Mean bloke looking for expensive champagne cheap
Ted_Bloke
Forumite 24.9K Posts
For Christmas I wanted to surprise some Parisian French friends with a gift of Champagne. But not the stuff they make in Champagne which is in France and in which they are drowning. No, I wanted to send them some of our superior English Champagne, for an education. Only I had a quick looked at the producer I knew, and the prices are English aargh, no doubt including every ridiculous tax. And then they are silly on top of that.
Then I thought isn't Waitrose in France now, but I didn't in a browse find something suitable, so then I thought, what about those gigantic stores for cross-Channel travelers in Calais, and I looked at one and they have equally ridiculously low-priced stuff from New Zealand etc. that i don't know. I want a reliable reputable Engish one. And delivery in France. Well maybe I would be prepared to pay something for that.
But still as little as possible!
It looks best to buy in France, but rather a niche product I guess, anyone know where?
Then I thought isn't Waitrose in France now, but I didn't in a browse find something suitable, so then I thought, what about those gigantic stores for cross-Channel travelers in Calais, and I looked at one and they have equally ridiculously low-priced stuff from New Zealand etc. that i don't know. I want a reliable reputable Engish one. And delivery in France. Well maybe I would be prepared to pay something for that.
But still as little as possible!
It looks best to buy in France, but rather a niche product I guess, anyone know where?
Sorry my posts so long - not time write shorter ones.
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Firstly, only wine from the Champagne region of france can be called champagne - anything that claims otherwise is lying (see here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champagne) - so you can't have English Champagne, as it simply doesn't exist.
IF you want something similar to Champagne, perhaps go for a bottle of Prosecco, or even a Cava. Both can be picked up in supermarkets, (Aldi's cava has won awards for its taste).
Why not order some sparking wine (English or otherwise) over here and have it shipped over? France is only over the channel, and some will get it to you in a matter of hours.
The "English Champagne" you've seen will either be imported French champagne, or most likely a sparkling wine equivalent.
If you're really stuck, why not visit a wine retailer? There's a few thousand online, most of whom deliver across Europe.
Most of the major supermarkets do have English sparkling in stock but not sure if they can ship to France. And I've no idea if shops in France have started to stock English bubbles. I reckon have a look at some of the vineyards directly and see if they'll ship. Chapel Down, Nyetimber and Denbies are all good. Look for dry sparkles with second fermentation in bottle (or champagne method)
http://www.three-choirs-vineyards.co.uk/wine/wines/
:rotfl:Loss needed to get to target NONE!!! TARGET MEMBER
I can find some of the recommendeds at Waitrose. They do not deliver outside the UK. There are a number of companies specialising in delivery to expats in France, but either they have their own selection of products or they don't deliver to a home address there or to anywhere conveniently near.
I should say I am not in the UK or France ATM to organise delivery in person. I thought it could be a long search to find a solution, now I've now spent some time on, that's why I'm asking here if anyone has done this.
A couple of the English sites mentioned do offer international shipping but the prices seem a bit high and probably not efficient for your moneysaving ways. However the offer here seems pretty damn good
http://www.courtgarden.com/buy-sparkling-wines.html
However, I've never heard of the wine or tasted it.
Wine direct have some good options but a bit more expensive
http://www.winedirect.co.uk/international-delivery
oh and I just had a play around with this site
https://www.hambledonvineyard.co.uk/
I entered France delivery for a single bottle and it said £10 5-7 days. Although it was a bit of a fiddle. But my folks just tried some of the hambledon stuff recently and said they really liked it.
Hope this helps
B
http://www.majesticwinecalais.co.uk/services/delivery
Thank you. In the meantime before your posts I had located a very few possibilities, it was a matter of finding the right search terms. Basically the idea of sending English wines to France seems to be considered against nature, so sites etc. are not very geared to it. Often the sites are not that clear or reassuring. For winedirect there was a rigmarole about registering, they could not take an order because we had to wait 4 days for a number to come through, and the best they could offer was maybe delivery by New Year. Not impressive. Another London wine merchant has minimum order £100 and then and additional £25 for delivery. From Calais it ought to be cheaper but majestic does not have any English wine on their list that I could see.
Instead I have used one you suggested and that I hadn't turned up in my searches: Court Garden. I don't know these wines (how many of us are into fine ratings of Champagnes this much?) but they appear to have won medals, they must be decent. Anyway it's the thought that counts, I wanted to give and show my French friends some English Champagne at Christmas that can probably stand comparison with what they are used to. Their site is straightforward and they appear to be really on the ball for transport and customer needs. All their sparklings are about £25 per bottle and delivery is only £12, in about 3-5 days; all others I saw were twice that for longer times, in fact already too late. In the UK for a few bottles delivery is really rapid and free - so for people realising now it's late they may be worth looking at.
So I ordered by phone 3 bottles for France last Saturday, and after I heard the courier had collected them I've ordered some more for my family in the UK.