To the attention of Champagne lovers – Tour in Champagne Heaven.
Welcome to Champagne-Ardenne! It’s a wonderful countryside of France, you can experience a peaceful, chic lifestyle here. Already in the medieval times vineyards were planted in North-East France, later on champagne was served for the French king's coronation events as well, it quickly became the drink of the royalty. I'll take you to the region which is famous for its sparkling wine and show you what to visit here. You can call champagne only those products, that come from this region and produced under its rules. Usually three types of grapes are used for the production: Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay. Learn more about this special drinks, champagne houses and French lifestyle, have fun!
The best way to buy flight tickets to Paris, then rent a car and you can reach the region easily by car, it's a 2 hour drive. As you leave Paris, you will cross some nice, little villages.
Stylish accommodation in a real Chateau
The center of the region is Reims, the famous champagne houses are located in Epernay on the Avenue de Champagne. We visited the region with our friends and we chose to stay in a stylish Chateau d'Etoges (www.etoges.com ).
The castle is an ideal spot for visiting the most important parts of the region. You can feel the real history here, the castle was built around the 12th, 13th century, it had many owners during the past and finally the whole building was renovated by the family Fillette- Neuwille in 1991, it started to operate as hotel in 1992. The breakfast includes salmon, eggs, a wide variety of pastry, ham, cheese and even champagne. What I liked the most is the style of the rooms and the atmosphere of the place.
Picnic in the castle’s garden
A great plus is the amazing, huge garden where you can just sit on a bench, grab a good bottle of champagne and have some bites of cheese, the best way to relax and enjoy your time.
Epernay – The champagne Heaven
The town of Epernay is surrounded by wineries, stroll the Avenue de Champagne, where all the most prestigious champagne houses are located. The architecture is stunning here, the residencies of the companies are chateaux style buildings with decorative facade. The whole street has an elegant, chic atmosphere. Most of the champagne houses offer tasting and cellar visit. We booked appointment online in advance, but there are tours usually every hour, check the homepage of the house you plan to visit.
MoĂ«t & Chandon – My visit
Visiting Moet&Chandon cellar and tasting their champagne is a must-do in Epernay. We had a great one hour English tour, very informative, than we had the chance to taste Rose and Vintage champagne in the frame of the "Grand Vintage" tour. Vintage champagne usually come in full bottles, so it's great to taste two different types by glass. The chateau is itself very elegant, nicely decorated, they produce top-quality champagne. It was magical to see the bottles of the Dom Perignon maturing.
It's another impressive place to visit, the house is located in Reims. The tour guide was professional, he spoke an excellent English. I was quite impressed by the place. Did you know that they produced rose champagne first in history? Madame Clicquot was such an inspiring, strong person, she lost her husband at an early age, still she didn't give up and she took over his business. She introduced many innovations, she created a more elegant bottle and she was the first who produced vintage champagne (1810). This young, 27-year-old widow (from here comes the name "Veuve") became a leader in the industry, she is known as "Le Grande Dame de la Champagne".
Authentic champagne tour in Dom Perignon's village
If you are eager to try local producers' products as well, I highly recommend you visiting Hautvillers. This is a little village, where everything started, Monk Dom Perignon worked at the Abbey. He discovered the sparkling wine accidentally, later on he introduced new methods of producing the real champagne, he was able to harness the fermentation process first in history. His tomb can be found today in the chancel of the Saint-Sindulphe abbey church.
The place itself is worth a visit, not to mention the Restaurant called Au36, where you can book a table in advance and taste six types of local champagne, plus regional specialties like macaron, cheese, duck variations. We found this place on Tripadvisor and I must say that we can highly recommend it to everybody: cozy, stylish patio, quality food and local champagne served. Everything was professional.
How to dress for a champagne tour?
The temperature is often chilly inside the cellars around 12-13 Celzius (aprox.53 Fahrenheit), so dress warm, grab a coat or thick jumper, wear comfortable, warm shoes. These houses are so impressive and elegant, add a chic scarf or a nice bag to your outfit and enjoy this royal place!
I hope you loved my little "tour" of the region and you will have a chance to spend here a few days and visit these fabulous sights soon!
Folow @Travelsarc to explore more.
By: Adrienne Tobias | Country: Budapest, Hungary
Traveller, Author
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