Got a wedding or anniversary coming up? Then head for the hypermarkets of France to stock up at a fraction of Irish prices, writes FERGUS MULLIGAN
WE ALL ENJOY a glass of wine: a full-bodied red to see us through the long winter, perhaps, with the prospect of a sharp white or a frisky rosé to cool us down when summer arrives.
It's great to keep a few bottles in the house for dinner parties, for Christmas and Easter or for any family celebration. If you've a wedding or christening coming up, or there's an anniversary or a significant birthday around the corner, it's worth taking the car to France, to fill it with wine – which you're allowed to do as long as it's all for personal consumption. The range in the average hypermarchéis vast, and you'll pay less than half Irish prices.
If you don’t mind a pair of fairly long ferry crossings, you can leave on Friday and be back on Sunday. Expect to pay about €350 for a car and two adults in the off season between September and May. This includes a cabin but excludes meals – and your fare will go up if you want to stay in France for a few days.
You’ll have half a day or so on land to stock up. Move smartly and you’ll also have time for a tasty meal ashore.
Once you’re back home all you have to do is invite people around for a wine tasting. You’ll be astonished to discover how many friends you have.
Where to shop for wine in Roscoff
Roscoff is a lovely old town with lots of small shops, restaurants and bars.
On the road to nearby Morlaix you’ll see a double- decker London bus parked at Wine Beer Supermarket. (Keravel, 00-33-2-98611587, winebeersupermarket.com) You can preorder and taste before buying.
Continue towards Morlaix; just before town you’ll see the Géant hypermarket (Centre Commercial Bretagnia, 00-33-2- 98639400, geant.fr), which has an excellent range.
The E Leclerc in Morlaix (Rue de la Boissière, Kerfraval, 00-33-2-98880314, e-leclerc.com/morlaix) is also worth a visit.
Buying decent wine in France is not hard. One simple rule of thumb is that the more detail the label has, the better the wine is likely to be.
Bordeaux, as the best wine in the world, can be pricey; Rhône is famous for Côtes du Rhône, Costières de Nîmes and Côtes du Ventoux, all of which are good. Bourgogne – Burgundy – gives us Chablis and Mâcon while the Loire produces delicious Sancerre and Anjou rosés. Some good bargains come from southwest France: look for Languedoc, Côtes du Roussillon, Corbières and Bergerac – all deliciously fruity.
There’s a wider choice of red than white wine, so it’s trickier choosing a tasty, good-value white. For something slightly different, look at Alsace, which produces Riesling, Tokay and Gewürtztraminer – excellent with fish.
If you have any room left, buy lots of coffee, mustard, cheese and beer as well.
Where to shop in Cherbourg
Cherbourg is not beautiful, and the town has little to see. So concentrate instead on visiting these three wine outlets. (Check their websites for opening hours.)
On the N13 to Caen, about five kilometres south of Cherbourg, is an Auchan hypermarket with a great range of wine (Centre Commercial du Cotentin, La Glacerie, 00-33-2-33881313, auchan.fr). Load your trolley and head for the checkout. Repeat several times.
Heading back into Cherbourg, you’ll see an E Leclerc hypermarket (off Boulevard de L’Est, Tourlaville, 00-33-2- 33236565, e-leclerc.com/ tourlaville), overlooking the port. It’s more upmarket than Auchan, with a separate fine-wine section. Repeat the trolley manoeuvre.
Your third and final call is down near the harbour, at Normandie Wine Warehouse (71 Avenue Carnot, Cherbourg, 00-33-2- 33433979, normandie-wine. com). Order online before you go and your wine will be ready when you arrive. You can taste before buying, and the staff speak English. An excellent wine is La Grosse Pierre, a Premières Côtes de Blaye that my travelling companion snapped up for €3.85.
Where to stay
AROUND CHERBOURG
Le Lion d’Or. 71 Rue Saint-Jean, Bayeux, 00-33-2- 31920690, liondor-bayeux.fr. This fine old coaching inn is in the centre of historic Bayeux. Doubles €85-€115.
La Marine. 2 Quai de Canada, Arromanches-les- Bains, 00-33-2-31223419, hotel-de-la-marine.fr. On the coast, looking out on the remains of D-Day Mulberry harbours, this is a perfect base for exploring the landing beaches. Doubles €61-110.
Château d’Audrieu. Audrieu, 00-33-2-31802152, chateaudaudrieu.com; Loucelles exit off N13 Bayeux- Caen road. This luxurious 200-year-old chateau has magnificently furnished rooms and very pleasant gardens. Doubles €155-€300, plus a hefty €29 for breakfast.
ROSCOFF
Les Arcades. 15 Rue Amiral Révellière, 00-33-2-98697045, lesarcadesroscoff. com. This elegant seafront hotel has great views. It’s also close to the traffic-free streets of the old town. Doubles €39-€62.
Le Brittany. Boulevard Sainte-Barbe, 00-33-2- 98697078, hotel-brittany.com. Four-star luxury in a charming converted Breton chateau overlooking the sea. Doubles €115-€265.
Where to eat
IN AND AROUND CHERBOURG
Le Mistral, 24 Quai de Caligny, Cherbourg, 00-33-2- 33431739. Small family-run brasserie on a street lined with places to eat. Great food, with lots of fresh fish, simply and elegantly prepared.
Café du Théâtre. 8 Place de Gaulle, Cherbourg, 00-33-2- 33430149. A cafe on one floor and a brasserie on the next, with a good-value three-course menu.
Le John Steele. 4 Cap de Laine, Ste-Mère-Église, 00-33-2-33414116, aubergejohnsteele.com. An excellent restaurant with variously priced menus (and a cosy seven-room hotel; doubles from €45).
L'Assiette Normande. 3 Rue des Chanoines, Bayeux, 00-33-2-31220461, lassiettenormande.com. Close to Bayeux Cathedral and the tapestry, this Normandy restaurant serves regional dishes, jambon, fruits de merand crêpeswashed down with cider and Calvados.
ROSCOFF
Les Alizés. 37 Rue Amiral Courbet, Quai d’Auxerre, Roscoff, 00-33-2-98697590. Seafood is to the fore in this pretty coastal town, and this brasserie overlooking the sea offers good-value set menus.
Where to go
IN AND AROUND CHERBOURG
Cité de la Mer. Gare Maritime Transatlantique, Cherbourg, 00-33-2-33202626, citedelamer.com. Titanic’s penultimate port of call celebrates its maritime heritage with sea creatures and a decommissioned nuclear submarine.
Morlaix. tourisme.morlaix. fr. A short drive from Roscoff, this is a pleasant old yachting town of steep cobbled streets. Mary Queen of Scots is said to have landed here (and in Roscoff) as a child.
Bayeux. Lovely medieval town of narrow streets with a fine cathedral and the world-famous Bayeux Tapestry. The Musée Mémorial de la Bataille de Normandie is one of the largest D-Day museums in Normandy. There’s a wonderful food market in the main square each Wednesday.
Ste-Mère-Église. A short drive south of Cherbourg is this pretty little town, with its Musée Airborne, whose roof is in the shape of a parachute. The theme recurs with a parachute hanging from the tower of the medieval church, commemorating US paratrooper John Steele, whose canopy snared on a corner of the tower on the night of June 6th, 1944. He was wounded but survived. He became a regular visitor to the town he helped liberate.
The D-Day landing beaches. The scene of the 1944 Allied invasion of Europe is an easy day’s drive, much of it peppered with museums and memorials to that day of days. Visiting the military cemeteries is moving but curiously heartening.
Go there
Irish Ferries (irishferries. com) sails from Rosslare to Cherbourg and Roscoff. Its Oscar Wildeis a bright, spacious ship. Even the basic cabins are comfortable, each with a shower and toilet. Sailing in the evening, you arrive about 18 hours later. In Cherbourg you'll have four hours ashore; Roscoff is slightly less hurried, with six hours ashore. From next month there are three sailings a week to Cherbourg. Sailings to Rosslare start in May.
Brittany Ferries (brittany ferries.ie) serves Roscoff from Cork, on the equally luxurious Pont Aven. You’ll have to make a holiday of it, as
the ship leaves Cork on Saturday evening but doesn’t return from Roscoff until the following Friday. The service runs from March to October, and the crossing takes 14 hours.
Celtic Link (celticlink ferries.com), a freight service that can also accommodate cars, sails from Rosslare to Cherbourg three times a week all year, with a 19-hour crossing. You’ll have to dash to the shops, however, as you’ll have only a couple of hours ashore.
