Come quick, I’m Drinking Stars…

We are now in Morocco where drinking alcohol is forbidden by the Qur’an, so Muslims don’t drink and we are abstaining as well.  But 3 weeks ago, we were in Champagne country…

Champagne is the drink of choice for Kings, Emperors and soldiers toasting victory.  It’s the drink of brides and grooms, new parents, graduations and just about anything worth celebrating.   These tiny bubbles turn any event into a party and we are in Champagne country for the next few days to find out more about how they make this bubbly wine.

The Romans were the first to plant vineyards in this area. Today the region has 86,500 acres and produces over 200 million bottles of Champagne.  There are several Champagne houses we can walk to from our Airbnb in Reims https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/2443408 so we set off on foot to explore a few.  Our first stop was one of the most widely known houses, Veuve Clicquot.  You will recognize this bottle from the masses by its special yellow label. The company actually owns the trademark on Pantone color 137C, also known as Veuve Clicquot yellow.   Their marketing machine is intense. We began our tour in their underground caves extending for 26km which were originally built by the Romans to store grain.  The caves are made of natural chalk which helps to keep the proper temperature and humidity for champagne.  They were also used as a safe haven during the 3+ years Reims was bombed during WWI.  The Red Cross even set up hospitals and schools in the caves.

I had no idea that Veuve Clicquot was a woman who happened to marry a guy involved in wine production.  When she was just 27, with a young daughter, her husband died unexpectedly and she was left to run the family wine business.   (Veuve in French means widow)  Some say this woman smashed the glass ceiling before it was even invented.

She was the first woman in history to lead her own international business and began marketing of champagne to the US in the 1800’s by affixing yellow ribbons to the bottles to set them apart.  She also took a gamble and smuggled 10k bottles of champagne into St. Petersburg after the Napoleonic Wars which made her champagne a favorite of Kings for the next 50 years.  Madame Clicquot changed the way that we experience champagne today in 2 ways:  1)She invented the practice of ‘riddling’ which is why our champagne today is clear.  This process turns a bottle upside down and collects sediment that has clouded the champagne during fermentation into the neck of the bottle which is removed then re-corked.   The same process is used today but is more efficient as they freeze the sediment in the neck of the bottle which automatically removes the sediment with an ice block and then re-cork the bottle.  2) She is also responsible for Rose Champagne, creating a blend of red wine with white grapes.

During the tasting we met this lovely young couple currently living in Wisconsin.  He is a chef http://Chefrafe.com and she works in IT healthcare management.  Nate & Kate took the bullet train from Paris to taste some champagne and they were a great resource for us regarding go-to restaurants in Paris which was our next stop.   Plus it was just nice to connect with other folks from the US and share our travel experiences.  Douglas was jealous that Nate had his own wood fired pizza oven that he ordered from Italy for his catering business.  

Next we visited the Taittinger house which is built on the site of an old Abbey and church that was destroyed during the French Revolution.  You could see the steps to the Abbey in the caves, which are some of the largest in the region storing over 15 million bottles of Champagne.  Their Rose Champagne is one of my favorites .

The next day we ended our Champagne tour in Hautvillers with tastings, lunch, and a visit to the Abbey ( now owned by Moet et Chandon) where Dom Perignon is buried. Dom Perignon (1635-1715) was the blind monk that first discovered how to make champagne. His first words after tasting the accidental bubbly was   “Brother, come quickly!  I’m drinking stars!”  He blended different wines from the vineyards (common practice now) and stored them in bottles  He also re-introduced corks as well as used a thicker glass bottle to prevent explosions during fermentation.

Some quick info about Champagne:

1. 3 types of grapes are used to make Champagne:  pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot meunier.
2. The process starts off similar to still wine by adding yeast to convert the grape sugars into alcohol.  The next step is to add more yeast and sugar to start a secondary fermentation process – creating bubbles of carbon dioxide, which are gradually integrated into the wine over a period of time (making for smaller, finer & more persistent bubbles).
3.  The Champagne is then aged for several months or up to 10 years for Vintage Champagne.
4. Vintage Champagne is made for a specific year when there is a good harvest and it is not blended with older wines.  Cuvee de Prestige will be the best Champagne a house has to offer.
5. Only grapes produced in the Champagne region of France are allowed to have Champagne on their label.

There is a tradition in Reims to buy these cute pink biscuits to dip in your champagne as an appetizer.  We picked up a bag on our way to Paris and a bottle of 100% pure pinot meunier Champagne from a boutique grower which we enjoyed on the banks of the Seine one evening.

 Sometimes enjoying a glass of champagne and a colorful biscuit makes everything seem right in this world.