Today we set off for Reims located in the Champagne region in the North East of France. It is known for its champagne and the coronation of French Kings.
Our hotel room wasn’t ready so we went for a walk to check out Reims. We were in the center of Reims so it was just a short walk to the restaurants and shops. Great location!
We had a tour booked at Taittinger Champagne House which wasn’t as central. It was a 30 minute walk.
Taittinger Champagne is a family owned champagne house since 1932 and is famous for its production of Grande Cru blanc de blanc and rose vintage champagne.
In the 4th century, the chalk pits were patiently dug out to extract blocks of chalk by the Romans and 900 years later they would become the basement of Saint-Nicaise Abbey. They were then extended by a network of tunnels linking cellars, crypts and vaults used for storing the champagne wines sold by the Benedictine monks.
The Abbey was destroyed during the French Revolution, but its underground structures remained intact. The Chateau was bought by Pierre Taittinger in 1932. He then used the chalk network of tunnels that are 18 metres underground and perfect for the production of champagne.
The tour started with a video presentation of the family and their passion for making champagne. We then went down into the cellar or caves where the bottles are stored and aged. As already mentioned, the caves are all made of chalk. I was tempted to engrave my name like many others had but didn’t want to hold up the tour. The guide then took us through the caves explaining the champagne making process. At the end of the tour we tasted the Grand cru blanc de blanc and the Rose vintage. Both were very good but I preferred the Rose.
The next day we took the train to Epernay to have a tour of Moët & Chandon which is located on the famous Avenue de Champagne.
Some say the Avenue de Champagne is the most expensive in the world, more so than the Champs-Elysees in Paris because of the millions of bottles of champagne stored in the kilometres of chalk cellars beneath it. The cellars and the above-ground part of the avenue were both inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2015 for its testimony to the history of champagne.
The Moët & Chandon tour began with the Memories of Tomorrow exhibition. The exhibition had 11 embroidered pieces that represented moments and elements from Moët & Chandon history. They were exquisite and parts of the pieces were made out of the Moët & Chandon bottles.
We then walked down many steps into the cellars. There are 28 kilometers of chalk tunnels! The guide went through the making of champagne with many visual examples.
It was a very good tour.
We had time before the train back to Reims so took a walk up the avenue. The buildings are so big and ornate. And of course we had to taste some more champagne.
We caught the train back to Reims and found a brasserie. We enjoyed a bottle of Chablis my new favourite wine.
On our last day in Reims we had a final champagne house tour at Veuve Clicquot! It wasn’t until 4pm so we had some time to explore the rest of Reims.
We started with the Notre Dame cathedral. Like all the cathedrals it was big and ornate with beautiful stained glass windows. It is also where the Kings of France were coronated.
The walk to Veuve was 30 minutes so to break it up we went to the Reims Museum. It was located in the former abbey of Saint Remi. It is known as a Royal abbey because in its day it kept the Holy Ampula used to anoint the Kings of France. The abbey of Saint Remi was included on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1991. The museum went through the history of Reims from the prehistoric period to the Renaissance with many regional archaeological collections.
After the museum we straight to Veuve Clicquot.
We were a bit early so had a glass of Veuve Clicquot in the cafe.
The cafe had a burger called the Sunny Burger which was 20 euros. In Aussie dollars and with the current exchange rate it would be more than $40! We just had champagne.
Veuve Clicquot is one of the oldest champagne houses and like all the champagne house it has a very long history.
However the history of Veuve Clicquot I found the most interesting. It was founded in 1772 by Philippe Clicquot. His son Francois took over the running of the business in 1798 after his marriage to Barbe-Nicole Posardin. 7 years later Francois died and Madame Clicquot took over the running of the business which was very unique because woman did not run businesses back then. She was the first woman to take over a champagne house along with creating the first vintage champagne and blending red and white wine. And, I didn’t know that the name Veuve Clicquot is translated as Widow Clicquot and she was known as the Grande Dame of Champagne. Great history and great champagne!
Another interesting fact about the champagne houses is that all of the chalk cellars were a refuge for people during WW1. They even had schools and hospitals set up in some of them.
Reims was a great couple of days exploring the champagne houses. We have a great knowledge of the process of making champagne.
And, were learned how to open a bottle of champagne the right way- 6 twist of the wire, leave the cage on, hold it on the top and bottom and twist the bottle. But you don’t get the loud pop.