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.
Grace Kelly
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.
I started with Taittinger, one of the largest of the Champagne houses and a tour in the 20 meter deep chalk caves (crayères) that are characteristic of Reims. A study in contrast to the independent vintners that produce 100,000 bottles per year, Taittinger produces 5 million bottles. Their 1 1/2 hour tour including a short film and tasting is 25 euros.
My next stop was in nearby Vrigny at Roger-Coulon, a small (100,000 bottles) producer whose champagne can be found on the menus of Thomas Keller’s prestigious restaurants THE FRENCH LAUNDRY in California’s Napa Valley and PER SE in New York’s Warner Center. You can combine this with an overnight stay at their lovingly restored family home (see below.)
Eric and Isabelle Coulon are the the eighth generation of the Coulon family to be engaged as recoltant-manipulants, producing Champagne from Vrigny and the surrounding villages in the northwest corner of the Montagne de Reims. No herbicides are used and harvest is done manually. The juice from the red grapes is fermented and aged in stainless steel but much of the Chardonnay is fermented in small oak barrels (not new). Only the natural, indigenous yeasts are used.
A tour of the city and its diverse architectural styles including its renowned Gothic cathedral is a must. It was here at Notre Dame de Reims that kings of France were crowned beginning in the early 11th century. With its radiant Gothic façade of unequaled dimensions, its interior characterized by soaring heights, the richness of its sculpture and the technical quality of its construction, the Cathedral of Reims remains one of the most beautiful examples of Gothic art. A quick stop at Andrew Carnegie’s Art Deco library as we passed the cathedral ( we would be back later) and headed for the Cafe du Palais that faces the Palais du Justice for lunch.
In the Vogt family since 1930 it is a true family affair. The front of the house is overseen by Jean-François and his lovely wife Delphine. His brother-in-law Sébastien also works the floor and sister Isabelle cooks. The dining room is filled with art and hanging sculptures collected over the years.
We barely had time to sit before Jean-François delivered flutes of blanc de blanc from Maison Brice and a local tradition, jambon de Reims. We had zero resistance to the buttery veau du Limousin aux cèpesaccompanied by al dente noodles washed down with Coteaux Champenoise from Geoffroy. Even the salad of crisp greens lighted bathed in a vinaigrette of fruity extra virgin olive oil ,vinegar and a dash of curry powder that lent a nutty finish was superb.
There was an unplanned intermezzo when Jean-François introduced me to Maria Adle Besson and the Stanford Club of European Leaders (representatives from Finland, Italy, England, etc.) who were celebrating with Nathalie Jacquet of the Reims campus of Sciences Po. Having been trained in Brooklyn to never miss an opportunity to promote I distributed post cards of my Thursday Paris concerts. The lovely Nathalie asked if I might favor them with a song and I Left My Heart in San Francisco took them back to their days on campus in nearby Palo Alto. Applause resonated throughout the dining room and my ego now adequately stroked I returned to M and awaited dessert, an ile flottante and the renowned Reims specialty from Maison Fossier, biscuit rose and ice cream. A meal to remember.
Au Bon Manger
A combination épicerie/bistro featuring artisanal charcuterie and fromages, Aline and Fabrice have made this a relaxed destination for casual dining. A delightful selection of bio wines and if you’re lucky one of the winemakers might be dining and lean over and fill your glass-it’s that kind of place.
Our final stop of the day was a tour of the city and its diverse architectural styles and a visit to the Gothic cathedral. It was here that kings of France were crowned beginning in the early 11th century. With its radiant Gothic façade of unequaled dimensions, its interior characterized by soaring heights, the richness of its sculpture and the technical quality of its construction, the Cathedral of Reims remains one of the most beautiful examples of Gothic art.
From 1957, Marc Chagall was a regular visitor to Reims, where he worked in collaboration with the Jacques Simon Workshop on the realization of a certain number of important projects in France and internationally (the Metz Cathedral, the United Nations in New York, the church of Tudeley, the Rockefeller chapel (Union Church) at Pocantico Hills, etc.).
In November 1968, the Committee of Builders of Champagne-Ardenne, an association comprising a number of businesses, construction material dealers, contractors and architects of the region, decided to commission Marc Chagall to create stained glass windows in the Reims Cathedral to replace those made in the nineteenth century by Coffetier and Steinheil. In 1971, Jacques Duhamel, then Minister of Culture, officially decided the placement for the windows to be in the axial chapel.
To fully appreciate the history, architecture and art of this impressive edifice contact the Office of Tourisme and book a tour-ours and our guide Margarete were fabulous.
If you don’t want to head right back to Paris this perfect day could be punctuated by an overnight stay at Roger-Coulon’s award-winning, spanking new Demeure D’Hote, Les Clos des Terres Soudées, where Laurence provides a warm, champagne welcome. In a restored home that has been in the family for 8 generations you can select from 4 beautifully appointed rooms or the duplex suite duplex suite.
Hop on The Champagne Train and join us for a bubbly day in Reims