Houseboat in the French Ardennes - Day 8 - Reims

16.06.23

For the first time on vacation, the alarm clock rings this morning. Seven o'clock - an inhuman time. We immediately set off for a final half-hour drive with the houseboat. After docking in Pont-a-Bar, we have an efficient breakfast and put the rest of the luggage back in the car, because by 9 o'clock at the latest we have to return the keys. The 'Malmy' was a good home for us for the seven days, but we certainly won't miss the tiny little wet room.

By the way, it turns out that the champagne from Canard-Duchêne, with which we celebrated the halfway point in Givet, comes from a cellar near our AirBnB in Reims. As you know, coincidences don't exist, which is why I booked us a cellar tour there for 11:30 last night. Unfortunately, the confirmation email didn't arrive. But I thought to myself, Bacchus won't ruin it for me. Too bad. At 10:05 a.m., an email arrived saying that there is no tour at 11:30 today. But my husband wouldn't be Jan if he didn't still try to make the best of it and make me happy. So we continue to the cellar with the thought of simply buying a case. At 10:45 a.m. we roll into the parking lot and are eagerly awaited by the tour guide. They were already expecting us, luckily we made it in time. We cheekily said thank you & sorry for being late and simply pretended to be the missing four visitors (who apparently had registered).

In the cellar, the illusion was shattered after a call from the boss to our tour guide, but luckily the tour was almost over. Afterwards, we obediently bought our tickets and were then allowed to participate legally in the champagne tasting.

Here are the nice-to-knows from the Champagne tour:

• Champagne is usually a blend of the three grape varieties Chardonnay, Pinot Noir & Pinot Meunier
• Pinot Meunier is so named because its leaves look like flour (Meunier = miller)
• Champagne ferments and matures separately in the bottle
• The 'standard' bottle is locked in lots of 500 in metal cages and is very slowly rotated by a machine. Large bottles or those with a special shape are matured in a special rack and must be manually rotated a quarter turn further. The rotation ensures even fermentation and the sediment moves forward directly behind the crown cap (that's how the bottles are sealed during fermentation)
• The bottle caps are dipped in -27 degree cold liquid (something chemical). Afterwards, the crown caps are removed and sugar is added. For example, Brut Champagne can have up to 6g of sugar added

We then indulged in more champagne decadently on the terrace with a view over the 'champagne fields'. I couldn't stop grinning, but the endorphins led to a bill of a total of 324€. Well, Denis and Lara bought for 81€, but you're not in Champagne every day and buying champagne for home. Just saying.

Our tour through vineyards as far as the eye can see continued to Reims.

We are pleasantly surprised, the city is alive, people are sitting everywhere and the restaurants spread their seating areas partly into the middle of the streets. The cathedral is also beautiful and we actually take the time to visit a building from the inside after a week on the water.

However, you can tell that you are in Champagne. The restaurants charge a good price for the food. Nevertheless, the whole evening just tastes good. Tomorrow we have a 9-hour drive back, which is why we go home a little earlier tonight.

It was a good time, and Champagne definitely calls for another long weekend.

Merci, et à bientôt !