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Off to Epernay we went in the Skoda, half an hour drive from Reims its another center of Champagne in the Marne region. The roads were narrow and we were flanked by the leafy green National Park, the weather had also perked up, crispy cool day with blue sky.
The Avenue du Champagne is the first street you drive down upon entering Epernay, it houses the regal yet bourgouis palaces and townhouses that were built back in the 1800s by the founding fathers of the Champagne Dynasties.
Its not just a New Zealand thing, even in France when you enter a town you have the giant crazy emblem of the town, a giant wine cork…how fitting!
The Operator found a park in a side street directly across from Moet et Chandon, it was a brilliant park except for the temporary sign in the front of the alley that intimated there was no parking in the area from the 13/5 – 16/5 – anyone parking there would be towed away….The Operator wasnt going to move the car…there were 10 others parked there with us…his logic is, she’ll be right, they werent going to tow everyone…..famous last words.
We headed straight for the boutique of Moet et Chandon to buy some wine, Rosie does buy this on special occasions and as gifts back home in New World when it is on special…it cost exactly the same here in the home Champagne!
Here in the home where it is made! The same price as a bottle that has been trucked around the world to sit on Hawera New World Supermarkets shelf…Rosie was indignant! All the other brands she had bought to date were dead cheap in comparison! No Moet for Rosie just out of plain principle! She will make due with her Bollinger, Deutz and Taittanger……
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Epernay itself is a beautiful wee town, very compact and picturesque in the old area, Rosie couldnt be bothered visiting any more Champagne houses so The Operator led her to a merchant tasting house that sold on behalf all brands and we bought our crate of mixed bottles to take away…Rosie was dead serious when she said were going to be drinking champagne only when in France.
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Its lunch time again, Rosie and The Operator settled in for lunch at La Grillande Gourmande and were greeted by the biggest, thickest, heaviest wine list know to man…it was actually stupid in its size and the poor wee waitress heave howed it onto the table and rattled all the cutlery. Crazy.
Now before you all think Rosie and The Operator are a bunch of fat buggers as all they do is eat….well, we are and we do…..but, in our defense everything shuts here from 12.30 to 14.30…..there is nothing else to do but join the legions of office workers that pour into the restaurants for a boozy long lunch….if you cant beat em, join em.
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We both did well today on the selection fronts….The Operator had a lovely fish and potato dish and Rosie had duck breast and fried duck liver which was to die for….I have never tasted such a beautiful duck liver…yyyuuuuummmm.
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Rosies pudding had a syringe full of orange sugar liquor that you injected into the cake, she was taking a photo of it when she dropped her phone right on top of her pudding in the full restaurant…it clattered and banged and people looked over…there was my phone lying face down on my pudding on top of the cream. Even the dalmatian sitting under the table next door shook his head.
Images of Epernay, a beautiful small town.
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After lunch we took to the road for a tour by car around the Provence of Marne, through the villages that produce the grapes for the Champagne Houses. Every piece of land has a grapevine growing on it, they are all very close to the ground and well clippered, no taller than knee height. One hectare of land in this area is worth 1.2 million euros. There are still alot of independent landowners that grow grapes for specific houses but the houses are looking at buying land themselves and pushing the prices up.
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We followed the wine trail along the banks of La Marne and wove in and out of small villages, Hautvilliers with its beautiful hanging baskets of flowers and tight streets, Ay a beautiful town with many pressing houses and smaller Champagne producers and Champillion, Vers and Dizy, small villages set amongst rolling vineyards. The roads were free of traffic, the breeze was light and it didnt even rain today!
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Tomorrow Rosie and The Operator leave France, we are headed to visit family in the Netherlands for a few days. Hope the coffee will be brewed and the vlaai waiting…
Bet the Operators mind went into overdrive when he saw THAT cork