Storage services in France?

Depends how many are many, I suppose. Try

I don't know what quantity they can handle, though. I remember hearing about another place somewhere in the western 'burbs. Can't recall the name just now. Of course all of these cost muchos zorros. Perhaps you could arrange something less expensive (but not bonded) with a producer. Try google.fr, "garde vin" or some variation thereof.

If many, many is like 100,000 you'd be better renting a refrigerated warehouse! :)

-E

You need to have a good relationship with an importer to see if they can store the goodies for you in their warehouse. Expect to pay industrial rates for storage and find out about storage conditions many facilities in Europe especially those owned by large companies with lots of plonk care less about temperature on the warehouse floor.

A winery is the second choice but less likely.

Talk to Hildebrand or Danzas, big shippers I'm sure they have storage facilities but I have no idea how they'd react to storing your stash.

Thanks E!

That is what I was looking for.

I looked up in my french dictionary and found the word 'stockage' but "garde vin" pulls up much better results.

I was hoping to find something underground, that wouldn't have the expense of needing electricity to keep it cold. Someone told me that there were places in the Loire Valley with several kilometers of tunnels for wine storage...but I keep running into dead ends when trying to get specifics, so it may be a myth.

I'll spend some time on google.fr and see what comes up.

Right now, I was thinking of about a couple hundred cases, and adding a couple hundred a year for the next 20 years or so. Eventually I'll have to drink some, I guess. ;-)

Gerald

Thanks for the reply!

Yeah, I am concerned with 'shrinkage'! Some of the wine may be quite expensive (by my standards), so I would like some sort of inventory or insurance.

I am hoping that the French, being vinophiles, might respect someone's stash...but I did just read about a guy (in the US) suspected of over a million dollars worth of wine theft, that he was storing for clients and I'm feeling hyper-cautious.

I'm considering separating my wine into 2-3 separate storage facilities. Could be a logistical nightmare without good recordkeeping, but it could also be a good excuse to visit vinyards regularly, if each were in a different wine region.

Actually, if I don't find anything like this, maybe I should find some land and dig my own 'cave' in an area that has the right conditions. :-)

Gerald

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Such places are certainly not mythic only, but I think generally the problem is that they aren't closed. So shrinkage is a major issue.

Did a quick google and came up with this:

Caves à vin. Les plus grandes caves servent d’entrepôt pour les viticulteurs, qui peuvent y stocker plusieurs milliers de bouteilles. Cependant, ce mode d’utilisation est en perte de vitesse, les viticulteurs préférant faire construire des entrepôts spécifiques pour le stockage, ce qui évite les problèmes de vol et permet de s’affranchir des paramètres de température et d’hygrométrie

from "Carrières souterraines de Maine et Loire importantes pour l’hivernage des Chiroptères"

Roughly: The largest caves serve as storage for winemakers, who can keep many thousands of bottles. However this use is diminishing: winemakers favor construction of specific storage facilities to avoid theft problems and enable control of temperature and humidity conditions.

I have seen caves (grottes) that are sealed, but I guess the best way to find out about this would be to contact individual winemakers, or perhaps the syndicate in one of the likely appellations. (e.g. Montlouis.) In any case you'd be trusting the honesty of everyone with access (workers etc) so it might be pretty risky over the long term.

Here's an idea: how about renting space in a chateau with a large cellar? There are certainly plenty of those around... complete with aristocrats struggling to patch up the roofs...

Ah, a man after me own heart! Except that I buy for short, medium and long storage. And not so much. OK, what I'd do if I could!

Can you fill us in on your buying strategy to constitute this hoard? Using a consultant, your own tastes (knowledge)? What regions? I'm sure we'd be very interested in the plan.

-E

You might ask in the appropriate French newsgroup frbv, many do speak English over there: .

M.