Champagne de Castellane in Epernay, France

As our travels continued, our second stop in Epernay was a smaller house, Champagne de Castellane.  We made reservations via email for the four of us prior to our trip.  We again had an English speaking tour guide to show us around.  I think the ticket price was €10 and included one glass of champagne.

This house was founded in 1895 by  Vicomte De Castellane Florens.  The building is listed as a historical monument.  The distinctive tower offers views of the beautiful landscape of the area.  But somehow we missed that and didn't make the climb to the top for the panoramic views.  

This tour included the cellars but also some of the production areas which is unusual.  Most of the houses only share the rustic caves and talk about the traditions of champagne production.  De Castellane is happy to show their stainless steel vats and modern production lines as well.  The day we visited the production line was not in use.  I'd love to see it when it's buzzing with activity.  Combined with their museum, you get the best of both the tradition and the modern.  It was nice to visit one of the more intimate houses.   

 

I was going to tell you all about the process of making champagne, but I found this great YouTube video that explains it much better than I could.  (Lazy blogger!)   It's only about 6 minutes and very interesting.  The most amazing thing that we learned about is the turning and disgorgement (at about the 4:50 mark).

I had no idea that it was so very detailed and labor intensive.  We saw millions of bottles and to think that they are all hand turned and tipped one by one each day is fascinating.  

What is your favorite champagne?

I'll tell you mine once I've told you about the other two houses that we visited.

 

The rest of the Champagne District posts:

Champagne Wishes

Moët & Chandon

Taittinger

G.H. Mumm

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Champagne Wishes

After our stay in both Ypres and Luxembourg (via the Eurotunnel), it was time to make our way to the Champagne District of France.  This is where we met up with our friends, Sarah and Stephen,
to enjoy lots and lots of that bubbly stuff.

When I started editing my photos to tell you about Reims and Epernay, the two places we visited, I realized that I didn't actually have very many photographs of the cities.  All of my pictures are of Champagne and everything that goes along with it.  And I'm saving those for later posts about the specific houses that we visited.

You'll just have to take my word that they are both beautiful cities.

We stayed two nights in Reims and spent our time strolling around, visiting the Champagne Houses and experiencing the wonderful French food on offer.

(I also managed to find some really good fajitas which was a treat.)

I won't even tell you how many plates of Steak Tartare were consumed by the guys

 and glasses of Champagne by the girls. I'll just tell you it ranks right up there with our best trips.

I love traveling with my Englishman,

but add another Texan and a Canadian to the Champagne cocktail and things get fun!

I couldn't leave you hanging on the photos, so as we were leaving Reims

I insisted that Matt stop just long enough for me to take some pictures of one site.

We had every intention of visiting the Notre-Dame de Reims, but somehow never got around to it (hiccup).  

Big mistake!

I grabbed the camera and while Matt was double parked, ran around taking pictures for just a few minutes.  

This 800 year old Cathedral where French Kings were crowned is one of the most beautiful that I've seen.

I wasn't going to venture inside, just get some quick shots of the exterior.  But I couldn't resist. 

Even at the risk of Matt honking the horn for me to hurry, I'm so glad that I did.

It took my breath away.  I looked up and it seemed as if the ceiling was miles away.  There are windows high up and with the natural sunlight shining through gives the soaring space a hazy, ethereal quality.

If felt like stepping back through the mists of time.  I wondered if Matt would still be waiting for me when I exited, or if maybe I would be greeted by medieval clerics.

If you've been following me for awhile, you know how much I love gargoyles and grotesques.  This cathedral wins the prize for the most interesting ones I've seen so far.
Rhinos and donkeys and ... warthogs? Oh, my. The level of detail is mesmerizing.

 

 I wish we had taken more time to visit.  Looks like we will just have to go back.
Soon.
 
My next several posts will be about the four Champagne houses we visited

and what we learned about the process of making the bubbly stuff.

Take a quick look at this 38 second video...

In future travels, I want to start incorporating video

and this is my very first, very amateur attempt.

I have so much to learn!

Hope you are having a lovely bubbly weekend!!  

My Champagne House Reviews:
Moët & Chandon
Castellane
Taittinger
G.H. Mumm


 

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