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Our driver and tour guide was right on time picking us up this morning. He was from Vietnam and it was kind of funny to learn that he has vineyards in Champagne, speaks fluent French, but has such a heavy Vietnamese accent, we could barely understand him! We had to pick up two other couples, one was on their honeymoon and they were originally from India (New Delhi) but currently live in Dubai. The last couple we picked up was from Atlanta and were visiting Paris for both business and pleasure. Cute young couple, reminded me of Traci and Matt since they were both 26.
Trong, our guide, had purchased an assortment of fresh pastries for us to enjoy while we were driving to Champagne. He told us the journey would take about an hour and a half, so we started munching away since we hadn't eaten breakfast yet. He also had juice boxes, hot coffee and tea, plus a bottle of water for everyone. After eating, we all got sleepy and sort of dozed a bit until we arrived at the vineyards.
The weather was gorgeous, sunny and no wind, which Trong said was quite lucky as it's usually very windy there. Everywhere we looked were vines and a lot of men were out pruning them. He explained that from November to March they prune and prepare the vines for the growing season. It was quite interesting and we learned a lot in spite of his thick accent. :))
We got back in the minivan and headed to one of the local wineries owned by a friend of his, Stephan. He is a small producer, only about 20,000 bottles of champagne a year, but it was so cool to see his operation because he explained all that goes into making a bottle of champagne. And there is a LOT that happens to make just one bottle.
First they have to handpick the grapes so they aren't damaged, then they are put into a machine that squeezes them between some balloon thing, then the juice is cleaned and they add a certain amount of yeast, then they are stored in a wooden barrel which is the first fermentation. Then the juice is bottled with a plastic small plug and a metal cap. The bottles are then stored on their sides for a minimum of three weeks to allow the sediment to flavor the wine. The bottles are then moved to a rack that holds them at an angle to allow the sediment to slowly move to the cap. They are turned every day just a little to allow this to happen. After a minimum of 15 months, the metal caps are removed which allows the sediment to also be removed and the bottles are corked. I'm not quite sure I've got this all exactly right because Stephan's accent was really heavy French and he didn't speak that well in English to begin with, so who knows? LOL He did tell us that once the champagne is corked, drink it because it doesn't really improve with age!
He showed us how he removes the metal cap, which takes some doing as the pressure causes the plug to pop out very quickly, and it takes a master to not lose a lot of the wine. He then uses a machine to place the cork, and that was really cool to watch.
We then went into his cellar and saw his bottles that are in process of aging/being flavored, which were quite a few because he favors his wine for much longer than the required 15 months. There are a ton of laws that the winemakers must meet in order to label their bottles "champagne" and inspectors come around quite often to make sure they are complying.
After touring the caves, we went into his home where he offered us three different types of champagne. One was mixed with grapes that make C******nay and Pinot Noir, and I can't remember what he said about the others. We sampled and they were all good. They can't ship to the states, it's against our laws (mostly to protect the USA wine industry), but we bought a bottle to have while still here (it weighs too much to pack!)
We left there after about 4 glasses of bubbly and I was feeling it! Trong drove us into the town of Reims, where we went to a very nice restaurant for a 3 course meal. We had our choice of appetizer, entree and dessert--Kathi and I both got the fois gras, sea bass and I had the molten chocolate cake, she had ice cream (we shared that). The fois gras was delicious as was the sea bass--it was served on a bed of sautéed spinach and creamy mashed potatoes with some pesto sauce on the side. Oh my--I ate almost every bite! My dessert was better than Kathi's, as the ice cream was a mixture of cookies and cream and not all that great.
We left there and toured an American library that was restored after the war thanks to several wealthy Americans. They still use the Dewey Decimal system in the library and the youngsters on the tour didn't even know what that was! Next we visited an old cathedral that was in the process of being restored and cleaned, then got a tour of a very large winery--Taittinger. This was very interesting since it was on the opposite end of the spectrum from Stephan's. They produce MANY bottles a year, although now I can't remember what the guide said (a French woman). We got to go into their cellars 30 meters (about 100 feet) underground, where everywhere you looked were bottles that were being flavored! It was amazing.
We took an elevator back to the surface (thank goodness!) and had some samples of their wines. I thought they were okay--I like a little sweeter taste but managed to choke them down. :))
Next came the long ride back to Paris. It was 5:00 pm at this point and we got caught in rush hour traffic. We were last to be dropped off and I was wishing I would have thought to ask Trong to just let us out at a metro stop, but I didn't realize at the time it was going to take us over an hour to get to our apt. We eventually made it back, though and after getting some salads to go at the restaurant next door, we were in for the night.
It was a fun day, so glad it worked out to take this tour!
Trong, our guide, had purchased an assortment of fresh pastries for us to enjoy while we were driving to Champagne. He told us the journey would take about an hour and a half, so we started munching away since we hadn't eaten breakfast yet. He also had juice boxes, hot coffee and tea, plus a bottle of water for everyone. After eating, we all got sleepy and sort of dozed a bit until we arrived at the vineyards.
The weather was gorgeous, sunny and no wind, which Trong said was quite lucky as it's usually very windy there. Everywhere we looked were vines and a lot of men were out pruning them. He explained that from November to March they prune and prepare the vines for the growing season. It was quite interesting and we learned a lot in spite of his thick accent. :))
We got back in the minivan and headed to one of the local wineries owned by a friend of his, Stephan. He is a small producer, only about 20,000 bottles of champagne a year, but it was so cool to see his operation because he explained all that goes into making a bottle of champagne. And there is a LOT that happens to make just one bottle.
First they have to handpick the grapes so they aren't damaged, then they are put into a machine that squeezes them between some balloon thing, then the juice is cleaned and they add a certain amount of yeast, then they are stored in a wooden barrel which is the first fermentation. Then the juice is bottled with a plastic small plug and a metal cap. The bottles are then stored on their sides for a minimum of three weeks to allow the sediment to flavor the wine. The bottles are then moved to a rack that holds them at an angle to allow the sediment to slowly move to the cap. They are turned every day just a little to allow this to happen. After a minimum of 15 months, the metal caps are removed which allows the sediment to also be removed and the bottles are corked. I'm not quite sure I've got this all exactly right because Stephan's accent was really heavy French and he didn't speak that well in English to begin with, so who knows? LOL He did tell us that once the champagne is corked, drink it because it doesn't really improve with age!
He showed us how he removes the metal cap, which takes some doing as the pressure causes the plug to pop out very quickly, and it takes a master to not lose a lot of the wine. He then uses a machine to place the cork, and that was really cool to watch.
We then went into his cellar and saw his bottles that are in process of aging/being flavored, which were quite a few because he favors his wine for much longer than the required 15 months. There are a ton of laws that the winemakers must meet in order to label their bottles "champagne" and inspectors come around quite often to make sure they are complying.
After touring the caves, we went into his home where he offered us three different types of champagne. One was mixed with grapes that make C******nay and Pinot Noir, and I can't remember what he said about the others. We sampled and they were all good. They can't ship to the states, it's against our laws (mostly to protect the USA wine industry), but we bought a bottle to have while still here (it weighs too much to pack!)
We left there after about 4 glasses of bubbly and I was feeling it! Trong drove us into the town of Reims, where we went to a very nice restaurant for a 3 course meal. We had our choice of appetizer, entree and dessert--Kathi and I both got the fois gras, sea bass and I had the molten chocolate cake, she had ice cream (we shared that). The fois gras was delicious as was the sea bass--it was served on a bed of sautéed spinach and creamy mashed potatoes with some pesto sauce on the side. Oh my--I ate almost every bite! My dessert was better than Kathi's, as the ice cream was a mixture of cookies and cream and not all that great.
We left there and toured an American library that was restored after the war thanks to several wealthy Americans. They still use the Dewey Decimal system in the library and the youngsters on the tour didn't even know what that was! Next we visited an old cathedral that was in the process of being restored and cleaned, then got a tour of a very large winery--Taittinger. This was very interesting since it was on the opposite end of the spectrum from Stephan's. They produce MANY bottles a year, although now I can't remember what the guide said (a French woman). We got to go into their cellars 30 meters (about 100 feet) underground, where everywhere you looked were bottles that were being flavored! It was amazing.
We took an elevator back to the surface (thank goodness!) and had some samples of their wines. I thought they were okay--I like a little sweeter taste but managed to choke them down. :))
Next came the long ride back to Paris. It was 5:00 pm at this point and we got caught in rush hour traffic. We were last to be dropped off and I was wishing I would have thought to ask Trong to just let us out at a metro stop, but I didn't realize at the time it was going to take us over an hour to get to our apt. We eventually made it back, though and after getting some salads to go at the restaurant next door, we were in for the night.
It was a fun day, so glad it worked out to take this tour!
- comments
traci how fun!! I'm most jealous of this day i think :) sounds like y'all had a blast! I would've taken a little snooze on the ride back after all of that booze and food lol
Elisa What a wonderful adventure Beth! It all sounds so exciting! You girls are having a great time!!
Crystal I agree with Traci. I think this would've been one of my favorite days too!