Tasting the Stars

“Too much of anything is bad, but too much Champagne is just right.”
 – F. Scott Fitzgerald

What a day! Yesterday I traveled to Champagne, the region in northeast France famous for the production and manufacturing of the sparkling white wine which shares its name. We visited two towns, Reims and Épernay. In Reims we toured the famous caves where Taittinger champagne is produced. These caves were first carved by Romans in the 4th century to mine for chalk. The caves were expanded in 1211, along with the construction of a new basilica on the site of the ancient church of St. Nicaise. They were used to store the wine and champagne that the Benedictine monks were producing.

It wasn't until the late 17th century that the tart wines of Champagne became sparkling wines. This discovery, known as Méthode Champenoise, was supposedly started by Dom Pérignon, a Benedictine monk in the Champagne district, who realized that it was carbon dioxide that made the bubbles and he could make good use of it by bottling the wine before it had fully fermented. There is a quote that has not really been verified, but is attributed to him that goes, "Come quickly, I am drinking the stars!” It doesn’t matter to me if this is true or not, because no matter who said this, it is an accurate description!

We also had free time to enjoy the town, grab some lunch, and visit Notre-Dame de Reims, the cathedral where all of the kings of France were once crowned. At the back of the church there is a series of beautiful stained glass windows designed by the famous artist, Marc Chagall. After our time in Reims was over, we continued our day in Epernay by visiting the production house of Mercier. During this tour we actually rode on a little motorized train through the caves underground. It was like an adult ride at Disneyland! At the end of our tours at both champagne houses, we got to try some champagne. By law, the Champenois vineyards are planted only with Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, and Chardonnay grapes. Of the two champagnes that I tried, I prefer the Brut Réserve champagne from the Taittinger house. This champagne is a blend of Chardonnay wines (40%) and Pinot wines (60%). The high proportion of chardonnay is the reason I prefer it to the other champagne I had at the Mercier house. I admit that I know very little about the different types of wine, but I liked this champagne because it didn’t have a really sweet, really strong alcohol taste. It was simple, light, and delicious.