Booze cruising in Calais

War Memorial and cranes at the Fishing Port, Calais

Although I no longer drink, as a result of my Chinese doctor forbidding me alcohol, an irritant in the weekly trip to the supermarket in Hastings is the cost of wine: usually a minimum of £5 per bottle for what is indifferent stuff.  It seems to taste the same whatever the label or country of origin.  The last straw was when we went along to the opening of a new specialist wine-shop in St. Leonard's the other day and found it difficult to get anything under £10 per bottle.

Action had to be taken.  So, courtesy of the internet, I arranged a day trip via Eurotunnel to Calais, booked a restaurant near the port and found a wine-merchant of sufficient scale to give a decent choice of French wines, and off we went yesterday.

I hadn't realised just how painless such a trip could be: just over an hour to the Eurotunnel terminal, and

then you drive onto the train and are rocked like a baby in its cradle for half an hour before France appears through the carriage windows.  I'd timed it so we could get to the restaurant for 1 pm.  Le Grand Bleu was full of locals eating in that particular French way of being relaxed at the table but immensely serious about good food.  Cod, scallops, lemon meringue - all excellent fare.  Then on to Calais-Vins, which I'd identified as offering a better selection than the likes of Majestic.  Again, the staff charming and we loaded a mere 120 bottles into the back of the car for the return journey.  There was the added bonus of a rather good cheese shop next door, where we could stock up for this weekend's dinner party.  

Then back to the terminal for another cradle-rocking session in the train, and an easy trip back home.  We'd have been back by 6 pm had I not foolishly left my wallet in the cheese shop - discovered only after we'd crossed passport control so there was a slight delay while we were escorted back through passport control in order to retrieve it.  

We'll see how long it now takes us to get through the stocks.  Did it work out cheaper?  In brief, yes.  We bought wines at varying prices, but the top price we paid for any one bottle was about £5.70.  The clarets were better value than the burgundies.  In purely financial terms, the overall saving paid for the Eurotunnel crossing.  We could have covered the cost of lunch as well, had we gone for the cheaper stuff throughout.  But the most important thing is that the wines we bought should have some character and style to them rather than the bland stuff you get in the English supermarkets.  And, of course, we had the enormous pleasure of a good day out when the weather's dismal - plus of course the chance to speak French again after all this time.  In some ways, I'm hoping we romp through the booze fast so we can go back soon.

Antony Mair