# Buying wine in Roscoff



## lyonsie (7 Jul 2009)

Going to France for holiday.   We travel via Roscoff, and we were wondering if anyone knows of any good wine merchants or warehouse in the Roscoff area to buy wine.
Or between Nantes and Roscoff.


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## Eeek!!!! (7 Jul 2009)

Was here ([broken link removed]) a couple of weeks ago and was quite impressed. It's in the town of Roscoff.


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## Pee (7 Jul 2009)

My brother in law who is French recommends Auchaun (spelling??) supermarkets for wine, he reckons u get a better deal for simialr wine.


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## Padraigb (7 Jul 2009)

It depends on how interested in wine you are. As a general rule, the quality in supermarkets is below that in specialist outlets -- but it's not bad, and it tends to be a bit cheaper, so the value for money can be good.

I was in the place recommended by Eeek!!!!, and I was a bit disappointed, mainly because the tasting opportunities were limited. I usually travel through Cherbourg, and very much like the Normandie Wine Warehouse there.

[It's Auchan.]


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## lyonsie (8 Jul 2009)

Looked up that wine & beer warehouse!!!!!  Also found wine & beer supermarket and wine-centre in Roscoff.   Looking through a sample of the wines they had to offer, I think the 'Wine-Centre' had the better selection of wines.
Anyone been here before, I know they are all much of a muchness.   Went to one in a shopping centre in Cherbourg last year and found a good few that were to our liking!!!   But that chain do not have any outlets in Brittany.
We will be on the look out on our travels for anything nice, but don't want to be carrying cases around for a few weeks.
Any other suggestions out there.   We will be staying in Royan for 2 weeks, and about 15 mins north of La Rochelle for another 2 weeks.   Any good vineyards in the area worth noting.   We will trip around Bordeaux for a day or so, so any vineyards of note in that area (I know there are a lot of them) would be welcome.
Thanks.


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## babaduck (8 Jul 2009)

If you're going down to Nantes, there's a huge branch of Auchan just outside Saint Nazaire which is just fabulous for wine.  Last year we stayed in La Baule when Auchan were having their wine fair and the bargains were incredible.  Sign up for one of their loyalty cards for even more savings (you can borrow mine if you like - you don't get any benefit like Tesco points as all the offers are at point of purchase).

I wouldn't consider the outlets in Roscoff to be any great shakes, and the supermarket selections in Intermarche etc. locally are p*ss poor as well.

The one you're thinking of in Cherbourg is Wine & Beer World beside Carrefour - they have nothing over in Western Normandy or Brittany as they cater to the English (being a subsidiary of Majestic Wines).


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## lyonsie (8 Jul 2009)

I will look out for the Auchan supermarkets, the larger ones especially.   I have shopped in them and I have with all the others too, super-u, intermarche......
The larger the supermarkets the larger the wine section will be I presume.


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## mufc77 (11 Jul 2009)

http://www.winebeersupermarket.com/

superb, there are plenty of bottles open for you to taste also.

of the chains, i recommend http://www.e-leclerc.com/morlaix/ .  This branch is in Morlaix which is around 15 mins drive from the port.  It is a bigger, better and cheaper than the e-leclerc near the port.

if you bring a sat nav you will find this supermarche easily.

when i think of the name of the wine we always buy a lot of i will post it.  was 2.70 in eleclerc at the port, and on offer of 2 in the bigger place in morlaix


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## mangos (14 Jul 2009)

Hi

How difficult is it bringing the wine back to Ireland?  Does one have to have a customs form?

Mangos


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## Protocol (14 Jul 2009)

Within the EU, you can import as much alcohol duty-paid as you like.

As long as it's for personal consumption.


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## Padraigb (14 Jul 2009)

It's very easy, no forms required. There is no strict limit on the import of wine for personal consumption. Customs and Excise use 80 litres as a rule of thumb, but there is a bit of room for argument about that. I sometimes bring in a bit (not a lot) more than that when travelling alone, and make no effort to suggest that it is less. Not a problem. They are more interested in cigarettes and tobacco (the tobacco limit is 1 kilo).

One thing to be careful of is weight. Eighty litres of wine weigh about 80 kilos, but the bottles are heavier than the wine they contain.


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## Vanilla (14 Jul 2009)

Have been bringing wine back to ireland for years now from france and have never been stopped by customs. 

Auchan, E Leclerc or any of the big supermarkets usually have a good selection. Or watch out for a 'foir au vin', wine fair sign up for any supermarket when you will get even better bargains.


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## Padraigb (14 Jul 2009)

Vanilla said:


> Have been bringing wine back to ireland for years now from france and have never been stopped by customs. ...



One of the reasons you don't get stopped is that they are concentrating on people like me. They seem to be particularly interested in males travelling alone. It's never been a problem, though, just a short delay.

Herself will be with me on my next trip. I expect that I won't be stopped.


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## Tammy123 (3 Sep 2009)

_Have been bringing wine back to ireland for years now from france and have never been stopped by customs. 

Auchan, E Leclerc or any of the big supermarkets usually have a good selection. Or watch out for a 'foir au vin', wine fair sign up for any supermarket when you will get even better bargains.

_Any advice for shopping at the 'foir au vin' - might have an opportunity to do this later in the month?


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## minkydog (4 Sep 2009)

went over last May to cherbourg with a friend. Brought a Luton Box van with a tail lift. Heaved 3 large pallets of wine into the back of it. Funny thing was when we arrived in Cherbourg the coppers with thier AK47's wanted to check in the back of the van for any paddies we were stowing away....found nothing. But when we arrived back in Rosslare the customs asked us "are ye 2 irish lads", we said yes and she said "off you go then". They dont give a fig thank God. My shed out the back would give any decent pubs storeroom a run for its money.


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## Pee (4 Sep 2009)

Why would cucstoms want to know, if you buy within the EU and pay tax then thats you finished with the customs, isnt it?


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## Omega (8 Oct 2009)

On a wine trip to Roscoff recently, I heard of a case where a couple  travelling in a van was stopped by the police in the port - at check-in - and they were fined for having an overloaded vehicle. I don't know all the details but I think they had to surrender some of the wine, etc. to get the weight down to some lower level and then pay a reduced fine. 
Has anyone ever heard of this happening? I've travelled to France on many occasions over the years to buy wine (in a van) and have never come across such a situation. It can't be good for the local wine trade.....


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## Padraigb (8 Oct 2009)

I thought of posting again on this thread last week, as I  had just come back through Roscoff. As the season was coming to an end, I let it go -- but this thread might be pulled up again for next year, so here goes:
- As I predicted in an earlier post, I was not checked at Rosslare because Herself was with me.
- I used the Wine Beer Supermarket, and it wasn't bad. Plenty of tasting, knowledgeable staff, but the range of wines was not as wide as I would have liked -- mainly because they give a lot of space to non-French wines in which I have little interest.

I mentioned the weight question earlier in the thread because I once took home a bit more wine than was right for my car and I was alarmed at how handling (and especially braking) was affected. It was a pain driving home from Rosslare at a speed much below my normal habit. I am wiser now. Yet I regularly see people loading their vehicles up with what look like excessive weight. So I am pleased that the police are taking an interest. If your vehicle is unsafe, then you might be putting me in danger.


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## Omega (8 Oct 2009)

Padraigb said:


> .....the range of wines was not as wide as I would have liked -- mainly because they give a lot of space to non-French wines in which I have little interest.....


I agree; The problem is that many UK and Irish customers want new world wines and the warehouses have to cater for them. Personally, I prefer the Wine Center down the road from WBS, as it's a family business and I find them  more friendly.


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## Padraigb (8 Oct 2009)

I don't want to suggest that there is anything wrong with new world wines (or Italian or German wines either). For me, the issue is that there are so many wines available, and it is unreasonably difficult to work through everything in order to decide what I would like. It could also be very expensive, and might cause wine-drinking to become a problem rather than a pleasure. So I know a little about French wines, and I know what appeals to my palate, and that's enough for me.

I divide my wine-buying into two categories, _vin de table_ and _bons vins_. For _vin de table_, I tend to buy 10l boxes -- very good value for money, and also good weight-to-product ratio, as the box weighs very little. I bought some boxes at about €20, which is roughly equivalent to €1.50 a bottle. The _bons vins_ averaged about €8 a bottle: that's not dirt-cheap, but we are talking about fairly good stuff. The real value of buying bottled wine in France is that you get much better wine for the money.

I suspect that Californian, Australian, and Chilean wines are less good value simply because of the cost of shipping them such vast distances.


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## Tammy123 (26 Jan 2010)

Can anyone advise when the spring fairs happen in the supermarkets?  Are they a smaller version of the Autumn (Sept/Oct) 'foires'?


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