[Article in partnership with Pressoria].
Associated with the land from which it takes its name, champagne is the world's most popular wine. The embodiment of France's ancestral winemaking know-how, it uses its golden bubbles to celebrate life's big and small events, and its history, which goes back at least to antiquity, spans several centuries. A success story to discover in the Champagne region.
Although traces of domesticated vines appear in the region as early as the 1st century, and it is well known that the Romans consumed and traded wines from these Gallic soils, it was during the Middle Ages that wine production took on greater scope and prestige, with the tasting of Champagne wines at major royal events such as the baptism of Clovis (496) at Notre-Dame cathedral in Reims by the bishop Saint Remi.
It was partly thanks to this churchman that the drink took off, with his own vineyards and the many surrounding abbeys refining winemaking know-how, harvesting techniques and grape cultivation and aging methods over the following centuries. Slowed by the Hundred Years' War, the development of this wine-growing area, which supplied the whole of northern Europe, resumed at the end of the 15th century.
Champagne is the wine of civilization.
Always supported by the Church, the "vin des Rois" as we know it today didn't really appear until the 17th century, with the contribution of monks like Dom Pérignon.
Rather than randomly blending wines, he was the 1st to study their complementarity in order to obtain more balanced and qualitative results. At the same time, a new pressing technique made it possible to obtain white wines from black grapes.
It was also during these years (1670-1720) that it was decided to produce sparkling wines in Champagne, this effervescent effect being specifically developed in this region, which was the very first to be associated with wine production.
The term "vins de Champagne" was then used, rather than "vins de France".
It's all these age-old skills, the grape varieties and the geographical boundaries of the Champagne region that make up the AOC appellation. This "large expanse of flat land", called "canpayne" in Old French, which gradually gave rise to the word "champagne", covers 34,200 hectares and 7 grape varieties. The main ones include pinot noir, meunier and chardonnay. Arbane, Petit Meslier and Pinot Blanc Gris complete this skilful blend, distributed in 320 million bottles every year. To keep up this pace, the region relies on more than 370 champagne houses and a reserve of around 155,000 tonnes of grape must.
Stocks cultivated by 16,000 viticulturists who plough the land, add manure or fertilizer, trellis the grapes branches on stakes, prune and burn those that are no longer needed... Hard work that, under the protection of Saint Morand, enables France to export over 55% of its champagne worldwide.
Champagne region offers a variety of wine tourism experiences, including, since July 2021, an innovative journey into its manufacturing with PRESSORIA. This champagne interpretation center, housed in an emblematic 1902 winegrowing building, allows visitors to discover the many professions in the industry (winegrower, cooper, consultant oenologist, glassmaker...) through 2-minute films retracing their missions season by season.
On this fun and instructive tour, you can also discover the 7 grape varieties used to produce champagne: reproduced in resin with naturalized leaves and wood in the center, they are planted in parallel along the historic building. On your way out, you can have fun recognizing them thanks to the knowledge you've acquired during your visit.
With complete autonomy, visitors of all ages (from 1 year upwards) can discover more about the history of this AOC, which covers several champagnes. During the tasting session at the end of the tour, a selection of different cuvées from the region is offered by qualified staff, so that visitors can fully appreciate the richness of this production.
Also not to be missed: the René Lalique area, a tribute to the master glassmaker and jewelry designer who, since 1888, has embodied another form of french savoir-faire that is the envy of the world.
Rich and highly interactive, or shorter but just as immersive, at PRESSORIA you can choose the visit that suits you best, and you're sure to leave with some great memories, especially if you conclude your visit with a visit to the boutique. To find out more about this sensory experience click here and to book your trip to the source of AOC Champagne, go there.
Enjoy your discovery!
Valérie from Comme des Français
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