Wine Terroirs
By Camille Bernard – Photographs: courtesy of the estates, posted on 30 September 2024
From the ‘most drinkable address in the world’ – as Winston Churchill described Avenue de Champagne in Épernay – to the lush green hills of the Côte des Bar, follow our trail through the vineyards of Champagne.
The vineyards belonging to Patrick Boivin unfurl over the hillsides of Épernay.
t’s an open secret that Champagne is a very popular destination. Wine tourism, bolstered by the Unesco world heritage listing of Champagne’s Hillsides, Houses and Cellars, has become a major activity, morphing from a cottage industry in the 19th century to a more structured business since the mid-20th century. Now, as wine tourism diversifies, Champagne has risen to the challenge of hosting up to five million visitors a year. From the family-run houses to the more prominent companies, we meet some passionate winegrowers whose primary mission is to act as ambassadors for their unique wine region.
Any self-respecting visitor along the (wine) tourism route in the Marne Valley has to start in Epernay, the historic capital of Champagne with its famous ‘Avenue de Champagne’ which is home to the internationally renowned houses, but also other wineries.
With vineyards across the hillsides of Epernay, Patrick Boivin is one of those winegrowers whose passion is contagious. As he beats the bounds of his 6-hectare vineyard – as he has done for the past 40 years – he admits: “Champagne is a single, indivisible region and its good fortune stems from its vineyard sites and people. To share this, we have to get people to understand the magic of our profession”.
The magic has now been passed on to his two daughters, Céline and Baptistine, to whom he and his wife Marie-Madeleine are gradually passing the winery over.
Sharing the Champagne that defines him is a mission that means a lot to Patrick Boivin. Consequently, with the firm intention of “positioning grower Champagne in the big league”, he enterprisingly launched a collaborative project with two other Epernay winegrowers. Their store, named Les 3 Domaines, introduces visitors to Champagnes by Patrick Boivin, Vincent Testulat and Janisson-Baradon.
Strategically located at number 1 on the famous Avenue de Champagne in Épernay, the store allows visitors to begin their visit with a tasting of grower Champagnes before continuing to the big household names located along the avenue. “This is where we share the secret of Champagne”, explains Patrick Boivin.
The three generations of the Boivin family in their vineyards in Épernay.
The Les 3 Domaines store is ideally located at the entrance to the famous Avenue de Champagne in Épernay
West of Epernay, where vineyards stretch as far as the eye can see over the jagged hillsides of the Marne Valley, Champagne Anthony Betouzet encapsulates traditional winegrowing expertise with a dash of entrepreneurship under the enthusiastic guidance of Anthony and Emilie Betouzet.
“The 7.5-hectare vineyard, mainly located in Dormans and the surrounding villages, has been certified organic since 2023”, explains Emilie.
Planted to a majority share of Meunier (66%), which enjoys ideal conditions to thrive in the Marne Valley, “the vineyards are also home to Pinot noir and Chardonnay, allowing us to produce blends that echo our terroir”, she adds.
In 2020, after a modern winery was built, the property notched up another milestone by welcoming visitors to the estate. “Having everything in the same place meant we could introduce visits and tastings”.
The winery also offers an introductory visit which includes a tour of the vineyards, the press, the vat house and the cellar, and finishes with a tasting of three Champagnes. In addition to this, the gourmet visit includes an aroma game and a food and Champagne tasting. “In this way, we can introduce people to our profession and to Champagne in general. I see it as a way of sharing what we do”, feels Emilie.
Anthony Betouzet and his wife Emilie have poured passion and entrepreneurship into the family’s vineyards since they took over.
Each visit ends with a tasting of Anthony Betouzet Champagnes.
South of Épernay, the vineyards of the Côte des Blancs fan out over hillsides with ubiquitous chalky outcrops. But make no mistake, this unique geology is not why the Côte des Blancs got its name. The moniker in fact comes from the grape variety that reigns supreme here – Chardonnay – and achieves unrivalled expression on these limestone soils.
In the heart of the iconic village of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Champagne Pierre Moncuit is inseparable from Chardonnay, which is the predominant cultivar in the 20-hectare vineyard belonging to this venerable family-run company. Founded over 130 years ago by Pierre Moncuit himself, the company is now in the hands of Valérie Charpentier, his granddaughter, who is carrying on the family tradition with renewed elegance. She recounts: “In the 1980s, my mother Nicole and my uncle Yves took over from my grandfather. My mother handled the production side and crafted the company’s wines, whilst my uncle was in charge of sales. Under their guidance, the property experienced a new lease of life”.
It’s now Valérie’s turn to look after the family farm whose vineyards produce age-worthy Champagnes with complex aromatics as their signature style.
Experiencing a tour of the cellars at Champagne Pierre Moncuit therefore offers the promise of exploring the unsuspected subtleties of Chardonnay.
When visitors cross the threshold of the family-run company, they step into a world where time and terroir mesh. “We are mindful to explain our work to our visitors. It was my grand-mother who first made a pledge towards transparency and passion and we perpetuate it to this day”, points out Valérie. In fact, because Champagne Pierre Moncuit is still a family affair, hospitality is handled by Nicole who has passed over the reins to her daughter, but is never far away.
Valérie Charpentier and her mother Nicole Moncuit, who passed on the delicate art of Champagne to her.
In Valérie’s grandmother’s era, the family-run company was already welcoming guests.
On the Montagne de Reims, where Pinot noir undeniably expresses its full potential, nature and winegrowing expertise meld to craft outstanding Champagnes. The region, defined by its steep hillsides and dense woodland – its green lung – embodies quintessential Champagne terroir features. This is where vineyards produce Champagnes that beguile and inspire imbibers the world over.
In Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, Maison Guy Charbaut stems from a family tradition that started in 1936 with André Charbaut. “Under the guidance of his son Guy, with the valuable support of his wife Simonne and their children Brigitte and Xavier, the family-run winery expanded and was named in 1995”, explains Nathalie Charbaut, Xavier’s wife. The couple are now at the company’s helm.
The 14-hectare vineyard, where the three Champagne grape varieties that are Pinot noir, Pinot meunier and Chardonnay thrive side by side, produces nine different labels, all of which epitomise the winery’s ethos of extended maturation designed to ensure the complexity and optimum maturity of each Champagne before it is released for sale.
But Champagne Guy Charbaut does not just craft stellar Champagne – it inspires a sense of hospitality and sharing among all those who visit the property.
That’s because here, hospitality is a tradition that dates back to the first guest rooms opened in 1997. “The initiative came from my father-in-law who loved to welcome people to the property and share some unique moments with his guests”, recalls Nathalie. “Guy was a bone fide Champagne ambassador and loved to serve it throughout the entire meal”. Now, this tradition of table d’hôte and Champagne and food pairings continues in the property’s former cellar.
The owners also invite visitors to explore the winery’s historic cellars, hewn out of the chalk 25 metres below ground at the turn of the 19th century. They house a rotunda that is the only one of its kind in Champagne. The visit ends with a tasting in a recently restored room.
Maison Guy Charbaut stems from the passion of one family down through the generations.
The number of Champagne houses that boast such an idyllic natural setting as the one at Canard-Duchêne are few and far between. Located on the northern side of the Montagne de Reims, in the charming village of Ludes, the company is home to gorgeous leafy grounds surrounded by vines and a forest boasting rare species.
“Maison Canard-Duchêne nurtures its inspirational relationship with nature which it encapsulates in each of its Champagnes. The many examples of environmentally-friendly initiatives are a testament to its involvement in preserving its site”, explains the company’s hospitality manager, Florence Giron.
“And yet, up until the end of the 2010s, we only conducted tours of the winery”, she recalls. On the edge of the grounds, the majestic red-brick building does indeed hide a treasure: four levels of historic cellars hewn out of the chalk by the company’s founders, Victor Canard and Léonie Duchêne, in the
19th century.
Florence readily admits that “The pandemic marked a turning point in terms of showcasing the company’s unique heritage. We realised the importance of taking advantage of our
natural surroundings”.
The property has thus considerably diversified its choice of wine tourism offerings, now hosting Champagne and cheese workshops, introductions to opening Champagne with a sabre and even yoga courses in the vineyards!
In addition to these activities, the company hosts special events all year round, including tastings of vintage Champagnes and brunches in the grounds.
Cellar master Laurent Fédou also curates masterclasses.
The grounds at Maison Canard-Duchêne invite visitors to stay.
In Bouzy, Champagne Jean Vesselle illustrates the determination with which Delphine Vesselle skilfully took over the reins of the family-run company in 1993. Since then, with the help of her husband David, she has doubled the size of the property to 17 hectares divided between Bouzy, Chouilly and Loches. The company is now preparing for another significant milestone – its transition to organic certification for the 2024 harvest of Chouilly and Bouzy Crus and 2025 for Loches. “We aim to seek out the unique typicity of our vineyard sites and the aroma and flavour qualities of our fruit”, explains Delphine. This constant quest for excellence is reflected in the estate’s extensive range of Champagnes which are designed to be drunk with the entire meal, from the appetisers through to dessert. “Travelling and tasting our Champagnes abroad made us realise that they have the ability to mesh with a variety of gourmet food cultures. I am proud that our Champagne has carved out a place for itself at the table”, she adds.
Each Champagne stamped Jean Vesselle thus tells a story, often inspired by an encounter or an experience. Delphine is genuinely passionate about this and by welcoming visitors to the property, she can pass on this narrative. “We have always made a point of welcoming guests and I can even remember my parents receiving visits in our home on Saturdays and Sundays”.
“Now we offer a complete visit that starts with explanations about work in the vineyard through information panels, continues with a visit of the press, the winery, the cellars and the labelling area and ends with a tasting of our wines”.
Delphine Vesselle welcomes visitors and shares the history of her Champagnes with them.
Delphine Vesselle and her husband David in their Bouzy vineyards.
Although the Côte des Bar suffers unfairly from the distance that separates it from its illustrious neighbours, it is nonetheless home to a profusion of leafy valleys where nature takes on a whole new appearance. It offers an incredible opportunity for Pinot noir, in particular, to demonstrate its broad-ranging persona and yield light wines that are highly valued by the major houses.
Champagne Devaux hosts Champagne and chocolate workshops.
Established in Épernay in 1846, the Champagne Devaux brand has been based in Bar-sur-Seine since the late 1980s in majestic facilities commensurate with its ambitions.
The 18th-century manor house, which has been open to the public since 2011, illustrates this grandeur. “A former paper factory, the location is ideally situated at the confluence of the rivers Seine and Ource, thus offering our estate a remarkable setting”, explains Cathy Mathieu, head of wine tourism at Champagne Devaux.
Confronted with the challenge of securing visibility outside the Côte des Bars, which does not draw in as many tourists as Reims or Epernay, Elodie Chevriot, Marketing and Communications Development Director at the Société Distribution Union Auboise (SDUA), stresses the importance of offering visitors a customised hospitality experience. “Our aim has always been to develop awareness of the brand and attract tourists here where we offer bespoke experiences that are different to the standardised visits”.
In addition to the various tasting workshops hosted by the company, Champagne Devaux also organises a range of activities skilfully revolving around the four elements. Water is explored during a canoe trip; air through sightseeing flights offering spectacular views over the vine-yards of Champagne; earth through an electric scooter tour; and fire through relaxed evening events around a fire pit in the grounds.
Not far away, in the McArthurGlen outlet centre in Troyes, “the Devaux Champagne Bar is a place for relaxing and tasting where Julien introduces patrons to our house”, concludes Emilie.
The Champagne Devaux brand is set the heart of the Côte Des Bar area.
Wine Terroirs
Wine Terroirs
Wine Terroirs