Happy land of the bubbly! - Epernay part 2

Our Champagne tasting journey continues in Epernay as well, along the famed avenue de Champagne!

Moet & Chandon is probably the most famous house and the biggest as well. You have to make reservations in advance via their website. To be honest, the english tour was a little disappointing as it felt a little rushed and wasn't as interactive as VCP.

Moet & Chandon

the estate where VIP events are held

entrance to cellar tour

Here you can also find a statue of Dom Perignon, THE monk who invented champagne!

see how fast our guide was rushing

if only I could bring one home

at the bubbly was good

coat of arms presented to the house

Along the avenue were others champagne houses and you can walk into most of them for a tour or tasting without reservation.

Collard Picard

there was a high school in the middle of the avenue. We wonder if they will grow up to be cellar masters.

house of michel gonet is really nice

Paul Etienne Saint Germain welcomes tasting

Among those we tasted, I like the Mercier taste the most. I am probably a little biased as their sommelier was the most friendly and generous. Their cellar tour is a little special as instead of on foot, you sit on a little train which brings you through the caves. But it also means you can't get too close to the fermenting bottles. The tour comes with an audio guide (you can pick the language) and tasting of 1-3 glasses according to your preference. I initially picked the 3 glasses tour but the reception made a mistake and registered me for 2 glasses. However, during tasting we were chatting with the sommelier and another australian couple who got the 3 glasses package, and he offered us the third glass of reserved curvee and quoted "why waste the champagne, everyone should enjoy". Oh i love Mercier!

Side note: when the husband tried to use driving as an excuse to turn down the 3rd glass (why i can't comprehend), the sommelier gave him a DIY breathe-tester and told him to just drink lots of water, rest a bit and blow into it before driving. I like his attitude!

the house looks pretty plain compared to others

large barrel used some 40years ago during festivals

Can't imagine drinking from this

relaxing train ride

the caves we visited were pretty wide for the train to go through

some of the carvings on the chalk walls

most decorated caves we've seen

2 of the 3 we tried, 3rd one is a reserved curvee

 

Didier also suggested we visit castellane just to climb up the tower which is an icon of Epernay as well.

interesting looking house

unfortunately not a real bottle

retro looking posters decorate the walls

View of Marne river from the top

round about of avenue de champagne

the door on the barrel leads to the cellar

By then we decided to take a break and drove to Hautvillers where Abbey of Saint Pierre, home of Dom Perignon is located. 

Abbey of Saint Pierre

Inside the abbey

Soon it was dinner time and we had a stroll across the marne river.
Our host Didier recommended another family-run restaurant Chez Max to us but it was full that night. As a twist of fate we stumbled upon the best terrine de campagne (of meatloaf?) I've had at Le Chapon Fin!
I don't usually eat pickled stuff but I wiped that plate clean including the pickles and purplish pickled onion!

view of castellane tower from the bridge

terrine de campagne with pistacho

the husband ordered a (huge) salad with goat cheese

my main was mussels and fries (a big bowl not in picture)

Aside from visiting the individual houses, there are also many tasting bars that lined the main streets in Epernay. La cave a champagne is one of the restaurants where you can sample 5/6 different champagnes for around 15euros. It is also convenient if you'd like to sample some of the local producers who don't export their champagne.

The champagne-ardenne region is truly a happy place. I would highly recommended spending a couple of days and getting a rented car to slowly enjoy the experience. :)