Booze cruise worth it...?

I regularly buy my wine in france. Cherbourg in september went to normandy wines as usual, but I'm ashamed to say carrefour were doing some outstanding deals, so purchased there.Taxi back to boat plus tip less than 20e. dieppe auchan short taxi ride. Just been over to calais wine, free deal over 300e wine ,order online ready and waiting. Stopped at dover on way back not a word about 30 cases of wine in boot.
 
You have to like French wine.
Some I've bought over there tends to disappoint when you're at home, despite being very enjoyable in a restaurant in France.
Other stuff is great.
Beer can be good value.
Breton cidre is nice and comically cheap, but does not keep more than a few months it seems.
So I think you have to know your wines, and what your guests will like.
I go to St Vaast, but often come back with only a few bottles from M Gosselin, I go for the trip over and the meal out.
But then my first choice in wine is usually Chilean....


PS, don't forget the Calvados....
 
Twister_Ken said:
...OTOH, a friend of my daughter got married last year. Her father did the rounds of his local supermarkets in early January 2014, scooping up left over Christmas bubbly and other special offers. Apparently he's still got enough left in his 'cellar' for the wedding of his second daughter.
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Lidl under a tenner a bottle at the moment, Sainsburys at 12 quid, for Champagne - both very drinkable judging by SWMBOs consumption over the Christmas period :). Other supermarkets doing similar deals too I believe.
 
We got ours from the eurotunnel outlet. I had the advantage of going often enough to try a few bottles, and have an empty van to come home in. Ended up with 100 bottles of Hardys at £2 per bottle
 
dom said:
2. Take proof with you of the non-commercial party/event you are having as Customs and Excise will likely question you if you travel by car (see https://www.gov.uk/duty-free-goods/arrivals-from-eu-countries). French non-supermarket stores will generally deliver FOC to yachts (assuming decent size order), but be aware trolleys of booze down a pontoon could easily trigger a call from French to UK Customs.
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Why do you think he started this thread-- It was to get a print out to demonstrate his plans & help in proving his honesty
 
Probably more choose of shops in Calais area, have a look at Calais Wine Superstore, spend £300 and get a free Eurotunnel ticket. ( or if you push them 10% off everything.
Buy a single bottle and test it then bulk buy,
 
Daydream believer said:
Why do you think he started this thread-- It was to get a print out to demonstrate his plans & help in proving his honesty
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Much better to take a little folder with some hard documentation. For the proposed quantities nothing too fancy will be required; it's really only the van loads of gear which arouse serious suspicion.
 
Daydream believer said:
Why do you think he started this thread-- It was to get a print out to demonstrate his plans & help in proving his honesty
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He's talking about going from Britain so he won't need to prove his honesty, they need to prove his guilt. If you allow them to start doing it the other way life will get much worse very quickly!
 
dom said:
Much better to take a little folder with some hard documentation. For the proposed quantities nothing too fancy will be required; it's really only the van loads of gear which arouse serious suspicion.
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They can be suspicious all they like, it's completely legal to bring back a van full of booze. Generally the ones with issues are those going regularly which can be considered evidence of guilt but doing it once gives them no reason to even question you let alone demand proof of innocence.
 
lustyd said:
They can be suspicious all they like, it's completely legal to bring back a van full of booze. Generally the ones with issues are those going regularly which can be considered evidence of guilt but doing it once gives them no reason to even question you let alone demand proof of innocence.
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Follow the link I gave in the above post! Yes it's legal for personal consumption/gifts, but the HM Revenue and Customs have all sorts of "rights" if they don't believe you, including seizing your car as well as the booze! My advice is to follow their explicit guidance as opposed to hearsay, but each to their own.
 
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sailorman said:
General Stores Oostende delivery "In the good old days" yet another 14,000 bf in € cheques

OostendeMay1994_zpsb9e297c5.jpg
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OK, so that is the return journey catered for now what about the plonk for the party and restocking the cellars?
 
Having never been sad enough to weigh bottles of wine I cannot help wondering how much 250 bottles would weigh in total
I once watched a Centaur being loaded with wine in Ostend & the crew had the central isle of the cabin full as well as every bunk covered in cases of wine
When finally done the 3 crew crew said the only way they could get back would be to motor as the boat was so overloaded they dared not risk putting sails up
they were also seriously worried about sea state
 
Daydream believer said:
Having never been sad enough to weigh bottles of wine I cannot help wondering how much 250 bottles would weigh in total.
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Well - start by assuming each bottle weighs about 1Kg (not unreasonable for 75cl content + bottle) - that's 250Kg - if you assume an average bloke weighs 80Kg that's about the same as 3 blokes ... No issue at all for an Elan37 ... the trickiest bit will be storing the wine so it doesn't move around.
 
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