Recently we had the pleasure of visiting the Champahne District in France. Now I know that Champagne is a title restricted to just those vinyards in the Champange District but had no idea on the depth of history surrounding it. This included the discovery of the process by the monks, the fight for survival at the turn of the century to save the vines from distruction from a virus only to be saved by grafting them onto vines from America as well as the deep tunnels into chalk where their champagne is stored.
We found a delightful vineyard hotel to stay at where we were plied with multiple tastings before dinners all for free. The Domaine Sacret in Ay was a wonderful place to stay to start our touring. We visited the tunnels beneath Mercer Champagne via a small train that took you around the miles of tunnels, art carved into the chalk and storage racks. As it was very hot outside, we enjoyed the coolness of these tunnels and the tastings after. Of course, a quick visit to Moet Chandon was a must but their main establishment was closed for renovations so we visited their shop which was very expensive and viewed their wonderful visitor centre in Epernay.
Being the early bird of the group, I enjoyed morning walks among the vineyards on the hills overlooking at the miles of great waving grape vines.
All in all, it was a non sobering delightful experience
fayelippitt
fabulous photos Judy!