More Champagne please!

We spent three wonderful nights at Champagne André Bergère, but it was time to pack our bags and head to Château d'Étoges.

Unfortunately, we couldn't check-in until 4pm so we decided to visit a little village about 4km from Epernay. So the question was, how best to get there? The answer, an electric bike!


We rented a bike and helmet each and set out to Pierry and to Champagne Vollereaux; it was quite terrifying, especially as we were on the road and neither of us are confident cyclists, but we made it. Electric bikes are great btw, you just cycle and it pulls you along like you are on a tow rope.

We left our bikes in the Champagne house courtyard and got ready for the tour which included a champagne and chocolate tasting; this was another which was recommended by Emily and rightly so. We got a mini-tour around the Champagne house before sitting down to enjoy the pairing. The champagne was fantastic so we decided to buy a bottle to take home.








Clearly after a few champagnes, we thought getting back would be a bit trickier, but its amazing the new-found confidence we both seemed to have. It took us 15 minutes to get safely back to the tourist information centre deposit our bikes and breathe a big sigh of relief.

We still had some time to kill so we walked up to Champagne Paul-Etienne Saint Germain; they are also friends with Emily and did some tastings in the UK. The champagne is excellent, so we bought another bottle to take home with us!


We still had a bit more time so wandered back towards the hotel, deciding to visit Champagne Leclerc Briant on the way. It was just across from our hotel, and was also recommended by the Sommelier at The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant. We went with the tasting, choosing to sit outside in their garden. It was lovely and relaxing which was definitely needed after the stress of cycling!


After fighting off a wasp or two, we finished the champagne tasting and wandered back to the hotel to wait for the taxi. The village of Étoges was 25km away which equated to around 60 Euros; we arrived just after 4pm and checked into our room.






 The Château was beautiful and we enjoyed relaxing in the grounds, but it was getting close to our "gastronomic" experience so we had to get a move on.



Dinner was delicious, and so was the matching wine!












We were stuffed and it was time for bed, thankfully we could have a longish lie in as we didn't have to get up for anything. Although we weren't particularly hungry, we went for breakfast and had the obligatory champagne or two. It then felt like a good time to take a walk around the village of Étoges and see if any of the Champagne Houses were open; we were in luck!


We went to Borel-Lucas Champagne; it was a bit of an odd place and they had to send for someone who spoke English. We decided to do the tasting which was very good and they were happy to give us a cellar tour too. And as is customary, we decided to buy a bottle to take home too. 





We sauntered back to the Château and waited for a taxi to take us back to Epernay for our final night in France. As part of the gastronomic package, we also got a bottle of Champagne as a souvenir! 

(In case you are starting to worry about our baggage, we worked out we could take 9 bottles home!)

The taxi dropped us off at Hôtel Villa Eugène but it was too early to check-in; we left our baggage with reception before wandering back down the Avenue de Champagne to Moët et Chandon. We didn't have a tour booked but were hoping they could fit us in; no such luck. We decided to ask for a tasting in their garden which also seemed like a stretch but eventually they caved. It was very odd as we had to prepay for a couple of glasses but the garden was lovely and the service excellent! 


We drank our champagne then Iain disappeared to the toilet for what seemed like ages; I wondered what he was doing until both he and the person serving us reappeared with Dom Perignon. Best husband ever! 


It was nearly time to check-in to the hotel which was at the opposite end of the avenue so we decided to make a stop in at Champagne Michel Gonet on the way. The garden was beautiful and the champagne was probably one of the best. We bought another bottle and got on our way.


The Hôtel Villa Eugène is a beautiful five star hotel so we wanted to spend some time there. We ordered some drinks and sat at the pool for the whole afternoon, it did help that the sun was shining and it was roasting hot again.

As it was our last night, we decided to go to Brasserie La Banque which was recommended to us by the hotel. We sat out in the garden of the restaurant which was so busy as it was a Saturday evening and there appeared to be an open-air concert in the grounds opposite Moët et Chandon. The set menu looked good and was reasonably priced, so we went with that and a few beers (I think we were all a bit "Champagned-out").


After dinner, we walked back to the hotel and attempted to pack....

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