Calais Grape Escape: Fantastic Savings on Your “Tour de France”

Get great savings on wines in the two closest wine stores from the UK

The 2022 Tour de France will pass through Calais on July 5th, 2022. Calais Vins and Oliviers Vins & Cie have therefore concocted a very special Tour de France des Vins. If you are passing through Calais on your next holiday in France, be sure to get the recommended wines in this article.

French wine culture is full of treasures. And you’ll find these treasures in our shops.

Shop Tax Free in Calais

Since our shops are only five minutes from both shuttle and ferry terminals, take advantage of the duty free on your way back and stock up on our vast selection of wines and beers. What’s more, we are making life easier for our British customers with a brand new – and innovative – system allowing you to reclaim VAT on purchases from the highly regarded Calais Vins’ shop. Let the Calais Vins’ Grape Escape begin!

A wide selection of wine from all French regions in Calais

“Calais Vins and Olivier Vins & Cie are renowned for their vast range of rare and exceptional varietals. We are well accustomed to the palate of our British clientele, and here they will find some very coveted appellations,” says Jérôme Pont from Calais Vins. “Fleurie, Médoc, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Meursault, Chinon, Chablis, Pomerol… the list is endless. As a major French wine merchant, we also stock many of the great grape varieties and vintages. The British will find rare bottles here such as Whisperring Angel, Guigal, Jaboulet, Louis Latour, Joseph Drouhin, Grand Crus Chateau Talbot, Mouton Rothschild, Lafite Rotschild, Domaine Trapet et Marcel Deiss amongst others. We are the closest wine shop to Britain for such exceptional grape varieties.”

Wine to drink with fish or seafood

Olivier Vermisse (Oliviers Vins & Cie) is a great fan of seafood and fish, so he is the expert at this topic. Imagine that you are going to Normandy, Brittany, the South Atlantic coast or even our Opal Coast, you should be looking for a white wine to accompany the scrumptious seafood dishes. The wine you should choose depends on the dish you are having.

• Grilled fish fillet: Valençay Vin Blanc du Domaine Bardon.
• Lobster or crabs: Côte Chalonnaise Chardonnay des caves de Buxy.
• Oysters (from Marennes Oléron or Arcachon): Muscadet par Michel Morilleau.

Wine you should pair with the dishes of Provence

To accompany Mediterranean flavours such as tapenade, both Olivier and Jérôme would suggest Le Loup dans la Bergerie Domaine de l’Hortus, whilst bouillabaisse should be paired with Château Barthes Bandol Blanc or Rosé. You could even choose a young red wine, as long as it is served cold!

Wine pairing for cassoulet

Are you heading to the Dordogne or to our beautiful south-western regions? Yes, cassoulet can also be enjoyed in summer especially in these regions. For these rich dishes, you would find the perfect pairing with an organic Minervois Esprit d’Automne Dom Borie de Maurel.

With flowers blooming and the sun coming out, barbecue season is in sight. So gather your friends and have a proper garden party with bottles of rosé, white or red on the table. When it comes to inviting a large number of guests, there is nothing like saving money in the land of bread, wine and cheese.

So whether at home in England or in your rented villa in France, make sure to buy wine from Calais Vins and Oliviers Vins & Cie to make remarkable savings.

Our wine recommendation for your garden party

• Starting with the aperitif, a sparkling wine or champagne to open the festivities is always appreciated. We recommend Crémant Bailly Lapierre brut de Charvis (€5.60) or a Crémant de Bourgogne Rosé Bailly Lapierre (€8.90).
• To accompany grilled meats look for a fresh rosé wine Domaine Casa Rossa (€4.75) or a Miss Anaïs Gris Vin rosé (€5.95).

How to get 15% savings with Calais Vins and Olivier Vins & Cie?

It’s simple:

• Go to one of our shops and select the products you would like to buy.
• Ask for the tax-free voucher when you pay.
• Scan this voucher before returning to the Calais and Eurotunnel terminals.
• You will be refunded around 15% within 4 to 5 days.

Thanks to a partnership with Global Blue and Skip the Tax, Calais Vins has developed an integrated system that allows you to reclaim around 15% of the VAT on your wine purchases in France in its shop. Indeed, after Brexit, any citizen with a UK passport can claim 15% tax. Not all shops in France offer this, so Calais Vins wanted to provide a solution for its British customers. Head to our website to find out how to get the VAT back.

Practical information

Calais Vins
Rue Gutenberg, 62100 Calais
Phone: +33 (0)3 21 36 40 40
https://www.wine-calais.co.uk/
Open daily from 09.00am to 07.00pm. On Sundays and French bank holidays from 10.00am to 06.00pm. Easy and free parking in front of the shop.

Olivier Vins et Compagnie
CD215, 62185 Fréthun
Off the A16 motorway, exit at junction 40 ‘Gare TGV’. A few minutes’ drive from the Eurotunnel terminal and the port of Calais.
Open daily from 09.00am to 07.00pm. On Sundays and French bank holidays from 10.00am to 06.00pm. Easy and free parking in front of the shop.

UK Duty free allowances:

• Beer – 42 litres
• Wine (not sparkling) – 18 litres

You can also bring in either:

• Spirits and other liquors over 22% alcohol – 4 litres
• Fortified wine (for example port, sherry), sparkling wine and alcoholic drinks up to 22% alcohol – 9 litres

You can split this last allowance, for example you could bring 4.5 litres of fortified wine and 2 litres of spirits (both half of your allowance).