The Annual Autumn Wine Sales (Foire aux Vins) are upon us, when French families stock up their wine cellars at a discount, and large French supermarket chains crank out over 25% of their yearly wine business in a few short weeks. Here are the dates, store-by-store:
Geant and Intermarche: on now, through September 22- Leader Price and Franprix: through September 23
- Carrefour: through September 24
- Dia: through September 25
- Nicolas and Savour Club: through October 2
- Auchan: starts September 19, through 28th
- Carrefour Market: starts September 21 – October 7
- Leclerc: starts October 3, through the 13th
- Systeme U: starts September 25 to October 6
The biggest sellers for restocking cellars are bottles in the 5-8€ range, but the deals are deep on all price ranges thanks to bulk buying and margin cutting by the big chains. The choices can be overwhelming however, especially since each store displays around 800 labels, and the supermarket sales people usually have no clue. Luckily, there are several sites that give recommendations store-by-store, including this fantastic and extensive grid from Hachette Vins, this quick cheat sheet from In Good Wine We Trust, and this article from today’s Nice-Matin that details their top picks from Carrefour and Leclerc.
Some tips: Don’t forget that most chains offer free home delivery with purchases over a certain amount (and this would be the time to take advantage of that offer!), otherwise, bring your own boxes/cloth bags. Do your research… the best deals on expensive wines fly out of the store on the first day, so check out the mailed or on-line catalogs in advance and make your plan (…and you can still get in on the first day for Auchan, Leclerc, Systeme U, and Carrefour Markets). And as a last resort, look for wines that were bottled at the Chateau (as opposed to collectively), and keep in mind that these were “very good years”:
- Wines from Provence 2000, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009
- Red Bourgognes 2002, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2010
- Red Bordeaux 2001, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010
Photo credit: Wine Shopping by Best of Nice Blog
See Related Guide Pages: Best Wine Bars in Nice, Food Finds in the Old Town: Wine
Merci! Just in time for my next big group on Sunday!