Champagne Tasting in Reims, France
We stayed in a lovely hotel right in the centre of Reims and had a nice room overlooking the courtyard. Reims is a lovely city and has plenty to offer, many bars, restaurants and excellent for shopping. It also has a lovely cathedral with an array of stained glass windows.
However the main reason for the trip was to visit the Champagne houses to sample the different varieties of Champagne, I learnt so much about this wonderful drink whilst also seeing how it’s made and where its stored……Brut, Sec or Demi-Sec anyone?
We chose to visit Pommery, Tatinger, Mumm and a local French one called Martel, four was enough as they are all similar, but it is very interesting to see the caves/cellars and how they differ slightly. A tip is to wear something warm when visiting the cellars as they have to keep them at a constant 10c to enable the ‘Champers’ to age correctly and ensure the right amount of bubbles.
Something else I learnt was that when you store your champagne you should lay it flat and it keep it at a temperature of 10c ideally. Also it does not improve with age and should be drunk immediately – honest!!