A Little Fizz

I had a rough week...because of a select few guys being total and complete ____ (insert your expletive of choice here). Luckily, I had planned a trip to Epernay, the capital of Champagne, and it's just what I needed.

My day started with a tour and tasting at Moët & Chandon. Even though the tour started at 10h30, I opted for the tasting of the Grand Vintage brut and rosé (like I said, rough week). The tour included a video about the house and continued through a fraction of the 18 km of underground cellars before concluding with the tasting. Everyone else on my tour had the same idea of going big or going home, so it was Grand Vintage all around.  I appreciated learning about the process of making champagne--nerd alert!--and I especially appreciated enjoying the final product :)

Moët & Chandon Cellars

I stopped at a local resto for lunch before continuing on to the park at city hall to read until the next champagne house opened for the afternoon. I headed up the Avenue de Champagne to Mercier. Mercier definitely had a different feel to it than Moët but it was interesting all the same. The Mercier tour is done on a little train that snakes along the cellar before another tasting. Plus, it's home to the #2 prize winner of the 1889 World Exposition--a 23 ton wine cask that can hold 213,000 bottles of champagne! (First prize went to the Eiffel Tower.)

Le Foudre at Mercier

From Mercier I went to de Castellane. While waiting for the English tour to begin, I wandered around the museum and climbed to the top of the old water tower. Eight flights of stairs after two glasses of champagne at Mercier maybe wasn't the smartest decision I've ever made, but the view of Epernay was nice. 

View of de Castellane's old water tower from Place de Champagne

At this point I knew pretty much all there was to know about the evolution of champagne production, but the de Castellane tour included production facilities instead of just cellars. (de Castellane only owns 6 km of cellars in Epernay and buys most of the wine from other producers.) The Belgians on the tour with me were a little obnoxious about the photo taking, but it was an interesting tour all the same. Plus, it too ended with a dégustation, so no complaints here!

Avenue de Champagne, Epernay

It was about 16h45 when I was strolling back down the avenue towards the train station. I didn't have time for another tour, but decided that one last dégustation couldn't hurt! I went into the boutique at Champagne Collard-Picard for a tasting of 3 classic wines. I was a bit concerned that I would be cutting it close for time (my train left at 17h33) but c'est la vie, non?! I really enjoyed the champagnes I tried there, and it was nice to chat a bit with the hostess (en l'anglais, bien sûr). I ended up purchasing a bottle of their Prestige for several reasons. First, it can be served as an apero, with dinner, or with dessert. Voilà, versatility. Secondly, it "had more character" since its first fermentation is done in oak casks instead of stainless steel vats. Third, it is champagne and it was more reasonably priced than a bottle of Moët.

All in all the perfect end to a stress-filled week! It was an easy trip from Paris and most importantly--I learned that champagne goes with ANYTHING!