Champagne

---

Today we get out of the city with a drive to Epernay, the capital of Champagne. This of course means I must drive in Paris. I have driven all over Spain, Boston and New York, so I figure I can survive this city as well.

The day starts with the usual metro ride; we are picking up the car at the Air France Terminal at the Invalides Railway Station. The car was pre-paid before leaving home, so the check in was fairly easy. After I signed all the paperwork the agent walked us to the car, showed us where to get gas upon our return and where to drop the keys. Then the fun began.

The car was a Renault Clio, small but not smart car small. It drove fairly well once I figure out how to put it in first. I drove out of the parking lot and on to the streets of Paris. Jerry had already mapped the route so he just told me where to turn. It was in fact quite easy, went across the Seine and then just followed the river until we reached the A4 which took us to Epernay and beyond. If you take the A4 to its end you will be en Germany. We turned off much sooner that that.

The drive was uneventful, traffic light and no rain. Once we were out of the metropolitan area, the country side looked very much like Oregon, except the buildings of course looked French. It took us about 1 ½ hours to get to Epernay. We turned off the A4 on to D3 which allowed us to drive through the country side and several small villages. The champagne caves where everywhere, there must have been at last 300 before we got to Epernay. We passed one that had a large chateau on a hill, very reminiscent of Bordeaux.

I had been to Epernay on my first visit to France in 1994, but that was by bus and we entered from a different route. The city is much larger than I remembered, and we had to go through many round a bout to get to the Avenue de Champagne. This one street starts with Moet and Chandon and ends with Mercer. We first drove to Mercier, but they were closed for lunch. In fact they were all closed for lunch. Since it was lunch time we parked in the public lot and headed to lunch. We ate at a quaint place with a 12 € pre fix.

Jerry had a dish that was baked potatoes, jamon, cheese and onions, it was delicious. I had the pre fix started with pate de champagne, a very country pate, the plat was Coq au Van, it was very country style and tasted great. I think mine is better, but I might be biased. Ended with chocolate mousse.

After lunch we walked to Moet& Chandon (home of Dom Perignon)

Moet & Chandon

This cave is probably the most famous in the USA, it is one of the largest in Champagne. They basically invented Champagne, well actually the monk Dom Perignon invented it and the Moet Family perfected it. Later the Moet’s married a Chandon and hence the name we have now. There are still Chandon’s that own shares in the company but the Moet’s died out long ago.

The Moet family was close with the Emperor Napoleon I, in fact he had his own room at the cave. The cellars are called caves, because the champagne is stored in caves beneath the chateau and other facilities. There are miles of caves under the property. We took an hour long tour and walked through only a very small portion of the caves. While in the caves the champagne is not corked, if it were corked it means it is ready to sell and would no longer be in the caves but in the market place. Japan and the US are the two largest markets for Moet & Chandon. A typical Imperial or white star is always a blend of three years to achieve the same quality from year to year. It is also a blend of three grapes, chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot muir. The last is only grown in Champagne. When the vintner feels that there is a very good year, then they will make a vintage and put the year on the bottle. The current vintage year is 2002, and it is rumored that 2004 will be the next vintage year. The year I was born was also a vintage year, so both a vintage and a Dom were made. The difference between the Moet Vintage and the Dom, is that the Dom is made from only grand cru vineyards. Grand cru means that the vineyard itself has met the highest standards as determine by the Champagne region. The French have many rules when it comes to their cheese and the wine, which is why it is so good.

I didn’t have a few hundred thousand pounds laying around so I could not buy a 1962 Dom, but I did buy a 2002 Vintage Moet, which will be drank at 6 pm (9am in the states) on March 1. This is the hour of my birth and will be when I turn 50.

Every one enjoyed the tour and the champagne tasting at the end. Jerry said he was inspired to design wine cellars back home.

We only had time for the one tour, so after Moet we headed back home. We took a different route back to A4 then what we came in on. It was very scenic. I drove about half way and then I was just too tired and almost falling asleep at the wheel, so Bruce drove the rest of the way to Paris, while I fell a sleep.

When we got back to Paris, it was rush hour, but Bruce had little problem getting us back to the car rental place, with Jerry’s excellent directions of course. Fortunately we did not use much gas. Just to fill it up ¼ tank cost over 25€ which is about $30. After returning the car we all returned to our rooms to rest and get ready for dinner.

The Search for Dinner

After a relaxing day in Champagne we set out for the evening meal. The French’s relationship to food and dinning is not the same as at home. Dinning is an experience, you do not rush, it is meant to enjoy catch up with friends go over the day. Americans are more about just eating, unless it is a special occasion, but every meal in France is an occasion. Tonight we were headed to the The Marais area of Paris and the restaurant L’Ambassade d’Auvergne a café that specializes in the food of “Auvergne which is in southern France, I believe in Provence. It is suppose to be good, and its hallmark it the bowl of Chocolate Mouse that is served for dessert, you just help yourself to as much as you want. We will never know however, since at 8:45 they were done for the night. One metro ride down.

From there we headed to La Grands Boulevards this area is just above Paris and has lots of shopping during the day. Our restaurant of choice here was Frenchies. This was a Bruce pick. It was in a small Alley off the main avenue. You should note that Bruce’s picks were either from friends you travel here a lot or from a list compiled by Anthony Bourdine (a famous food critic, I don’t know I don’t pay attention to food critics). In any event it took a bit to find the place and it was packed no room for us here. Metro ride number 2.

The next choice was a late night spot that we knew would be open it was in the same area but not within walking distance for me. The brasserie was called Le Vaudeville, it was what I would call similar to Sardi’s in New York, the after theater crowd would certainly go here. The décor was all early 20’s and the waiters had the traditional black and whit uniform. After three Metro rides it was open and we went in for dinner.

We all at a prix fix but Jerry opted out of the dessert. Bruce and I both started with Foie Gras (number 2 or three for Bruce) Jerry had the terrine of jamon salad. All three were very good. Bruce then had the Tartare Boeuf, (yes raw hamburger) we have tried it before and its fine, but I really don’t want to eat raw hamburger. Jerry had Bavette, a cut of beef (yes again, he is eating a ton of beef and I am the meat eater not Jerry.) is had a Souris Agneau or lamb shank on top of a cassoulet (if you see a trend in my evening meals you would be right, I don’t mean to order lamb every time, but its always what jumps off the page and veal (other than liver or Kidney) just doesn’t seem to be in vogue here. It was however the best lamb shank I have ever had. Dessert I had a pear tart.

It was a good meal, and the meals they got off to a slow start have been getting increasingly better.

After dinner it was back to the metro and Rue Cler. Tomorrow the Orsay.

---

Photos

Chateau
Our new summer home

Baccarat
Chandiler of Baccarat Champagne Flutes

Sorry it's empty
A Gift to Moet from Napoleon

Will Iever get out of here
And do I really want to?

Why Isn't he a Saint
The Monk Dom

Vaudeville
Ah the 20's in Paris