WHERE IS CHAMPAGNE COUNTRY?
WHERE IS CHAMPAGNE COUNTRY? East of Paris. The area is encompassed by the two départments of Marne and Aube. Troyes is the former capital of the Champagne region, but Reims and Epérnay in Marne are the indisputable capitals of champagne wine, and the largest areas under vines are in the Marne. There is a smaller champagne area to the east of Troyes in Aube with some excellent, if lesser-known, producers. Think of a pleasant, gentle landscape dotted with woodlands rather than spectacular rolling hills, and you’ve got the picture. The Aube has more varied landscapes, thanks to its vast forests and expanses of water. One of the curiosities to be found among the vineyards are the “cadoles”, crude dry-stone shelters once used by the wine growers. WHEN WAS THE DRINK CREATED? Champagne is a modern wine, developed only three centuries ago. Much of the credit for the great advances in champagne production goes to Dom Pérignon (1638-1715), who was cellar-master at the Benedictine abbey of Hautvi
