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Hand Hewn Limestone Caves
Taittinger House, Reims, France |
Before we moved to Europe I was unaware that wine and cheese usually earned their names from the region in which they were produced. Now I know better, and I try to incorporate these localities into our trips. In Reims, there was champagne, so named for the region in which the grapes are grown. There are several champagne houses in the area, and they use underground caves for storing their bottles.
We visited
Taittinger house on the outskirts of the city; there was free parking available on site. We walked into the tours office and were able to join a tour that started in 10 minutes time. To be clear, the champagne is not pressed and bottled here; it is aged. The Taittinger champagnes are aged for at 3 years in the underground caves. The Romans used the site as a quarry, and dug these caves into the limestone in the 4th century. After the Romans, the site was occupied by an order of Benedictine monks who built an abbey over the caves, which they used for storage and rituals. The abbey was destroyed during the French Revolution, but the caves remained beneath the surface. In the 1920s, a champagne house was founded on the premises and in the 1930s, the Taittinger family bought the site.
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One of the Vaults filled with Bottles
Taittinger House, Reims, France |
The caves are ideal for champagne storage because of their constant temperatures and humidity levels. The average temperature is in the 50s, and we spent at least 30 minutes underground; if you go, bring a coat. There were millions of bottles in the caves, each in various stages of the ageing process. The bottles are stacked in every cubby and vault the Romans or the monks, or the Taittinger employees excavated. They are just laid on top of one another—no shelves. Until we visited these caves, it seemed impossible that all the champagne in the world could come from this small region, but it does; Taittinger is just 1 of many houses in the region.
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Champagne at the end of the Tour
Taittinger House, Reims, France |
The tour ended with a glass of champagne back at ground level. After so long underground, the bubbly helped take the chill off. The kind we tried was the “base model” Brut, but there were many more “upgraded” vintages available in the gift shop. We bought some bottles of these other varieties, so hopefully they’re as good as the Brut we sampled.
Useful Links!
Pictures from Our Trip!
Information about Taittinger
Taittinger Homepage (Learn about Tours, the Vintages, and the History)
10 Fun Facts about Taittinger
Taittinger Champagnes
