After visiting pumpkin festivals and sipping wine from Chateau Real Martin in Provence, we continue our virtual wine tour of France with a trip to Champagne.
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Fall in Love with Champagne
Just over an hour outside of Paris, we make our way to the Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier vines of Champagne. The rolling hills of the region change from green to yellow, orange, and red, painting the region of Champagne in autumn’s color palette.
Similar to Provence, fall in Champagne is an ideal time to visit. As summer fades, the crowds go with it. In September, the temperature average remains comfortable with a range of 70-50 F (16-7 C). October is still pleasant with highs around 61 F (10 C) and lows around 45 F (4 C). Winter weather begins rolling in during November with temperatures ranging from 50-39F (7-1 C).
If you visit Champagne in autumn or anytime of the year, you’ll likely want to visit Reims. This gorgeous French city serves as somewhat of an unofficial capital for the region. In between Champagne tastings, be sure to visit the Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Reims (Reims Cathedral). In addition to being considered a model of Gothic art, this UNESCO world heritage site is where the kings of France were crowned.
After visiting Reims, take a short trip to Épernay to visit the famous Avenue de Champagne (The Champagne Avenue). Many famous champagne producers, such as Moët & Chandon and Perrier-Jouët, have residences on this street. Although the avenue only stretches about 1 kilometer, some claim that it is the most expensive street in the world because of the millions of bottles of champagne stored in the cellars below ground.
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Festivals & Events
When visiting Champagne in autumn, there are a variety of festivals and events to take part in in addition to the usual harvest festivals.
In September, visit Chalons-en-Champagne for the Foire de Châlons. This event highlights agriculture, gastronomy, and economic innovation and has several concerts going on throughout the fair.
In October, a French chanson composer is invited to be the guest of honor at the Champagne Nights Festival in Troyes. Venues throughout the city hold concerts to showcase the guest of honor’s compositions.
If you plan to visit this region of France later in the season, the Autumn Arts Festival in Chouilly takes place in the first week of December.
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Our Favorite Champagne
To celebrate our virtual trip through the region of Champagne in autumn, it’s time to pop some bubbly!
Just a ten-minute drive from L’Avenue de Champagne sits the family-owned winery of Champagne Paul Michel.
The Champagne Paul Michel Premier Cru is made from 100% chardonnay grapes. It has aromas of white fruits (pear and apple) as well as dry apricot and lime zest. This champagne has great minerality.
You can enjoy the delicious bubbly as soon as you get it, or you can hold onto it as it ages well.
Born to the traditions of a family-owned champagne winery dating from 1847 and instilled with the “savoir-faire” transmitted from these past generations, Paul Michel married and decided to settle and start his family at Cuis, near Épernay, and to take up his own adventure of champagne production.
The Michel sons stayed at the domain and have continued the work championed so many years ago by Paul Michel. In 2014, a third generation, with Geoffroy Michel, came into the operation in order to continue the family legacy of distinctive champagne.
In 1952, Paul Michel offered his first cuvée. After several years, and with the addition of new parcels of land, the operation grew. Today, the vineyard includes 20 acres of mainly 1st Cru and Grand cru, located primarily throughout the communities of Cuis, Pierry, and Chouilly.
Paul Michel now produces 100,000 bottles each year, exclusively in Chardonnay. The domain is very committed to the respect and protection of the environment.
This Champagne is ideal as an aperitif or during a meal to pair with shellfish, fish, or white meat.
Just in Time for the Holidays
With the holiday season quickly approaching, now is the time to order the Champagne Paul Michel Premier Cru. Usually $46 per bottle, we are currently offering this fantastic blanc de blanc Champagne at a special price: 3 bottles at $38.60/bottle, 6 bottles at $37.75/bottle, and 12 bottles at $36.50/bottle. As always, you can also combine this offer with other wines from our wine cellar to take advantage of our free shipping for any orders of 12+ bottles. We have limited stock left of this delicious sparkling wine; click here to order now.
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Want to learn more about French wine? We’re here to help! Why not check out our French wine club? Every three months we send direct to your door three, six, or twelve bottles of boutique French wines which have been carefully selected by wine experts in France along with detailed information about each wine and food pairing ideas to help you really discover French wine. And as if that wasn’t enough, we also have a wine club gift option for that special wine lover in your life! For the perfect last minute gift, send one of our digital gift cards.
We are also offering free shipping on 12-bottle orders within the continental US (including our 12-bottle Club Et Voila and Et Voila Gift options). We are also offering 50% off shipping of 12-bottle orders to Hawaii. Mix and match your favorites from our wine cellar, or stock up with 12 bottles of your favorite.
Julia is happy to help with any custom orders. Please reach out to her via email at julia@sommailier.com.
Hi Kelly! We are visiting Champagne in early October and are hoping to meet a winemaker, owner, or grower who is a woman. We are competing in Reims as team USA, and are a team of all women for the first time in the contest. Do you know any ladies we could visit?
Merci Beaucoup!