We visited Pommery and Moet & Chandon and took their cellar tours, stopping for lunch and a look at the immense cathedral in Reims in between. Too bad lunch was a yawn- but what do you expect from a place called the James Joyce Pub?
As for the champagne tastings, I didn’t find anything spectacular that I wanted to buy. If I ever return to Reims, I’d probably want to visit Bruno Paillard instead. We popped a bottle in celebration of the completion of my first market tour, and I can see why Joël Robuchon stocks his restaurants with this champagne. Psssttt…when we couldn’t finish the entire bottle, it went into Pear Mimosas later. Sounds a little weird, I know, but we had fresh pear juice purchased directly from the bottler when we visited Avignon a few weekends ago. Nothing beats fresh juice, no sugar added, from a beautiful sun-drenched part of Europe! Champagne Pommery 5, place du Général Gouraud 51100 Reims, France Open daily, tour reservations available online Champagne Moet & Chandon 20, Avenue de Champagne 51333 Epernay, France Tel: 03-26-51-20-20 Open daily in the summer, M-F in the winter Bon appétit!
