Champagne
A Taste ofChampagne
GETTING THERE: By Ferry: Brittany Ferries: Portsmouth-Caen / Cherbourg from £ 215 return( with cabin); P & O Ferries: Dover-Calais from £ 50 return; Langan’ s Brasserie on board. Start as you mean to go on, with brunch in the best restaurant on board. By Road: route planning, including tolls: www. viamichelin. com & www. autoroutes. fr. From Calais to Reims( 300 kilometres) takes two and half hours on the A26; to Troyes( 430 kms). By Rail: Eurostar to Paris Nord- then TGV Paris Est to Reims( 45 minutes). Railbookers: bespoke holidays by rail( from £ 229 pp) for 3 nights in Reims. WHERE TO EAT, DRINK & STAY: Arblaster & Clarke Wine Tours: the best Champagne tours, even Champagne weekends and festivals, www. winetours. co. uk, tel:(+ 44) 01730 263111. Shopping around can justify your trip: you can even bring back 36 bottles, often sourced at only € 13 per bottle. Champagne houses: list of great names www. maisons-champagne. com Dumont & Fils: family producers, www. champagnedumont. fr Epernay Champagne tips: www. ot-epernay. fr Hostellerie La Montagne: Colombey-les-deux-eglises: www. hostelerielamontagne. com La Commanderie: La Maison de Rhodes, Troyes, www. maisonderhodes. com, tel:(+ 33) 03 25 43 11 11, rooms from € 165. Royal Champagne: for grand rooms and Michelin-starred Champagnematched gourmet cuisine near Epernay, www. royalchampagne. com Taittinger wine cellar tour: 99 Place St-Nicaise, Reims, www. taittinger. com, tel. 03 26 85 84 33. Also visit Krug( www. krug. com), Lansin and Veuve Clicquot, close to Reims Cathedral( Reims tourist office: www. reims-tourisme. com
WHAT TO DO Abbaye d’ Auberive: www. abbaye-auberive. com Langres: www. tourisme-langres. com Memorial Charles de Gaulle: www. memorial-charlesdegaulle. fr Renoir Museum and Essoyes: www. renoir. aube-champagne. com and www. essoyes. fr Reims, regional capital of Champagne: www. reims-tourisme. com. Events: Reims Beaux Arts museum stages a major exhibition on the influence of Champagne on the arts from 17th Century to modern times( until 26 May 2013), www. expo-champagne. reims. fr Greeters( free walks with locals): www. greeters-en-champagne. com Champagne-Ardenne: further information on www. tourisme-champagne-ardenne. com. and a cellar of almost 300 vintage Champagnes. There really is no escape for the weak-willed or the abstemious.
Heritage, craftsmanship, creativity and superlative quality are the hallmarks of the leading Champagne brands, but the novice is often no wiser, except at the very top end. Although few of us can put it into words, Champagne aficionados claim to detect aromas of candied limes, zesty mandarins, dried nuts, salty butter and bitter marmalade in a few of the best bubbles.
Most non-vintage Champagnes are a composite of several different years but the leaders, such as Krug, can rely on nearly 200 options. This prestigious brand was beloved by Ernest Hemingway, John Le Carré and even the late Queen Mother. Krug cultivates its myth-making carefully. In accordance with Krug family tradition, Olivier Krug even had a sip of champagne as a newborn baby, before tasting his mother’ s milk.
Snobbery permeates the world of Champagne but can be pleasurably amusing in small doses.
Krug may be one of the finest Champagne marques but Olivier Krug still remembers his grandfather scorning rosé Champagne as only fit for“ birthday cake and girly clubs”. Paul Burrell, the late Princess of Wales’ s butler, pronounced that when you open a bottle of champagne,“ it should sound like a mermaid’ s sigh”.
28 | EuroTravel