Reims is just a 45 minute train from Paris. Go in the morning, drink lots of champagne and be home in time for dinner or stay overnight and continue to imbibe bubbles. To paraphrase Charles De Gaulle: There are 200 producers of fine champagne-it is your duty to try them all.

In 1991 the Champagne region was shocked by the sudden and premature death of Jean-Charles Duval-Leroy of the prestigious maison of the same name. As the other producers held their collective breaths, the widow Carol Duval-Leroy, calmly took the reins and twenty years later the company has soared to new heights– Duval-Leroy champagne is served in the most prestigious restaurants in the world including Per Se in New York and the exceptional Les Crayeres in Reims

The sun poured through the glass roof of the Gare de l’Est as I waited for the early morning non-stop to Reims.  One hour later my fellow journalists and I were met by Philippe Manfredini, the international sales director for Maison GOSSET, who delivered a fascinating running commentary as our luxurious bus motored to Epernay and a tour of Champagne Gosset.