Booze cruise to France for wine - worth it? 26 April 2017 at 4:01PM edited 26 April 2017 at 4:04PM in Weddings & anniversaries 10 replies 20.8K views

KateySW

Has anyone here ever done a booze cruise to France to stock up on wine for their wedding? I saw it in a magazine article recently which had tips about how to save money on your wedding. Some of the advice was a bit naff but I am very tempted by this idea - apparently the average saving could be close to £4 a bottle! :eek:

We're getting married in a barn and there's no corkage fee, so it seems like a good idea... but if anyone has any advice to give on where to go, how much they saved etc, that would be really helpful.
Thanks! :beer:

nimbo

I'm intrigued by the idea too - but I wouldn't be buying expensive stuff so am wondering...

I also want a super small wifi g so don't know how much wine I'd even want to be buying.

KateySW

It has definitely got me interested. My wedding party is for about 80 people (give or take as haven't sent invites out yet) so I reckon it might be worth it.

This might be of interest - in my researching last night, I came across this website https://www.calaiswine.co.uk/shopping-with-us/shopping-with-us-is-easy/ Apparently they offer you free travel on the Eurotunnel or ferry if you commit to buying at least £250 worth of wine! Sounds like a lot but I reckon I'd get a lot more for my money with that. If anyone has done this, I'd be really interested to hear about it

DigForVictory

The three caveats to an otherwise fun weekend away I'd suggest are to have proof it's for a wedding (so take a copy of the banns, &/or an invite along with), to be very certain you do not overload whatever vehicle you take & to have very thorough security. We still have free movements of goods currently, but a bit of reassuring evidence you are not supplying the local wine shops is always helpful so that'll please Customs. The vehicle overloading is a police matter, so "know your limits" & stick to them. Finally after all that driving & sampling & loading, keep it looking as family break innocuous as you can rather than "high value alcohol, please break a window" or worse.

Also if you need recovery, check you have the sort that shifts you passengers & vehicle to garage of your choice as unloading all that fun into a hastily sourced hire car at the roadside is just a Bad Idea.

My cousin took her horsebox over to Calais. She described the drive back as being straightforward but while still being legitimately loaded, the box handled like she had two Shires aboard. A test drive with all the soft drink you think advisable may help you gauge whether the vehicle will cooperate?

Have a wonderful time!

davetrousers

Depends on how much it costs to get to Calais

In my experience, French wine is (can be) very good value, international wines and spirits there is no real saving over Tesco.

I used to get cherry jaffa cakes too but just go to a Polish shop for these now.

DCFC79

There's also Majestic Calais, you can sample wines and if you wanted to sample wines that are Calais specific you need to give them notice. Reading the aebsite you can click, collect and pay the price in euros.

Theres also the French Hypermarkets you could buy a couple of bottles, sample them in your hotel room then buy the number you need.

The Calais wine option or Majestic Calais would be easier, Majestic can provide help with choosing the wine.

Gloomendoom

KateySW wrote: »

Has anyone here ever done a booze cruise to France to stock up on wine for their wedding? I saw it in a magazine article recently which had tips about how to save money on your wedding. Some of the advice was a bit naff but I am very tempted by this idea - apparently the average saving could be close to £4 a bottle! :eek:

We're getting married in a barn and there's no corkage fee, so it seems like a good idea... but if anyone has any advice to give on where to go, how much they saved etc, that would be really helpful.
Thanks! :beer:

We did and have done fairly frequent trips to keep the cellar stocked ever since. Last one was a few days before Christmas.

We use the Calais Wine Superstore as they will pay for your crossing and buy you lunch with wine if your order is big enough. Ordering through Topcashback brings further savings.

You can taste the wine and amend your order as required when you get there.

davetrousers wrote: »

In my experience, French wine is (can be) very good value, international wines and spirits there is no real saving over Tesco.

We buy almost exclusively New World wine and find the savings are considerable compared to UK supermarkets. Would agree about spirits: no real saving over UK prices for popular brands. If you are after something more specialist, champagne brandy, for example, there are savings to be made. You may need to look elsewhere, away from the big booze warehouses though. We use Boursot's in nearby Ardres.

KateySW

Brilliant advice all, thanks very much! I'm probably just going to get wine really, we'll have a bar set up for spirits, won't be free unfortunately but at least the wine will be!

Need to try to make sure I'll have enough room in the car for all the bottles now :eek: I hadn't thought of that but it's a very important point, thanks!! Might have to bribe my mum to go along with me as she has a much more roomy (and sturdier!) car. The Calais wine superstore sounds like a great shout if they pay for the crossing. I might pop in to Carrefour too, just to stock up on cheese!

Cheers everyone!

gettingtheresometime

Don't Tesco have a wine promotion every May?

Gloomendoom

KateySW wrote: »

The Calais wine superstore sounds like a great shout if they pay for the crossing.

https://www.calaiswine.co.uk/travel-offers/compare-travel-offers

Remember to check the cashback sites for deals though. From memory, we got nearly £40 back with our last order.

benjus

Probably a bit late now, but we bought our wine from here: http://www.boursot.co.uk/weddings.html

Nice personal service from the owner and a well-chosen set of wines. Ardres is a nice little town, feels very different to Calais.