (or whoever it is that runs OASIS)  .


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## philip o

Im travelling to Cherbourg on Sunday 2nd Oct with Irish Ferries €490 including cabins and van for 2 people. Im having problems finding a difinitive answer to whether the 90 litres is *per person.* In some places it says that a group travelling together cannot pool allowances. Has anyone got a definite answer to this. Even the Revenue cant give me a straight answer. The Normandie Wine warehouse has an excellent range of top class wines at good prices so why are people saying to avoid these instead of supermarkets. Generally supermarkets stock the cheaper lesser quality wines. Ill let you know it I get stopped by customs.


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## jem

philip o said:
			
		

> Im travelling to Cherbourg on Sunday 2nd Oct with Irish Ferries €490 including cabins and van for 2 people. Im having problems finding a difinitive answer to whether the 90 litres is *per person.* In some places it says that a group travelling together cannot pool allowances. Has anyone got a definite answer to this. Even the Revenue cant give me a straight answer. The Normandie Wine warehouse has an excellent range of top class wines at good prices so why are people saying to avoid these instead of supermarkets. Generally supermarkets stock the cheaper lesser quality wines. Ill let you know it I get stopped by customs.


If you get split the purchase in 2 and get two dockets , you own one your friend owns the then not grouped and no problem.
Myself and my brother went last weekend roslare to roscoff 2 person cabin and estate car with roof box( which we didn't need as it worked out)only cost a little ove 200 . so your 490 seems dear.
BYTW if you go into the Geant supermarket will u pick me up 5/10 of the boxes of drill bits over 200 for 29.99. I will sort you out when you come back.


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## paul24

We have completed about 5 trips at this stage. On our biggest trip we brought back 360 botles of wine in the back of the car (wedding). The front of the car was pointing at the clouds as there was that much weight in the back. 

None of our group were ever stopped by customs, and over the 5 trips that is approximately 30 different vehicles that would have passed by the customs.

The best value is in the Hypermarkets - Carrefour, Auchan or Leclerc. The other warehouses are more expensive than the hypermarkets.
The wines from the hypermarkets are of equally good quality and in some instances better that the warehouse.

The wine is significantly cheaper than at home and if you take out the travelling costs you are obviously making a saving. We look at the trip as a bit of a mini holiday and don't include the cost of the travel in the overall pricing.

It is always good fun if you travel with a few. It is a bit funny loading the checkout belt with only wine bottles and the boat rip over and back is always a good session.


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## Humpback

Thanks for all the responses/comments. Still kind of undecided after that. My main focus would have been beer.


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## Omega

Beer is almost as cheap here - if you look out for the offers in supermarkets, e.g. 24 33cl bottles for about euro 24.....
I've done the France run twice a year for years and have never been asked by Customs if I had exceeded the 90 litre limit. They did look in our van one time but they were looking for tobacco (or maybe immigrants!) and did not even glance at the masses of wine..... I've known people to bring 1,000 bottles in a van..... By the way, I think the 90 litres is per person.....


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## jem

beer:
24 bottles 25ml of stella- €8.50
30 bottles 25ml of kronenburg- €8.50
1 lt bottles of hineken €1.15
these were the approx costs last weekend.
I don't know of anywhere with these prices here.
james


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## euroDilbert

As I understand the law, there is no legal limit on the amount of wine you can import - as long as it is for personal use (i.e. not for resale commercially).
This is (or should be) guaranteed under EU law relating to free movement of goods.

The Revenue has an indicative limit of 90 litres per person. Above this amount you may be asked to show that it is for personal use. However, I have brought in varying amounts of wine, above 90 litres and have never been queried.

Below is an explanation from the Revenue webpage (I've used Google cache, as the direct link seems to be broken).

===================================================

*1. What are the Duty Free and Duty Paid allowance for Travellers? * 
 As and from 30 June, 1999, duty-free sales to travellers on *intra-Community* journeys will be abolished. This means that such travellers will no longer be able to purchase goods free of excise duty and VAT. Such purchases - with the exception of food, drink and tobacco products for on-board consumption - will now be subject to normal rates of excise duty and VAT. Duty-free sales will, however, continue for passengers travelling to destinations outside the EU. Further information can be found in the [broken link removed]. 

No additional duty or tax will be charged on goods bought duty and tax paid (e.g. in shops, supermarkets etc.) in another EU country, provided the goods are for your personal use.

If your purchases are equivalent to or less than the quantities shown in the table they will, generally speaking, be regarded as for personal use. If you exceed these quantities you may have to show that the goods are for your personal use.

*GOODS* *MAXIMUM QUANTITY*

Cigarettes        800        

Cigarillos         400        

Cigars        200        

Smoking Tobacco        1kg        

Spirits (whiskey, gin, vodka, etc.)        10 litres        

Intermediate Products (e.g. port, sherry,etc.

but not including sparkling *wine*)        20 litres        

*Wine* (of which only 60 litres can be sparkling)        90 litres        

Beer        110 litres

*TRAVELLERS UNDER 17 ARE NOT ENTITLED TO TOBACCO OR DRINKS ALLOWANCES.*


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## dosfromclare

A word of warning ...Don't risk the €99 "4 hours at the port" trip, I did it twice, Dec 2003 worked out ok, but Oct 2004 had only 40 minutes as the boat was delayed by rough weather (different story) and was sticking to the original return departure time from Cherbourg. I have concerns about the current employment ethics of Irish Ferries also. Found Auchan to be the better of the Hypermarkets. Carrefour prices are listed on [broken link removed]click the link "Entrer dans le magasin sans s'identifier" and you will see Cave au vin link after the next page I think.


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## philip o

Im just back from Cherbourg and it was a worthwhile we trip. Here are a few tips.

My  Toyota Avensis hatchback carried 25 cases of wine with roof box taking personal belongings.

I went o Normandie Wine Warehouse, got list from website and faxed over my order. He had it ready on a pallet when I arrived. This saved loads of time searching through boxes and possibly missing something or buying on impulse. 
www.normandiewine.com.

Supermarket (Carrefoure) stocked cheaper wines but not the same quality. Wine world cater for the English Market. Cheaper wines and all priced in £STG.

Beer is hardly worth bothering about as there is very little savings except for Stella Artois @€8.95 for 24 25cl bottles.

Two brandy and ports cost €17.50 on the ferry!!! 1 Litre of Brandy Cost €27 in the shop on ferry. You guessed right...the rest of the brandies worked out a lot cheaper!!!!!! I didnt see the sign that read "only alcohol bought here can be consumed in this area" until it was too late....for Irish Ferries.

We got a very reasonable hotel close to everything for only €55 for two people.


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## Whattodo

Hi all,

Just been lookin into this for the Crimbo. See [broken link removed] with trips from €167 for a car + 2 people.

Info on limits, etc.

Thanks for all the info on this post, very interesting.


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## Firefly

Went to Roscoff last month and managed to get 40 cases  into my 3 series (which isn't the biggest on the boot front)..told the missus that anything she wanted to bring over for the weekend had to fit under her feet!

Went to the wineandbeersupermaket and found it very good. Went to a Super U supermarket too and they had a good selection but it's a bit messy buying single bottles. They had a cracking offer on Cotes du Rhone though - 6 bottles for 8 yoyo and it's gorgeous for mid-week drinking .  

We had 6 hours in Roscoff and found it ample. If you are looking for a superb restaurant check out L'Egumes du Jour..in Roscoff harbour...we had scallops, duck, cheese board and some Chablis for 27pp and it was top class.

Also well worth buying is pate/terrine and coffee in the Super U - way cheaper than here.

We paid 265 for our ferry as it was an extra tenner for an upper deck cabin which I defo recommend....you'd spend that on a weekend away here.

Will be going back again next year!

Firefly.


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## brian.mobile

I did a trip before, but the depressing crossing on the Normandie put a nail in my wine casket.

Never again on that coffin ship!

They even have a bunch of hanging baskets in the Mollie Malone's Bar - very clever on a boat.

BM


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## Trent

joe sod said:


> You would want to be bringing back an awful lot of alcohol to get back the €250.


 
Apart from the fact that you need to be buying vast quantities of beer / wine to justify the €250, what about the fuel costs on both sides? An even greater cost is the time required to invest in something like this. Attribute an hourly rate to your time and watch the losses build up. Absolute madness in my opinion (unless you enjoy carting tonnes of stuff a few hundred miles in a car and on a horrible ferry). 

How many hours does a trip like this take? (Including planning?)

Makes an awful lot more sense to ship wines in from France / South Africa / other countries.


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## Leo

€250 is pretty easy to make up. Even just buying cheap Guigal Cote du Rhone, selling for €12.50 in Superquinn, you need just over two cases to make the saving. It's less than €7 a bottle there. considering you could easily get 10+ cases into a mid size car, that's quite a saving. 

Having said that. I've only ever done the overnight Cork-Roscoff route, so you can sleep most of the journey anyway.
Leo


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## babaduck

I am a huge fan of the Ireland/France run - this time we spent 2 weeks in Normandy & stuffed the car to the gills with wine, beer, food & Christmas pressies (yes, I am disgustingly organised).

We saved an absolute fortune compared to Irish prices, even deducting the cost of the crossing - especially in the wine & fizz area.  If we'd a van instead of my car, we would have brought back even more beer.  But even still, it was HALF the price of what we pay at home in Tesco etc.

As for crossings, I much preferred the Cork/Roscoff run with Brittany Ferries compared to that cesspool of hell known as the MV Normandy with Irish Ferries... it is rank!

However, Cherbourg is a great place for shopping - Wine & Beer World in the Carrefour S/C is great, as is Carrefour itself, also Auchan about 10 mins drive away.  I've stayed in the Hotel Ambassadeur twice & it's great value for money, with plenty of good restaurants in the vicinity

Roscoff, there's plenty of supermarkets & wine outlets within 10 mins drive of the port.  I would recommed www.winebeersupermarket.com - great selection & v. reasonably prices


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