We had a great day yesterday. Left our campsite in Luxembourg – more goodbyes – and headed across country towards Champagne, France. Kept zigzagging in and out of south east Belgium – stopped in a little Belgium town for a quick look – can’t remember its name! Guess we can now add Belgium to the list of places visited – but only just!! We eventually crossed the border into France – lovely river to follow, beautiful little villages. We arrived in Epernay, found a camp site and pitched out little tent again. Another hot day – no air conditioning in the car – so happy to have a shower and chill.
Today has been a busy day – out and about!! Reg was particularly keen to visit a small producer of Champagne but unfortunately they were nearly all closed for August holidays. While all the tourists are in the region they’ve had a holiday themselves! We still loved driving around looking for the odd one that might be open, the country side was lovely – rolling hills of vines with beautiful villages dotted about. We came across a “not so little” independent producer called “Champagne de Telmont” and had a great tasting – I behaved again – getting to be a bit of a habit!!! The young woman who looked after us was very informative and passionate about the wine and the tasting room was very elegant – our life is full of variety!
The very famous champagne producer “Don Perignon” has a huge winery and very classy tasting rooms right here in Epernay. Didn’t have a taste – not cheap! – but Reg did stand with the great man for a special photo. We ended up taking a great tour of “Castellane” another local producer. Walked through some of the long underground caves used to store wine – some bottles have been there for years and are covered with a very thick layer of dust. Also a museum with lots of old equipment – a bit of a history lesson on wine making. Lets just say there’s been a few changes! We finished the tour with a glass of champagne – very nice.
Reg has been very impressed with the wines in Champagne. His favourite – a Castellane Non Vintage Brut. He describes it as follows “a melt in the mouth champas – light, soft and elegant with amazing persistence despite its apparent lack of the traditional fruit flavours or minerality.” At only 18 Euro one has found it way into our little collection. My comments – “yummy”!
Our camp site in Epernay has been great and the region beautiful with lots to see. We are here for a second night – the first time we’ve stayed more than one night in one place since we left Liernais. Our little tent is in shock!
Heading towards Burgundy tomorrow
Love
Di and Reg
This entry was posted in Europe, France