From Holland to Holland: Champagne Comes From Champagne

It is time for the second half of the recap of Todd's parent's trip to visit us. I left off as we were heading out of Paris to Epernay. Epernay is one of the primary cities where champagne is produced. As you probably know, bubbly can only be called champagne if it is produced from grapes in the purple region on this map:

It's not a very big area considering how much champagne is produced there! We arrived in Epernay in the late afternoon, following a 1.5 hour drive from Paris. The countryside was absolutely beautiful, and the vineyards weren't even green yet! I can't imagine how pretty it is once things begin to grow.

Upon arrival, we checked into our hotel, which was in a beautiful old mansion located right in town.

And here's pages from the hotel catalogue we were apparently trying to recreate.

Our room: 1950's-couple style.

We loved out stay there, it really felt like we had just moved into someone's home! After getting settled in, we set out to explore a bit. We walked by Moet et Chandon, where we'd be touring the next day.

And I sipped my first glass of champagne (say it with me now: "shawm-paahhn-yeh")

Unfortunately, it was the day after Easter, and a Monday in France, which means that nearly nothing was open in Epernay. So for dinner, we had to hunt down a place that would serve us food. The place we found looked OK on the outside, but once we sat down, Todd began to not-so-lovingly refer to the place as the "gas station". This place was a bar, tobacco shop, and restaurant all rolled into one. Now I'm all for multitasking, but it seemed that the food served took the lowest priority of the functions of this joint. Bob covered up his hamburger since he didn't want to finish it....

My meal left me feeling like this:

Ah well, you win some, you lose some. The rest of the food we had on the trip was amazing. Including our breakfast at the mansion in the morning.

I never said he was normal.

Denim shirt day.

Following breakfast, we embarked on our all day champagne tasting adventure. It began with a stroll down the Avenue de Champagne that is home to about 15 different champagne houses.

Moet et Chandon, our first stop for the day is conveniently the first champagne house on the street. From there we could just walk our way up, stopping wherever we pleased. Moet et Chandon is probably the most famous champagne house, and they are the creators of Dom Perignon. Their tour was fantastic. Lots of good historical information paired with a walk through their cellars that are located underground. There are 110 kilometeres of cellars winding under the Avenue de Champagne. Their grapes are grown in vineyards out in the countryside and then brought to their facilities on the Avenue de Champagne where the rest of the process of creating the champagne takes place.

Did you know that Dom Perignon was a monk?

Waiting for the tour.

Our tour guide showing a map of Champagne.

How champagne is stored for the second fermentation. Someone turns each of the bottles by hand every day! Thousands and thousands of bottles.

This is how the champagne is stored right after being bottled. The number on the bottom represents the total number of bottles just in that area of the cellar - 20,720!

After the tour, we got to try it!

Oh so good.

In the shop. Very classy.

Depending on the year of the vintage, a bottle of Dom Perignon will send for 1000s of dollars. The super rare stuff sells for 10s of 1000s at auction.

We done good.

After Moet, we ventured to plenty of other champagne houses. Here they are, in order down the street. The first, Champagne Collard-Picard only has a tasting room on the avenue. Both their house and vineyards are outside of the city.

A rose champagne.

We couldn't get in here, but it was a beautiful building.

Sampling 3 varieties at Castellane.

A view down the avenue. Epernay, the Capital of Champagne.

Our next stop was Mercier, which boasts a cheaper champagne. Their motto is, "Champagne for the masses". We took the tour here as well. It was very cool because it took you on a train through their cellars.

Listening to the audio-guide on the train

The cellars were decorated with lots of frescoes and sculptures.

Just waiting for some bottles to store.

This barrel, containing Mercier champagne, was brought from Epernay to the 1889 Paris World's Fair. The only thing grander that was created for that Fair was the Eiffel Tower.

Mercier had a few acres of their vineyards right next to their house.

Our last stop was at Champagne Comtesse Lafond, which is housed in a small castle.

There was only one woman working at this one, so we needed to wait for her to finish a tour with another group. In the meantime, we stayed busy playing with a friendly dog on the property.

The woman who provided the tasting for us was so nice and accommodating. When we finished, we asked her to call us a taxi to take us back to the center of town. After thinking for about 1 second, she said, "You don't need to do that, I will drive you". So we all piled in her car and she drove us back into town. And who says the French are rude? I beg to differ.

Our second dinner in Epernay was much much better than the first. We dined at a typical French establishment, and we thoroughly enjoyed our meals. The next morning, we headed back up to Eindhoven to finish out the last 5 days of the trip.

Our days in Eindhoven were spent at a much slower pace, but we still had a great time. We biked, played euchre, did lots of shopping, drank more champagne, and had lots of great meals both at home and at some of our favorite restaurants.