This Weekend: Open cellars in France’s Champagne Region

La Route du Champagne en Fête takes place this Saturday and Sunday in France’s Champagne region.  The villages of Côte des Bar will offer special performances, exhibitions, dining and a chance to sample some exceptional bubbly!

You can expect the festivities to have a true local flavor and you have a chance to  tour Champagne caves and sample Champagne with special-edition champagne flutes, which are available at tourist offices and welcome points along the route.

http://2012.routeduchampagne.com.

Liz Palmer
@Champagnehouses

The “OenoPass” Launched last week in the Champagne Region

Launched last week by the Champagne region is the wine tourist friendly “OenoPass”.

The idea is simple and ingenious –  Visitors pre-pay 50Euros and have access to ten plus participating partner venues include Champagne houses and Champagne cultural and historical points of interest.

OenoPass is best adapted to tourists who have a car. Participating properties include: Champagne de Castellane in Épernay, Cristallerie Royale de Champagne et Musée du cristal in Bayel, and the Drappier Champagne Estate in Urville, Champagne G.H. Mumm located in Reims, Domaine Pommery and their sister property, Demoiselle, also both located in Reims, as well as Le Phare which is an old lighthouse that an eccentric businessman, Joseph Goulet, built in 1909 in Verzenay which has been restored and resurrected as a modern museum paying tribute to the history and techniques of champagne with state-of-the-art audiovisual installations. All participating venues are along the “Route du Champagne”. Both French and English are spoken.

Tourists have a choice of the 5 coupon ticket [25Euros] or the 10 coupon ticket [50Euros] which are both good until the end of the year, with the special introductory price of 25Euros. Most cellar visits and tastings in Champagne are priced from about 15Euros/per person.

Along the Champagne Route make some stops for regional delicacies such as the ham from Reims “jambon de Reims” which is triple boiled – the legendary Café du Palais in Reims city center serves a generous slice of it accompanied by Langres cheese. Also further down south French foodies never pass up the opportunity to try Andouillette AAAAA from Troyes. Don’t forget the emblematic “biscuits rose” or pink cookies dusted with powdered sugar that so perfectly accompany a glass of rosé or blanc de blanc Champagne!

http://www.oenopass.net

Liz Palmer

@Champagnehouses

Champagne+

Searcys St Pancras Grand Champagne Bar refreshes guest experiences with refurbishment just in time for the Olympics!

Searcys St Pancras Grand Champagne Bar is ready to provide a bubbly welcome to visitors arriving in London through St Pancras International Station for the Games or to meet-up with friends!

Europe’s longest Champagne bar has undergone a £250,000 refurbishment, which includes heated seats, new signage, and the additional of a “Champagne Button” in the booths (for guests to alert a waiter when their glass needs refilling).

The Champagne list is quite extensive which includes grower Champagnes, and the largest selection of Grand Marque houses in the UK. The most extraordinary selections are available by the glass, which is the most extensive of any bar in Europe and varies from 15 to 30.

The carefully produced list includes a Glossary and a ‘Size Matters’ section to help educate Champagne novices to choose the right size and taste! Range and size where all are represented on the list from Magnum to Nebuchadnezzar.

Situated on the upper Grand Terrace of St Pancras International station overlooking the platforms where Eurostar trains arrive and depart who knows which Olympic athlete you will see or sit beside!

 

Liz Palmer

@Champagnehouses

Champagne+

Champagne Castelnau is the official Champagne of the Tour de France

Champagne Castelnau has replaced Jacquart as this year’s exclusive Champagne poured on the Tour de France.

Champagne Castelnau has signed a three-year deal with Tour de France in an attempt to raise their profile in France and the UK (its largest export market).

With two days left of the Tour, it is widely believed Bradley Wiggins will clinch the first British victory of the Tour.

Pascal Prudhomme, General Manager, of Champagne Castelnau said he hoped to mimic the success of Skoda in France since the car manufacturer became the official partner of the race nine years ago.

Champagne Castelnau is owned by one of the sparkling wine region’s largest cooperatives, the Coopérative Regionale des Vins de Champagne (CRVC).

Pascal added that he believed the new tie-up with the Tour would also be an encouragement for the growers, which supply grapes to the cooperative.

“It shows them that the brand is strong and we are investing in it,” he said.

Meanwhile, within France, Pascal said he expected the brand to benefit from the visibility among the VIPs present at corporate events running alongside the race, particularly the many guests and buyers from French supermarket chain Carrefour, which has sponsored the Tour’s polka dot jersey since 2009.

The tour has a long association with Champagne, not just due to the region’s regular appearance in the race, but also because of the wine’s historic use as a source of energy for the riders.

It is said that Maurice Garin, who won the first Tour de France in 1903, kept himself fuelled on a mixture of Champagne and coffee.

 

Liz Palmer

@champagnehouses

 

Perrier-Jouët unveils “Belle Epoque Florale Edition by Makoto Azuma”

Last night marked a new historical event for Perrier-Jouët champagne House, with the international unveiling of Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque Florale Edition by Makoto Azuma – the first designed Limited Edition of cuvee Belle Epoque, since the creation of its iconic anemones by Emile Gallé in 1902. The launch event took place in Japan, which has a strong historical relationship with the luxury house.

Created by a renowned floral Japanese artist Makoto Azuma, Belle Epoque Florale Edition is a reverential homage to Emile Galle’s famous Art Nouveau design. This was originally inspired by Japanese art culture, and has become the iconic image of Perrier-Jouët artistic heritage through its prestige cuvee. Challenging the aesthetic boundaries, Makoto Azuma created a unique combined artwork, made of a single delicate botanical arabesque dotted with white Japanese anemones. These recall the original 1902 design, which is further reinforced with a handcrafted motif of golden flowers on the bottle of Belle Epoque 2004**, carefully selected by Cellar Master Hervé Deschamps.

The artist explains: “I wanted to make something extraordinary, taking inspiration from the sensation of champagne inside the mouth, and the delicate movement of the ivy and leaves with a special attention and tribute given to Emile Gallé’s anemones”.

The unique Limited Edition was revealed as part of a very exclusive international event attended by over 150 media and VIP guests, at the most beautiful and traditional Japanese Happoen-garden at the heart of Tokyo city. Guests enjoyed an elegant and imaginative exhibition, telling the story of both Emile Gallé and Azuma Makoto in a creative and contemporary way. Amongst the stars attending the event were local Japanese celebrities such as actress Miki Maya, top model Ai Tominaga, Music producer Verbal, and musician Tomoyasu Hotei, as well as other international VIPs including Chinese Haute-Couture designer Wendy Yip and Hong-Kong Fashion Designer Dorian Ho, socialite Kennis Tai and actress Isabel Leung.

Commissioning Japanese artist Makoto Azuma came as a natural choice for Perrier-Jouët; Emile Gallé chose white Japanese anemones for its original design in 1902 because of his passion for botany but also his admiration for Japanese art that draws inspiration from the primal force of nature, the true spirit of the Art Nouveau movement.

Lionel Breton, Chairman & CEO Martell Mumm Perrier-Jouët explained: “Makoto Azuma and Perrier-Jouët share the same values of tradition, passion for Nature, and genuine originality and we are delighted to have found in M. Azuma the Emile Gallé of modern times through his unique creation”

From the specific choice of flowers, to the endless series of adjustments and motif on the bottle itself, Belle Epoque Florale Edition perfectly expresses the luxurious and craftsmanship cues of Perrier-Jouët, whilst delivering a contemporary vision of beauty.

Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque Florale Edition will be available only in limited quantities worldwide commencing September at 300 euros.

 

Liz Palmer

@Champagnehouses