Life was grim in the Snorben's of 1643. Civil war between Parliament and the King had been raging for a year, armies crossed and re-crossed the land trampling crops, stealing food and forcibly enlisting men while householders had to provide free lodging. To raise money Parliament invented a new type of tax, called excise, levied on alcohol. The war ended in 1651, the monarchy was restored in 1660 and things were back to normal. But excise tax on alcohol remains to this day.

When I buy a bottle of Montana Pinotage from Tesco's I hand the checkout clerk seven pounds and they return one-penny change. Tesco has already paid excise of £1.17 on the bottle, and they collect another £1.04 for the government as Value Added Tax (VAT). Thus I've paid £2.19 tax and bought £4.80 worth of wine.

But I know one Tesco branch where I can buy the same wine for under £5 and still use my Tesco loyalty card to collect airmiles. That branch is in Calais, France. All governments raise taxes, even the French. But they charge a minimal amount on wine and that's why the British are increasingly crossing the channel to France. And British stores followed them. Calais boasts branches of Oddbins, Sainsbury, Tesco as well as many dedicated wine and beer supermarkets.

Eastenders
The pioneer was Dave West, a London trader, who filled a trailer with cheap wine and beer he'd bought in France and parked it by the Calais ferry terminal. Returning holidaymakers emptied in a day and Dave West moved his family to France, bought a warehouse and filled it with wine and beer. His EastEnders warehouse is open twenty-four hours a day, every day of the year except Christmas day. Now it is has been joined by many other such operations and recently has been joined by major UK supermarkets and wine stores.

There are few comforts at EastEnders, just rows of wine boxes and cases of beer. There's no checkout counters, just a wooden hut by the entrance and a staff with calculators standing outside who quickly add up the cost. Everything is priced in pounds sterling and that's how they prefer payment.

EastEnders sell wine from all over the world with many from Australia, South Africa and California, as well as France. Their New Zealand stock isn't very big, listing seven wines from four wineries, Cooks, Corbans, Lindauer and Stoneleigh. Three wines are priced at two pounds a bottle (Cooks Chardonnay, Corbans Semillon Sauvignon & Stoneleigh Chardonnay), with the most expensive being Stoneleigh Cabernet Sauvignon at £4.45. Back home the Stoneleigh Chardonnay is on sale at £6.88 when you buy a case, so you can save £4.88 a bottle, or £58.50 a case, more than enough to pay for a ferry crossing.

Travel
From Snorbens you can drive by motorway all the way to the south coast and, traffic willing, you can be at the channel tunnel or car ferry ports in two hours. Crossing under the channel takes 35 minutes. Ferries take 90 minutes and can be cancelled in bad weather, but they offer incredibly cheap crossings. There are bargain fares for day shoppers and many people enjoy a leisurely lunch in France before hitting the booze warehouses. I like to take a weekend break. Calais is just two hours from Paris and also Reims in Champagne. I also work in Brussels twice a year and like to drive, stocking up at EastEnders as return.

Limits
Duty free sales ended when the UK joined the European Union and, confounding expectations, sales in Calais rose sharply. There were customs limits on the amount of duty free alcohol one could import, but according to EU laws, no restrictions on the amount of duty paid goods you could import for personal use. So people started overloading their cars. UK customs imposed a limit of 9 litres (ten cases) of wine per person and said anyone carrying more than the limit would have to prove it was for personal use. But stories of people making several trips a day in vans packed full of alcohol for illegal sale in pubs and clubs are common. Customs now confiscate the vehicle of anyone they suspect of bringing in alcohol that's not for their personal use.

UK Customs recently lost a court case brought by cross channel shoppers complaining of harassment when doing legitimate shopping. Something has to give. If we don't pay taxes on alcohol, the government will raise the money some other way.

Meanwhile when you read of rising exports of New Zealand wine to France don't assume the French are swapping Burgundy for Marlborough Pinot Noir. The purchaser is more likely a Calais warehouse selling to channel hopping Brits.

If you have been, thanks for reading.

© Peter May
30 September 2002

Any feedback? Send it to Peter.