by Chris Dobson
Heading out of Paris at sunrise to avoid the traffic meant a stress-free start to the day.
Our first stop was Reims for breakfast and a quick look at one of the most impressive gothic cathedrals in France.
Diving on into Epernay, we found ourselves passing through villages and chateauxs surrounded by thousands of hectares of vineyards – the scenery was amazing. We were however, totally oblivious to the 200 million bottles of champage aging under our feet!!
Cellars measuring 120 kilometres were underground below us carved out of the chalk soil and ths was something that had to be seen to be believed.
We decided to go straight to the top and pulled into the Moet et Chandon champagne house. Unfortunately for us the only guided tour leaving was for a coach group and the guide would be speaking Japanese.
Not to be put off, we tagged along, baby in pram and hung at the back.
The guide stopped and pointed out all the important things in English for us. Once underground bottle after bottle filled the cellars along with momentos from Napoleon who was a good friend of the original Moet.
Moet et Chandon was established in 1743 by Claude Moet, and the champagne house is a testament to his family who have carried on the tradition. We were told it can take up to three years of training before you can be qualified to actually ‘turn’ any of the thousands of bottles of Moet that surrounded us.
Lasting about an hour, the tour ended with the mandatory tasting session and lead us out through the shop where you could purchase a huge array of Moet et Chandon products.
We had out photos taken at the statue of the “Father of Champagne” – Dom Perignon outside the cellars and then headed off with a smile on our face!Located just an hour and a half from Paris, Epernay is a fantastic day trip if champagne is your thing.
Have you also been to the Champagne region of France like Chris? Is it somewhere you would love to go? Let me know in the comments below.
Years of travelling the globe have seen Chris Dobson make this passion her livelihood.As part of the TravelManagers group here in Australia, Chris is always on the lookout for the next opportunity to get back on the road.
Chris lives in Western Australia with her husband and young family.
