Champagne Dreams in Reims: The Real Champagne Experience

Only true champagne comes from this region of the world. Let’s taste champagne, stay in a 17th-century chateau, and explore the Cathedral where Kings were coronated!

This is a special place in my heart. Out of every location in the world, we chose to have our wedding here, in the Champagne Region of France. Where do I begin! This is the only place in the world where Champagne is made, everywhere else is just called Sparkling Wine. Champagne was discovered here!

Getting Here

We split our time between Reims, Epernay and everywhere in-between during our Champagne trip. Reims and Epernay are easy to get to by train from Paris. If you wish to rent a car, then heading to Reims will be a better choice. You could opt for a taxi or driving services as well if that makes more sense for you. Also note this will be the more expensive option. We were only in the area for 4 days and decided to treat ourselves to a hired driver. It was worth it to responsibly be able to enjoy all the Champagnes that day!

Stay in a Romantic Château

Since I have so much to say about this château and many photos to show you, I wrote an entire post about it here! The history of the château is truly fascinating. It dates back to the Medieval period and served as lodging for James II and VII, when he was exiled from England.

Time to Drink Champagne!

The best way to get around and drink Champagne all day is to hire a driver, or better yet, hire a tour guide! I highly recommend Sparkling Tours based in Reims (pronounced “Rence” with a heavy “R” sound). Valentin is the owner and our tour guide that curated our educational and fun experience! He grew up in the region and has the inside scoop on the best Champagne producers!

We visited at the end of August, which was just in time for the Vendange (grape harvest). I recommend coming at this time to see the vineyards in action! Valentin advised that we skip the expensive, large producer houses (Dom Perignon, for example) because it was overrated. The cost of tickets vs. what you get out of it was not worth it. We visited small producers and learned so much from the knowledgeable staff at each vineyard. It was the perfect opportunity to taste different kinds of Champagne and truly learn about the process. We made sure to buy a few bottles to take with us! All of this was extremely affordable. Where in the USA can you buy a $20 bottle of amazing champagne? No where lol.

Making champagne is an entire science and its highly regulated! The guidelines are dictated by the Appellation d’Origine Controlée (AOC). This is an official certification provided by the French government to Champagne makers (as well as wine and cheese). Everything is strictly regulated including: grape varieties, pruning methods, maximum press yield permitted, minimum potential alcohol content of newly harvested grapes, a mandatory second fermentation in the bottle, and maturation times.

The maturation times are 15 months for non-vintage Champagne and three years for vintage.

Dom Pérignon didn’t invent Champagne

Because of the colder climate, the wines produced in the Champagne region are lighter bodied and thinner than those made in Burgundy in the southwest. The colder temperatures also caused the fermentation in the wine cellars to halt prematurely. And this resulted in wine being bottled with dormant yeast cells. By the time the warmer weather appeared, the dormant yeasts would start fermenting the sugars in the bottle again. This ultimately resulted in the creation of Carbon Dioxide bubbles.

In the late 17th century, Dom Pérignon, a Benedictine monk, had one important task to do. He wanted to get rid of the demon bubbles in their wines! And he tried everything he could to get rid of them. But clearly, it was not meant to be! He did not invent champagne, but he has the credit for some inventions that would be necessary to produce Champagne as we know it. He invented stronger glass bottles and ropes that could be tied around the corks to keep them from popping off. Also his vinicultural practices are still used to make Champagne today. He invented methods of transforming red-skinned grapes into the light-colored Champagne by gently squeezing the grapes. This would prevent the color from the skin to affect the color of the juice.

So who REALLY invented Champagne?

Six years before Dom Pérignon had arrived in the Abbey of Hautvillers, was Christopher Merret. He was an English scientist and physician who actually documented the addition of sugar to a finished wine to create a second fermentation. He presented a paper at the Royal Society in 1662, in which he detailed what is now called Méthode Champenoise or Méthode Traditionelle. As with everything between the French and the English, this too is debated on who should really get recognition! I will agree that teamwork makes the dream work and everyone deserves credit haha. But without a doubt, Champagne is only Champagne because of the environment in this region.

So really, Champagne “sparkled” because it was placed into sealed bottles before the fermentation process was complete.

Let’s talk Grapes

This is the part you should memorize to really impress your guests at the next dinner party. The most commonly used grapes for Champagne are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. The main difference between vintage and non-vintage Champagne is that a vintage is made from only one year’s harvest. Whereas non-vintage Champagne is a blend of different years’ harvest and from different Crus. Different Crus meaning different parcels of grapes from different vineyards. A good quality year, will produce a typically fuller, deeper Champagne, making it a vintage year and vintage Champagne must be made 100% from the year indicated on the label.

Vintages are generally produced three or four times a decade. This represents less than 5% of total Champagne production. Non-vintage Champagnes are left to mature for at least 1.5 years. A vintage Champagne must be left for at least three years, although will often be left for longer.

Size Matters when it comes to Bubbles

Another interesting bit of knowledge that you will learn on the tour is that the size of the bubbles MATTER. The secondary fermentation, also known as bottle fermentation, is the process that makes the wine “bubbly”. It’s due to the containment of carbon dioxide, which is normally released as a by-product in regular fermentation of wine.

The quality of the still wine (the fewer impurities) + the cooler the cellar is (where fermentation occurs) = the smaller the bubbles.

Tiny bubbles are easy to recognize in the mouth. You will feel a finer bead than the larger bubbles that are created by coarse juice and fast fermentation. The tiny bubbles will allow for a drier taste profile and older champagnes naturally have smaller bubbles. Don’t judge the bubbles in the glass, judge by taste. This is because the rate at which the bubbles are released is highly dependent upon the temperature and the inside surface of the glass, not the Champagne itself!

Champagne Flutes are a No-No

Also as much as Champagne flutes or coupes are beautiful- they don’t do the champagne much justice. It is actually better to drink Champagne out of a wine glass to allow the bubbles to show their magic! And because the bubbles physically stir the Champagne and change the taste, the bubbles are the stars of the show.

Château de Boursault and Vineyard

There are so many small producers to visit in the region. I knew I wanted to visit Château de Boursault because of the gorgeous vineyard views surrounding a castle. The beautiful property was owned by none other than Veuve Clicquot (Translated to “Widow Clicquot” after her husband passed). She was the pioneering female entrepreneur of her time! There is so much about her that I love and admire.

I highly recommend reading about her life if you are interested! I mean, she smuggled 10,000 bottles of her Champagne into Russia when the Napoleonic Wars were finally winding down in 1814. She did this because the Russians were interested in obtaining high-quality wine. Being the badass business woman that she was, she smuggled her bottles in before any of her Champagne rivals could. And she won over the Russians, especially Tsar Alexander I and Anton Chekhov. The early bird really does get the worm.

So now we know that the fermentation caused by yeast and sugar, over time, is what makes Champagne. But how do you get all that yeast out of the bottle? Madame Clicquot had a hand in this! In a nutshell, Veuve Clicquot supported her husband in a wine venture that was unprofitable for a long time. After her husband suddenly passed, she took the reigns and kept his business afloat and it became her business. She was equally an innovator always looking for ways to improve the business and Champagne. Because of her innovation, she gave us the riddling system, which was a part of the Méthode Champanoise, to gently turn the Champagne bottles upside down over time to have the yeast settle in the cork of the bottle for easy disgorgement.

What Happens when the Champagne is Ready?

With time, the inactive yeast cells move along the bottle to settle in the neck. The build-up of pressure inside the bottle is now used to expel the sediment. This technique consists of freezing the bottle neck in a solution at -13°F for a couple minutes. The sediment forms a plug of ice about 1.5 inches long in the neck of the bottle. The bottle is then set upright and opened, and the pressure ejects the frozen sediment. The process is completed by adding an expedition liquor to adjust the sweetness of the wine (Brut, Sec, Demi-sec, etc.). Then finally re-corking the bottle is the last step.

Sweetness Levels of Champagne

At the store or an event and want to really know which Champagne to order? Save this table below:

Brut Nature – Dry: 0-3g/L sugar. (Tried this for the first time and it was very good!)

Extra Brut – Dry: 0-6g/L sugar. (This is my personal preference)

Brut – Dry to a hint of sweetness: 0-12g/L sugar. (This is also my personal preference)

Extra Sec – A hint of sweetness to noticeably sweet, but not quite dessert quality: 12-17g/L sugar.

Sec – Noticeably sweet, but not quite dessert quality: 17-32g/sugar.

Demi-Sec – Insanely sweet, bring on the cake!

When you buy Champagne in the USA, you mainly find Brut Champagne sold in stores. Most Sec and Demi-Sec are comparable to Dry Prosecco. Definitely not something you can drink while trying to cut back on your sugar intake! The Brut Champagnes are my favorite because of the lack of sugar and the bolder taste.

Champagne Gisèle Devavry

One of the small producers we visited was in Champillon and it was an amazing experience! Champagne Gisèle Devavry had a lovely tasting and tour. We witnessed the hard manual labor necessary to create their Champagne! For 12+ hours a day, workers gently squeeze and mix the grapes in a large basket wine press with a hydraulic machine. The mixing of grapes is done entirely by hand and OMG the amount of bees in this room was TERRIFYING. And yes…bees and bugs get stuck in here and squished as well…I asked! Everything gets strained and cleaned up afterwards, he reassured me xD.

Time for Sabrage! Or using a saber to open a bottle of Champagne.

The key to this method is: COLD COLD CHAMPAGNE. Do not do this with room temperature or slightly chilled Champagne! You will lose half the bottle to a waterfall of champagne bubbles and that is just sad. We don’t want to waste that! Loosen the cage that holds the cork so that it all expels together. There is a welding point or line on the bottle that guides you in the direction for a perfect sabrage. If you don’t follow this line, the bottle could explode and cut your hand. The aim of the game is to have a nice even cut of glass at the neck of the bottle.

Don’t have a saber? A knife will do or even a belt buckle! I have even seen someone do it with the bottom of a wine glass. Anything will work if you follow the welding point. Now take this knowledge, practice on a couple cheap bottles, and impress your friends at the next party!!

Église Saint-Sindulphe, Hautvillers

This is another stop on our Champagne tour and it’s Dom Perignon’s final resting place. The church is a nice pit stop in Hautvillers, which is known as the birth place of Champagne after all! It was nice to read about the history and reflect here for a bit.

Must See: Where all the King’s of France were Coronated

The Cathédrale Notre Dame de Reims is awe-inspiring, let me tell you why. Better yet, let me show you why in my next post right here! Come along with me to visit my favorite Cathedral next – I will argue that it’s more beautiful than the Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris!