Travels with Forty Roses: Champagne Region In Photos

We could spend a great deal more time here. But we must move back down the river toward Paris and our winter mooring now as there are closures on the locks that would hold us up until late November. So, sadly we are sliding down the Marne and staying at various tie ups enjoying the brilliant weather. Épernay, Cumières, Hautvilliers and surrounding countryside were beautiful and interesting. We have learned a tiny bit about the champagne process, admired the viticulture and approve of the products! We hosted two wonderful guests who also approved of the product and we enjoyed a few days of bubbly over the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend.

The very best thing about this region is the fact that there are so many small makers of champagne who work so hard to make their beautiful products. In North America we see the big houses but rarely ever the small makers. Here we had the opportunity to visit Champagne Avenue in Épernay where all the well-known brands have large, beautiful buildings for sales and tasting along with lovely hotels for the 1% who buy in huge quantity. This prestigious avenue with a length of roughly 1 km has in its undergound area around 200 million bottles of champagne laid out in a maze of 110km of cellars. And then there are the small makers who welcome you to their premise, where you chat with the owner/Recoltant -Manipulant. Grower Champagnes are those Champagnes that are produced by the same estate that owns the vineyards where the grapes are grown. Récoltant-Manipulant is the term in French, and Grower Champagnes can be identified by "RM" on the wine label. While large Champagne houses, such as Mumm, Moët et Chandon, Veuve Clicquot and others may use grapes sourced from as many as 80 different vineyards in the Champagne region to create a consistent house style, Grower Champagnes tend to be more terroir-focused, being sourced from a single vineyard or closely located vineyards around a village, and made with grapes which vary with each vintage. Today there are over 19,000 independent growers in the Champagne region accounting for nearly 88% of all vineyard land in the region; around 5,000 of these growers produce wine from their own grapes. Of the Champagne imported into the US in 2014, only 5% was grower Champagne. So to Canada it would be even more unlikely to see a Grower Champagne.

Enjoy the photos, which will improve, as I learn all the ins and outs of my new phone and camera.

We must add one little story. The first day we are in Épernay we decide to find a place for lunch so hurriedly we looked something up on our phones that was nearby. There were a couple of restaurants within a few metres so, hungry, we took the closest. We were greeted at the door and asked if we had reservations, which of course we did not. But amazingly, as we could see the place was busy, we were given a table, probably due to a last minute cancelation. We had an amazing meal. Everything was delicious. The chef appeared twice at our table to ask if all was acceptable, the service was superb, the champagne delightful. Only afterwards did we discover this is a much sought after restaurant of Michelin renown. We tried again to reserve, this time so our guests could enjoy the food too, but found it booked until January! Our fortunate day.

Overlooking Vineyards near Cumières

The caves of Moët et Chandon- This is 10,431 Bottles of Champagne on the Wall

28 KM of Caves

Oaken Cask Donated to Moët by Napoleon- Not used in the process but an interesting artifact

The Cellars Lie Beneath 10 to 30 meters of Limestone Chalk soil

One Stays with the Tour for Fear of Becoming Lost!

An Exceptional Vintage Dom Perignon Nabuchadnezzar (20 bottles) 15 litres.

Taking it all in and waiting to taste

Various Vintages in the Shop

	The 6 largest bottles are called Jereboam (4 bottles) 3 litres. Rehoboam (6 bottles) 4.5 litres. Methuselah (8 bottles) 6 litres. Salmanazar (12 bottles) 9 litres. Balthazar(16 bottles) 12 litres. Nabuchadnezzar (20 bottles) 15 litres