France September 2017

PHOTOGRAPHS: DIDIER GUY; VILLE D’ÉPERNAY; MICHEL JOLY; A.S. FLAMENT
village boulanger. Unless the proprietor is
an independent producer, each individual
vineyard’s harvest is promised every year
to a famous champagne house and
pegged with a sign. Case in point: we
spot signposts from the train noting
grapes destined for top-end houses
Louis Roederer and Krug.
Once more, arriving by train is
effortless. The Gare d’Épernay was once
the starting point for exporting tens of
millions of bottles of champagne, so the
big-name houses in the town centre are
just a five-minute walk away. Historic
buildings dot the affluent cobblestone
streets. Épernay’s pâtisseries even display
champagne-flavoured macarons.
The biggest draw in town is the
Avenue de Champagne, an elegant street
housing many of the most prestigious
champagne houses, but underneath these
imposing facades lie 110 kilometres of
cellars, storing 200 million bottles of
bubbly – a figure that helps to keep the
global supply at around 1.4 billion bottles.
The majority of the celebrated houses
offer tours. Moët & Chandon’s 28
kilometres of labyrinthine caves make up
the largest warren of cellars in the region.
Outside the house stands a sculpture of
the legendary Dom Pérignon, reputed
inventor of champagne and a Benedictine
monk in the nearby village of Hautvillers.
His steely gaze eyes us up. Is he implying
that it would be rude not to stock up
straight from the source? We bag
a couple more bottles of Moët directly
from the gift shop.
The twins demand an afternoon’s
detour in Aÿ, just four minutes by train
from Épernay. Incredibly, this compact
countryside village (population 4,500)
has no fewer than 55 champagne houses,
including a scattering of famous names,
such as Bollinger, Deutz and Ayala. The
surrounding vineyards are criss-crossed
by hiking trails, a healthy addition to our
schedule after two days of andouillette
sausages, choucroute and fizz. For
enthusiasts, the Musée des Métiers
du Champagne details the process of
champagne-making.
Flashes of riverside
The UK remains the leading export
market for champagne, with much of it
arriving by road. But two centuries ago,
bottles were taken by boat along the
River Marne via Épernay to Paris, before
being shipped across the Channel.
We follow the river’s tumbling route
westwards, the railway line offering
stunning flashes of riverside walking
paths and weeping willows as we trace
the Marne’s southern banks all the way
to Château-Thierry. It is apparent why
this entire valley was awarded Unesco
World Heritage status in 2015.
The remains of a 12th-century castle
crown Château-Thierry, a bustling
market town that marks the final stop on
our journey. To the east sits Champagne
Joël Michel, a family-run organic
producer that has been a local institution
since 1847. Unlike anywhere thus far on
our travels, the vineyard features both
Japanese and medieval gardens – ideal for
our boys to scramble around.
I take my sudden burst of freedom to
sample a house brut, decorated with
a 1920s-style label, which I definitely
wouldn’t have stumbled across back
home. Then it’s London calling.
We reset watches on the Eurostar sprint
home, allowing us extra time for bedtime
stories and more bubbly. No airport
queues for us.
● See page 48 for travel information. ➳
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CHAMPAGNE
TAKE THE TRAIN
Three other French wine
areas to visit by rail
Alsace: With one change in Paris,
France’s easternmost wine-growing
region is a 5hr 15min journey from
London. From Strasbourg,
the Canal de la Bruche cycle path is
a picturesque way to access the
nearby vineyards of Molsheim.
Alternatively, journey 30 minutes
south by rail to Colmar, which is also on
the Alsace Wine Route.
Bordeaux: France’s most renowned
wine region, Bordeaux is home to more
than 8,000 producers. A speedy new
rail route between London and
Bordeaux (with one change in Paris)
was launched in July 2017, reducing
travel time to less than 5hr 30min.
East of Bordeaux, the medieval town
of Saint-Émilion – a Unesco World
Heritage site – is also easily accessed
by train.
Rhône Valley: Heart of the Côtes du
Rhône AOC, the Rhône Valley is the
country’s oldest wine region. Direct
trains from London to Avignon
(several times per week from March
to November) take 5hr 45min. From
here, you are well placed to visit
Châteauneuf-du-Pape, where Avignon
popes cultivated their own vineyards
during the 14th century.
Explore the Champagne area by
car with our road trip itinerary
www.completefrance.com/travel/
driving
www.completefrance.com FRANCE MAGAZINE 47