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A visit to Epernay the home of Champagne!
Graham and Jean Hughes go champagne tasting in Epernay and take a tour of the Castellane‘caves’
Epernay(population 26,000) is in the heart and is the heart of the Champagne country. We made a stop there recently on our way back from Switzerland to our home in Merlimont. It’s about 300km and 3 hours by car from our coastal area, most of which is on motorways at a cost of €18.50 each way, but as it’s a 5 hour trip by train via Paris, car is really the sensible practical way to travel.
The entry to the town from the south is rather unprepossessing and the one way system
is a little difficult to unravel -
When we first visited Epernay some 20 years ago the tours of the cellars were free of charge but now there is a small charge which normally will include a degustation of the house’s standard champagne (one glass only!). This time, after a typically French brasserie lunch in the main square we consulted the waiter who recommended Castellane as the best cellars to visit – and as far as we can tell this proved to be accurate advice.
Castellane is not on the main route but easy to find with its 60m tall tower . Not being on the main street means that its parking area is never full. The €8 tour was just starting as we arrived. Although the tour was conducted in French only, the young guide was able to answer questions posed in English and his French was easy to understand.
We were conducted through the modern spotlessly clean pressing and fermentation areas and on to the venerable underground store of cobwebbed ancient bottles, some dating back to the 19th century. These remarkable cellars house over 6 million bottles at varying stages of production in over 10km of tunnels beneath the town. The impressive corking and labelling plant completed the tour after about 45 minutes.
A degustation of the Castellane Brut washed away the dust of the cellars, and we
were exhorted -
Other Champagne houses also offer visits including Moet and Chandon with the imposing statue of Dom Perignon in its courtyard.
We found Epernay an excellent place to stop with interesting architecture and of course the Champagne tours. Perhaps not a day trip but worth its star in the Guide Michelin.
The House of Castellane -
There are many famous champagne houses on the Avenue de Champagne
Big barrels at Castellane
The bottling plant