Top secrets of Champagne and cellars. Travel with and in Champagne, shopping, tasting in France!

I'm a certified travel guide specializing in wine experiences. In this program, we will be traveling in Champagne-growing region. Let's have some shopping adventure, some French cooking and picnic in a car. Together, we will visit some famous and less famous Champagne producers. Join me to discover their secrets, the sellers and the tasting and tasting and tasting. To visit the Champagne-growing region, I decided to visit the beautiful city Reims. The journey from Paris is very easy. It's around one hour by train if there's no strike and you found the correct railway station. Oh my god, I can't believe it. I finally arrived. So happy but thirsty. Reims is a beautiful city. It's small but green and has a lot to offer. Champagne houses are basically everywhere. Next time, I will stay definitely longer. Next time, I will also avoid arriving on a Monday because many nice restaurants and wine shops are closed on Monday. And Champagne window shopping is boring after 50 minutes. I decided to take this opportunity to visit the famous Notre-Dame of Reims, one of the most beautiful Gothic churches in the world. Look at the details of this cathedral. In particular, the coronation of Mary is spectacular. Reims was the site of 25 coronations of the kings of France from the 13th to the 19th century. A very good reason for this was perhaps it was cheaper to move all the guests to Reims to drink champagne than bringing the champagne to the guests. The beauty of this cathedral is impressive. But as most nice restaurants are closed today, since it is a Monday, I need to find a solution. Wow, grocery shopping makes me really happy. It's cheap and so fresh. Oh, I remember having seen this chair somewhere. It was in the church. With fresh ingredients and great friends, cooking can be so much fun. With the help of Champagne, my French was fluent that night and my day one tasting starts with a top gun. Champagne Deutz. This champagne house was found by a gentleman, William Deutz, from Augsburg, Germany in 1838. In German, it's called Deutsch, but in French, it's called Deutz. The salon is quite yellow and quite Chinese. This place is full of history. You can see a lot of old things, like orders from Hong Kong and Shanghai in the 19th century. Wow, the next room is another century. This is the fermentation hall with stainless steel tanks. From the fermentation hall, we go down 100 steps. So you're standing in front of the Cote Glacia. So it's one of the oldest properties of the house. You know, we use this one to make a single vineyard selection. And only the first press of the grapes. I actually wanted to offer my help, but as I saw this, there's no need. Going down to the cellar, not a surprise, it's huge and has a lot, a lot of bottles. I'm loving it. With candles lighted up, I think this is the stairway to heaven. And finally, the tasting, the tasting. We were given three different types of champagne to taste. The Classic, very clear with fine herbal notes and lightweight citrus. Very pleasant to drink. The José has beautiful fruit notes and is so round. I need more to taste. The Cuvée Prestige, which is a Blonde Blonde 2013, is now released after nine years of storage. It has stunning clarity and complexity at the same time. The aftertaste is just endless. With the secrets and knowledge in mind, our assessment of the day was very obvious. Our day two tasting started after a beautiful breakfast with a message from the host. Our day two tasting took place in Vétheux and is famous for its Chardonnay. The owner of the winery, Monsieur Lamandier-Bénis, is going to give us a great surprise. The fermentation takes place exclusively in wooden barrels. Some of the barrels are not from France. This is a little French revolution in the making of champagne. We went down to the beautiful cellar. I again offered my help, but there's no need. The automatic system works on its own. After our educational session on the geographical and geological conditions of this area, our tasting started with a little surprise. This Rosé champagne carries extreme purity and rignosity at the same time. Absolutely interesting. For more intensity and terroir expressions, the wines are matured on the lees for about a year. The secret, making good wine before making bubbles. If I have to, L'Angoutil would be my favorite of the day. It is just so well balanced with its medium body, long long aftertaste and complexity at the end. Under these circumstances, we decided to make our own dinner by buying something from the local supermarket. France, this is basically a wine country. Let's see what they offer you in the supermarket. The choices of wine remind me of a song from the Rolling Stones, Satisfaction. The cheese department is another good reason to love this country and come back. With this terrible disappointment, we decided to use the vacuum fee for something else. As it was really windy and below 10 degrees, we were quite happy of having our picnic in the car. Our tasting on day three started with a disaster. My favorite champagne producer of the region has confirmed the appointment but he was simply not at home. With this terrible disappointment, we walked down the road and were lucky enough to find another alternative. The style of this champagne house is very classy and clear with multi layers of melon and white flowers. They are really charming to drink. I'm absolutely happy with this plan B. The second tasting of the day was at Saint-Server which was on the site of the former Saint-Server Abbey. The Abbey was owned by the monks who devoted themselves to prayer and work, especially work in the vineyard. Monsieur Thomas told us that during the French Revolution, the monks were expelled from the Abbey and in 1793, it was sold as a national property. Shortly, we will go down to see his cellar exactly under this plot and taste the champagne made from the clone. The cellar was huge and very very modern. After the explanation how he works on champagne, Monsieur Thomas gave us something to taste and we were impressed. And my favorite of the day was very obvious, the one from Le Clos. The palate is intense and with layers of fruits, especially at the end, a little bit of pineapple makes it unforgettable. Share with me your favorite champagne and why. Join me in my next journey to discover Burgundy. Please don't forget to subscribe, share with friends and give me a thumbs up. See you soon! For more tasting notes and cooking recipes, please contact me anytime. Cheers!