Cheers Sweetie

Bonjour

Guess where we went last weekend. It would be hard to live in France and not visit the Champagne district so off we went. We stayed in Reims which is the centre of the region and has quite a history, more on that later.

The region is north east of Paris (about 5 hours from Cherbourg) and with spring time blossoms and very green rolling hills everywhere, it was a really pretty drive. Have to say that the roads in France are excellent – very well maintained and lots of dual lane roads which justifies the constant toll gates that we have to pass through.

There are 3 different varieties of grapes that are grown in distinct parts of the region and are used to make champagne – chardonnay, pinot noir and meunier. These are mixed in different ratios, using different vintages of each variety and quality of the grapes. The best of the best grapes are classified as grande cru – only grown in a few villages in the region. These are only given this status by the powers that be after proving their superiority based on quality of the grapes, type of soil, which side of the hill, how much rainfall, sunshine etc and whatever else it takes. Less than 9% of all the grapes in Champagne get this rating and, as you would expect, they are very expensive.

Many winegrowers are part of cooperatives so they can combine grapes, processing equipment and marketing. Some growers just sell their harvest and have no involvement after that.

First day of our stay we spent in Epernay, a short drive from Reims. Judging by the sort of cars we saw everywhere, there is a bit of money around. The main street is Avenue de Champagne, home of many of the big names. The photos tell the rest of the story.

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Above are some of the beautiful residences in the avenue. In comparison, the Moet and Chandon headquarters looked like a 1980s tax office building.

Our last Eperany experience was on board the hot air balloon (see photo above). It was tethered to the ground, so we basically just went up, looked at the view and took some photos and then we came down. But it was a good way to check out the excellent countryside.

So that was day 1. Next day we had booked ourselves on a bus tour of the Reims district, taking us to a variety of different wineries and giving us a big learning experience. First stop was Veuve Cliquot on the outskirts of Reims. The underground caves are made of chalk and started life as a chalk mine until it was discovered that these caves were perfect conditions for the aging and storage of champagne. After hearing about the history of Veuve Cliquot and walking through some of the caves we had our first tasting of the day.

Next winery was an example of a co-op system where a group of local grape growers band together and share wine juice and production facilities to either make their own champagne or sell the juice to some other producers. Then lastly we popped in to a family run winery who have only been in operation since 1996. They have achieved significant success, exporting to a number of countries and have also started hosting weddings at their own venue. Here are some of our many photos.

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For a change of pace, we also visited the Notre Dame Cathedral in Reims. Even by French standards, this place is old. Construction started in the 13th century to replace an earlier church that was destroyed by fire in 1221. It has since been damaged and restored, extended and enhanced many, many times with the almost total destruction in WW1 with the German bombs causing it to catch fire and melt the lead roof. It was restored yet again by 1938 and managed to escape further damage in WW2. Its other claim to fame is that it was the site of the coronation of 31 French kings.

These days it is the backdrop of a sound and light show that is held each evening, although with the sun shining till 10:30 pm, it’s not for the early to bed people.

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So after learning a lot and tasting different varieties and price points, we didn’t come across anything that outshines the Australian bubbles.

That’s our latest news. Bon soir

L & M.