Paris1972-Versailles2003

And here I am back in the Grand Est or Big East; a wonderful region. I have been here a lot, and family ties of old; however, even if several posts on it,feels never enough credit to the Grand Est or Champagne-Ardennes or the Marne! time to remedy that me think.  Therefore, here is my take on Champagne history, and its kingdoms of Reims and Epernay !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I. Let me tell you a bit more on Reims and Epernay, champagne country !!!!  One of my favorite cities, region,and one of the first cities that I visit in France way back in 1990. It has become a fixture ever since with many family trips and even weekend getaways. It is a tender family story as my dear late wife Martine used to work picking grapes here to save for schooling together with her other sisters and brothers who followed. There is lot to tell here so I just cover the basics, much reading and questions to fulfill a good trip here, and you can ask me for details bien sûr. As for the history and pictures see my other many posts on them in my blog. This special post will be in my black and white series, no pictures. Reims as it is Epernay is the Department of the Marne (as per the river) No 51 in the region now of Grand Est old Champagne-Ardenne of my belle France. You reach them on the A4 autoroute very easy on exit/sorties 23 Cathedral and 24 St Remi. You can ,also, go on the D3 (old N3)  national road from porte de Pantin in Paris passing by Meaux on your way to Epernay and then the D951 (old N51 ) to Reims. If coming from UK the A26 from Calais takes you here too. Parking is very easy as I had parked on the street leading to the Cathedral ,rue Liebergier. On Epernay I have parked by the train station, of course plenty more parking spaces. And there are many wonderful little towns all over the area like Hautevilliers,Avizé, Ay,Chalôns en Champagne  etc etc etc.! I am sure like me you will inquire about the Champagne houses, this is a must in either city. My favorites houses will be given away here, and they are not necessarily the famous names, my bottles are from Champagne G H Martel,17 rue de Créneaux, Reims; Champagne Leclerc-Briant,67 rue Claude Ruelle, Epernay,.Champagne de Castellane, 57 rue de Verdun, Epernay, Champagne Mercier, 68-70 avenue de Champagne , Epernay (my first ever taste of Champagne! and still a family staple! Now part of Moêt & Chandon ) Champagne Moet & Chandon, 20 avenue de Champagne, Epernay, Champagne G. H. Mumm, 34 rue des Champs de Mars,Reims ; champagne Ruinart, (claim to be the oldest champagne house) 4 rue de Crayéres, Reims, Champagne Taittinger, 9 place Saint Nicaise, Reims, Champagne Veuve Clicquot-Ponsardin, 1 place des Droits de l’Homme, Reims,. Champagne Vranken-Pommery, 5 place du Général Gouraud, Reims, and one not on these cities but that I buy a lot  is Champagne Michel Gonet, 196 avenue Jean Jaurés, Avize; Have a bubbly day in the Marne! I will add here in no particular order some of my best choices for Champagne. And these are: CHARLES HEIDSIECK Cuvée Blanc des Millénaires 2006, AYALA Cuvée N ° 7, Brut 2007, RUINART R de Ruinart 2011,JACQUESSON 743 Extra-Brut, TARLANT La Lutétienne 2005, Brut Nature,LARMANDIER-BERNIER Les Chemins d´Avize Grand Cru Blanc de blancs Extra-Brut 2013,LAURENT-PERRIER  Grand Siècle Iteration N ° 24, DOM PÉRIGNON  Vintage 2010, LOUIS ROEDERER  Crystal 2012, POL ROGER  Sir Winston Churchill 2009, TAITTINGER  Comtes de Champagne Grands Crus Blanc de blancs 2008, POMMERY  Cuvée Louise 2004, VEUVE CLICQUOT PONSARDIN’S  The Great Lady 2012, PERRIER JOUET Cuvée Belle Époque 2012, EGLY-OURIET  Brut 1er Cru “ The Vines of Vrigny ”,BESSERAT DE BELLEFON  Cuvée des Moines Blanc de blancs, BILLECART-SALMON  Les Rendez-vous N ° 1, Meunier Extra-Brut, GOSSET Brut 12 years,DEUTZ  Brut Classic, G.H. MUMM  Brut Cordon Rouge, You try these bottles if can be found at reasonable prices today, but anything from these houses is good, me recommend! And,also, some famous historical sayings about the wonderful bubbly , Champagne! “Remember gentlemen, it’s not just France we are fighting for, it’s Champagne!”  Winston Churchill “I only drink Champagne on two occasions, when I am in love and when I am not.” Coco Chanel “Champagne is the only wine that leaves a woman beautiful after drinking it.”Madame de Pompadour “I’ll drink your champagne. I’ll drink every drop of it, I don’t care if it kills me.”F. Scott Fitzgerald “Champagne is the wine of civilization and the oil of government” Winston Churchill! While in Epernay, you need to walk the Avenue de Champagne with many 19C houses from renaissance to classical styles.  For goodies shopping for local items, I will recommend the chocolates of Deléans, 20 rue Cérés, Reims chocolates with pink biscuits, try the pêchè du diable or devils sin!!; the biscuits Fossier, 25 cours Jean-Baptiste Langlet;  near the Reims Cathedral , and ,also at Epernay, this is a genuine local product not to missed the cookies yummy!  Chocolates with Champagne taste, well head for La Petite Friande at 15 cours Jean Baptiste Langlet, try the bouchon marc de champagne or the cork with champagne liquor ,and of course the macarons. For something more kitchen use, and a local brand try the mustards and vinager and mustard Clovis done in Reims by Charbonneaux Brabant at 5 rue de Valmy. While in Epernay just dont missed out on the chocolates of Vincent Dallet Maison Dallet, 26 rue du Général Leclerc; also at Reims. He can even teach you how to do them ! For lodging/eating  we have stayed at the beautiful gastronomic and wonderful Les Berceaux in Epernay, just sublime and romantic, as well as exquisite French food done right with a Champagne twist, you wont go wrong here,tops.  We eat here each time in town for several years! In Reims we have stayed at the Mercure Reims Centre, Cathedrale, close to all ,and one of my favorite chains in France. Our eating places over the years have been many but the best were Le Colibri,12 rue Chanzy but unfortunately it has closed just for memories posted! It was almost in front of the Cathedral, great service, very friendly with kids, and the food was always good, piano at evenings.    The Reims tourist office: https://www.reims-tourisme.com/en/ The Epernay tourist office: https://www.epernay-tourisme.com/en/ The city of Reims on its heritage: https://www.reims.fr/la-ville-de-reims/reims-et-son-patrimoine The city of Epernay on its heritage: https://epernay.fr/sortir-bouger/culture-patrimoine/patrimoine-a-decouvrir The region is divided into 3 zones, the montagne de Reims in the dept of the Marne, the Vallée de la Marne,covering the department of Aisne (2), Marne (51) and Seine-et-Marne (77); and the Côte des blancs (Marne). It is a protected brand name worldwide. Only those coming from here should be call Champagne. The geographical area of AOC Champagne is made up of 635 towns, including 319 for the production of grapes, spread over the five departments of Marne (51), Aisne (02), Aube (10) , Seine-et-Marne (77) and Haute-Marne (52). Of the 319 towns in the Champagne production area, only 17 are entitled to the “Grand cru” and 44 to that of ” Premier Cru “ designations. The types of Champagne are also called not dosed; extra brut, brut; extra sec; sec; semi-sec; doux and raw nature. They are bottled normally in half-bottle, bottle and the magnum. There are other bottles but these are the most common. Champagne production involves three main professional categories: The winegrowers-owners of almost all of the Champagne vineyard (90%). Being able to develop their vintages only from their single harvest, they are therefore dependent both on their vintage and the vagaries of each harvest. There are currently just over 15,000. In this figure, around 5,000, the harvesters-manipulators, vinify their harvest, themselves or in cooperatives. The others are harvesters, who sell their grapes to traders. The merchants, often called Champagne Houses, are the only ones who have the authorization to buy grapes outside their own harvest, and even to do so only when they do not own any vineyard. And the Cooperatives. Some general guide as really it is up to one particular taste. The professionals in the business tell us that the extra brut are ideal with oysters (iodine does not go well with sugar), raw fish from Japanese cuisine and all seafood. Non-vintage brut and “Blanc de Blancs” Champagnes are drunk as an aperitif ,and can accompany starters and fish and seafood dishes. Vintage brut and rosé Champagnes can be served with meat and cheese dishes; younger vintages should precede older wines. Sec and demi-sec are perfect to accompany desserts. On July 4, 2015, « Coteaux, maisons et caves de Champagne » or Hillsides, houses and cellars of Champagne were listed as UNESCO World Heritage of Humanity site. The Champagne World Heritage in France: https://www.champagne-patrimoinemondial.org/ The official UNESCO World Heritage Sites on Champagne: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1465/ There you folks, a wonderful spot in my belle France for all to enjoy; class and tradition the best combination. And the best Champagne in the world !!! Again, hope you enjoy this post on Champagne history, and its kingdoms of Reims and Epernay !!! as I. And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!