Follow these tips for buying wine in Paris. Photo: DesignWallah Few beverages seem as intimidating as wine. Images of blind tastings, snobbish conversations about vintages, and hefty price tags immediately come to mind. Coming to Paris, wine drinkers are like kids in a candy store. Affordable and delicious wine flows freely, but travelers can easily be duped. Whether you’re looking for some vin rouge to go with your dinner or you want a bottle for a friendly picnic, here are some tips to keep in mind for picking an affordable wine. Higher prices and pretty labels are not indicative of how much you will like a wine. Bottles at restaurants can cost €20, €40, €60 and beyond. While the wine will probably be good, less discerning pallets can opt for the much cheaper and equally tasty carafe or pichet of wine. This is a house wine that is served in a small pitcher or glass bottle that comes with none of the frills of a Saint-Emillon or Chateauneuf du Pape, but it will still be a tasty accompaniment to most French meals.

Don’t feel goofy asking for a pichet at lunch or dinner, because even the locals will order up some house red, white, or rosé on a typical evening. When purchasing a bottle of wine at the grocery store or wine store, even Cheapos have a limit. Any bottle under €3 is rarely something that you’d want to drink, more often reserved for cooking or wild student parties. Stick to the €5-10 range to ensure that the wine won’t make you wince. Look for the AOC, or appellation d’origine contrôlée on any bottle you purchase. This indicates that the wine is a credible Bordeaux, Burgundy, or whatever other region (origine) it may claim. Without the AOC, there is no way to know if the wine was made by a professional or from some guy down the street in his bathtub. Still, if you go to a wine bistrot like Le Verré Volé, many of their wines don’t have a AOC. However, you can be sure that the specialists in the store have visited the vineyards and know exactly where that wine is coming from.

Box is OK, but plastic jugs might be pushing it. Box wine is not quite trendy, but is accepted with wine stores like Nicolas offering up affordable varieties. The liter-sized plastic jugs at the supermarkets, however, are not to be trusted. Take a tip from someone who may or may not have been there – it’s not worth testing unless you want your wine to double as a paint-remover.the best wine for red meat If you taste a wine and it doesn’t suit your tastes, hopefully you didn’t buy a whole bottle of it at a restaurant. top 10 wine flavorsThat said, if a wine tastes particularly offensive, with smells and tastes that seem unfit for any mouth, it may be corked, which means the wine has been spoiled in the bottling or aging process.best meals to eat with wine

While rare, receiving a corked glass or bottle of wine can happen, and if you are really unable to drink the wine, ask your bartender or server what they think and they will usually be honest with you. With aisles devoted to all sorts of regional French wines, Parisian supermarkets like Monoprix and Franprix are acceptable places to buy a bottle for dinner or a picnic.buy blood into wine If you want to ask questions or are looking for something specific, however, head to a wine shop, or caviste. ac dc wine buy online usaNicolas or Le Repaire de Bacchus are two such chains found all over the city. top wine brand 2013Additionally, there are countless independent wine shops and bistros that will be happy to help you find what you’re seeking. Your wine questions or advice?

What other questions do you have about wine in France? Have some advice to share with our readers? Join the conversation in our comments section! Also in our guide: Heading to Paris soon and looking for advice on great affordable sleeps? Our editors have hunted down the best hotel deals, all visited, inspected and reviewed by EuroCheapo. Read more in our Paris guide. Note: This post was updated on September 30, 2015 with new links, photos and information.Drinking on a budget in Paris is no mean feat. But among the city's plush wine bars and speakeasies, are some miraculously cheap watering holes. Prepare to dive headlong into the finest Parisian nocturnal hangouts with our list of the best budget bars. All organised by arrondissement so you can quench your thirst wherever the wind may take you. Without breaking the bank.  RECOMMENDED: The 100 best bars in Paris If you want to experience authentic, come to this old tavern crammed with students and arty types. There's no-holds-barred Irish pub in the centre of the Marais.

Rest assured that the Guinness will flow... An insider's favourite for cheap drinks, come during happy hour to dabble in the 300-strong cocktail list. A winner with students in the area, value reigns in this cosy wooden bar with a 12-beer tasting 'platter' for €12. Test one of the many cocktails on offer, in one of the longest happy hours from 3.30-8pm. There's also a bar cat called René. The drinks are cheap and the clientele eclectic in this vaulted stone wine cellar where hip students mix with the hoi-polloi. Sangria dive bar complete with jukebox and pleasantly gruff moustachioed barmen. Kitsch jazz and world music den doing mean rum and ginger cocktails. One to come to for a Saturday night shin dig. Look out for Thursdays in winter when it's 'Be my oyster' with tastings (€16 for a dozen, €10 for a half dozen, with a glass of Sauvignon) to a background of electro. La Cave de l'Entracte A good time guaranteed in this no-frills bar basement-style bar with a busy events calendar.

La Pointe du Groin Thierry Breton's restaurant and wine bar; expect bohemian high jinks (there’s a grand piano ready and waiting under the glass roof...). Funky live music spot down from Canal Saint Martin. Great starting point for bar hopping afterwards. The perfect neighbourhood cafe, complete with board games, armchairs, charcuterie and cheese. Be prepared to get some serious human warmth in this sardine-like bar on Faubourg Saint-Denis. If you're in the mood for a late one, this down-to-earth booze-focused bistro open from 5am to 2am. Step into a Matisse-style dreamscape and groove to live jazz, swing and gypsy Service with a beaming smile Lively local République watering hole with a fusion food menu Your best bet for quality live music gigs in Bastille A cosy place to while away the evening, whose charm lies in being distinctly 'uncool'. Pack to the rafters in this easy-going gem. Come early to enjoy the delights of this Kubrick tribute joint

Moroccan restaurant meets bar with music until 4am on weekends A little boho bar that seethes with people day and night Paris's temple to indie pop La Folie en Tête Expect to strip off at this sweaty but loveable dive bar A totally normal local bar with great prices and a ‘mi casa su casa’ atmosphere – we just keep going back. This Butte-aux-Cailles institution tantalises students and nostalgists with its splendid selection of rums (over 20) and a long list of cocktails. The boat that rocked: this purple café-bar is just next to Bibliothèque nationale de France Grand Hôtel de Clermont - Chez Ammad You'll never get bored at this old-style bar, what with its ageless murals on the walls, animated regulars and a spot of dancing to the Brazilian funk and jazz. An Averyon-style bar and restaurant with bags of character La Divette de Montmartre An old school bar-tabac in the heart of Montmartre, recalling the beatnik and rock bistros of the 1970s.

Tiny, completely bonkers boozer shared between Montmartre golden oldies and boho chic habitués Cosy and cool, this bar-restaurant takes as much care in its music as its tapas Au Clair de Lune Unpretentious lively spot where locals meet for an aperitif and a gossip Floating café with plenty of groovy live music offerings Expect regular acoustic concerts, inviting jazz manouche, rock, funk, blues and folk groups, or DJs spinning hip hop, reggae, groove and soul. This busy, buzzy summer terrace transforms into a cosy pouf-strewn bar in winter La Couronne de Belleville The kind of bar where you can arrive at 4pm and not leave until 2am, where one day you might take your best friend, the next your mum, the next a Tinder date. A slice of the village sweet life next to Ménilmontant metro A community café hosting sociable events like citizens’ debates, film screenings, writing workshops. 70s blue collar nostalgia with gigs from 8pm