Find Bargain Wines - In The Junk Mail!

Every year at this time, the vendange (wine harvest), details of wine fairs (foire aux vins) plop through our letter boxes - except, of course, those with a ‘pas de publicité’ notice on them!

These details are well worth looking through. Don’t just discard and relegate them to fire-lighting paper, as, in my experience, you can find some excellent bargains – referred to in flowery French as a ‘Coup de Coeur’!

For example, in the current Carrefour Market list of wines, there is a Medoc Chateau Castera 2004, a ‘Cru Bourgeois’ - an above average wine classification - which took my eye. It is on sale with a reduction of 5% at €56.71, if you purchase a case of six bottles.

There are sometimes tempting BOGOF offers, too, as in Buy One (carton of six bottles) and Get a second One Free!

The Carrefour Market list contains a comprehensive selection of wines of all styles, including Champagnes and sparkling wines (‘effervescents’ – sounds a bit like alka seltzer!). One Champagne which particularly took my eye, with Christmas and New Year celebrations in mind, was Charles de Cazanove ‘Brut Classique’ on a BOGOF deal. This looks to be a bargain as the cost per bottle is effectively reduced from €23 to €11,50. The Champagne is, in fact, described as ‘un vin de celebration’. Great minds think alike!

All the main French wine ‘denominations’ are represented in the list, in which you’ll also find lots of useful information on the wines on offer, the grape varieties, the areas under wine cultivation and the effects of climate. We learn, for example, that the Alsace region covers 15,535 hectares and provides 18% of the total French white wine production, excluding sparkling wine.

Speaking of Alsace, there is a 2007 Riesling, awarded a gold medal in the 2008 ‘Grand Concours des Vins d’Alsace’, on offer at only €3.95, with an extra 5% discount on a case of six bottles, which seems a bargain

Likewise, there are some very interesting and informative portraits of leading wine producers - ‘vignerons’ - from the main wine regions, such as Xavier Berger of the family ‘Domaine Gerard Berger’ in Burgundy. His 2008 ‘Hautes Cotes de Beaune’ is featured, which although quite young, looks interesting and worth trying.

There is a short - but very useful - section on the general rules for marrying food and wine, in which some myths are exploded. For example, the universal custom of drinking red wine with cheese is described as “often a nonsense!” It recommends trying whites instead and also suggests, interestingly, that a rosé Champagne goes particularly well with a ripe camembert!

The Carrefour Market wine fair lasts from 30 September until 11 October. So hurry - in my experience the early purchaser, like the early bird, benefits most - and see what takes your fancy and what you can get while stocks of the best bargains last.

Find the 2009 Carrefour Foire Aux Vins Catalogue here

Don’t throw your supermarket wine offers away, suggests Ian Blackshaw. There may be some rare bargains to be had.

Carrefour 2009 catalogue

Leclerc 2009 catalogue

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