How soon could you be in Champagne?

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Just a few short years ago, Champagne was a very little-known region of France.  Everyone had heard of the drink of course, but not many people actually knew it was a region, but now with the internet, it’s become much more well known.

But did you know how accessible it is?

If you like train travel, we’re just a 45 minute high-speed train ride from Paris.  If you prefer to drive, we’re just 3 hours on a fast, almost traffic-free motorway (imagine that!) from Calais, and for air travelleers, flight times from Paris CDG are just 40 minutes from London, 90 minutes from Manchester, 60 minutes from Birmingham, 2 hours from Stockholm.

You could be here this weekend, sipping your first flute in our warm and spacious lounge (in the winter) or on the sunny terrace (in summer) chatting with your friends and family, and relaxing while we take care of everything

 

 

Imagine that!

See you soon in Champagne

Yvonne 😉

CLICK HERE to see the rooms and book online now 🙂

Categories: B&B

Reims Wine Festival Questions

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If you have questions about our “Exclusive Weekend in Champagne” in November, then this fact sheet will help you

Q:        I thought Les Molyneux was closed now, where will be staying

A:        Yes it is closed and although you won’t be staying at Les Molyneux, we have sourced exclusive and private en-suite accommodation for you

Q:        Will Jiles and Yvonne be there?

A:        YES!!!! We will be taking care of your every need during the entire weekend experience.  We’ll be sharing our knowledge and expertise, drawing from 17 years living and working in Champagne, plus introducing you to some of our favourite champagne producers who don’t normally welcome strangers

Q:        What’s included?

A:        Great question! 3 nights luxury accommodation and breakfast. Gourmet dinner with champagne flowing on Friday and Saturday evenings, with a lighter dinner (with champagne, of course!) on Sunday evening.  Chauffeured transport every day, accompanied by Jiles.  All entrance fees to champagne producers and the Wine Festival

Q:        What’s not included?

A:        Another great question!  Transport to and from your destination in Champagne.  Lunches and any champagne or wine you buy

Do you have more questions?

Call us now on 07399 605465 (UK number)

Email jiles@MyManInChampagne.com now

Have you ever been to Reims Wine Festival?

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Once again the wonderful annual Wine Festival will be in Reims from the 9th – 12 November 2018 and we’re putting together an exclusive weekend, not only to include the amazing opportunity to taste over 300 wines from around France, but to experience the real Champagne that ordinary tourists would never be able to do

Our special “Weekend in Champagne” is designed to take you on a magical tour of the region, meeting the extraordinary people and tasting the secret bubbly that you couldn’t find on your own.

If you’ve done wine tours before, forget them – this one is different

“Amazing experience, with amazing people.  You can’t get this type of thing anywhere else.  Loved it!” A & M, UK

Every year, the wine festival gets bigger and bigger with more and more exhibitors and wine enthusiasts.  And it’s not surprising when you see the range on offer and the incredible prices. Over 300 winemakers from all over France will gather in Reims on the 9th – 12th November 2018 to offer their latest wines and network with potential partners and customers.

Spending the whole day here is not out of the question, but you’d have to “spit” instead of “swallow” if you wanted to remain standing!  With foie-gras sandwiches and oysters and chips, finishing off with hand-make chocolates and matured cheeses, it’s a gastronomic delight for foodies and wine lovers alike.

But it’s not just about the Reims Wine Festival. 

CLICK HERE to see what our “Exclusive Weekend in Champagne” has in store for you.

Can’t wait to share this beautiful region and its hidden gems with you this November

Jiles & Yvonne x

 

Smaller Champagne Houses to Visit

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Handling the caissesMany people who visit the champagne region really don’t know how and where to find the smaller champagne houses where they can meet the champagne makers themselves and sit down and taste with them, and often with the family too.

This is not surprising as the smaller champagne houses are not brilliant at self-promotion preferring instead to tend to the vines and make the bubbly, rather than open the doors to tourists who may or may not buy anything.

So I’ve just compiled a brief list of our favourites and where I know you will receive a warm welcome and a glass or two of the famous bubbly, while you chat and learn with the makers themselves.

You may need to make an appointment ahead of time because they do have other things to do and are not always available.

La Maison Penet, Verzy

Alexandre and his wife Martine took over the family business quite recently and have invested a small fortune in their new reception area, tasting room and cellars.  Alexandre is a savvy businessman and has developed a niche “low dosage” champagne for discerning bubbly-lovers.  Not everyone will love it, but it’s certainly different and well worth your time to explore.

Hure Freres, Ludes

Francois Hure is one of three brothers and having travelled to other wine-growing regions of the world, has brought international expertise to his champagne making process.  Based in the “Montagne de Reims” area of the region, his champagnes are Pinot Noir bassed which makes them very fruity and full-bodied (which I personally love) One to put on the list for sure.

Benoit Marguet, Ambonnay

If you’re looking for some “out-there-woo-woo” thinking, then a visit to this smaller champagne house won’t disappoint you.  Benoit is very much into the bio-dynamic production process, paying close attention to the cycles of the moon, ploughing the furrows between the vines with his horse-drawn plough and using herbal concoctions, rather than chemicals to keep the bugs at bay.  Well worth a visit to just experience his philosophy

If you’d like to find out more about how meet these small champagne houses and the people involved, then just email me yvonne@lesmolyneux.com and I’ll be happy to help.

Meanwhile, why not CLICK HERE and hop over to our Facebook page and say hello 🙂

See you soon in Champagne

Yvonne

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Champagne Christmas fun in Epernay

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The weekend of the 9th/10th/11th December 2016 is a great time to come to Epernay, where the Christmas street party takes place on the Avenue de Champagne.  Usually, not many of the big champagne houses on the Avenue are open to the public, but on this weekend, they all are!  And not only are they open, you are invited to join in, with champagne flowing, food to go, live music, fun and fireworks.  If you’ve never been to Epernay for  this brilliant event, then put it in your diary for 2016.

The “Habits de Lumiere” event (which literally means “dressed in lights”)  is where the Avenue de Champagne is lit up like Disneyland,  with even a Disney-esque procession and spectacular fireworks on the Friday night, cooking demonstrations and champagne and food matching on Saturday, and a vintage car procession on Sunday.

Hundreds of locals flock to this event, and you should be there too!

We’ve put together a very special weekend around this amazing event, for a limited number of people, so if you’d like to find out how you can be there this year, then email us at yvonne@lesmolyneux.com or call us on  0033 (0)3 26 48 20 52 to find out more

Curious about what to do, where to stay, who meet in Champagne?
Download your Free Guide by CLICKING HERE

Happy Christmas from Les Molyneux

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Just a quick post to thank you for choosing Les Molyneux as your destination in Champagne and to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and peace, love, prosperity and happiness in 2015. I want to thank you also for writing great reviews for us and for making 2014 another great year for us.

A special gift below is a short video that Infusionsoft made for me as part of my prize for winning their online marketing award last year. I hope it will bring back happy memories for you of your time here at Les Molyneux and that you will think about returning again in 2015.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO

In the meantime, wishing you a very Happy Christmas

Yvonne x

Yvonne June 2014

 

 

 

Curious about what to do, where to stay, who to meet in Champagne?

Download our Free Guide by CLICKING HERE

 

Tasting champagne in Champagne – are you coming?

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Artisan_du_Champagne_MKB_34April is one of the best times to come to Champagne, before the season really gets going, and if you’re a champagne enthusiast, you’ll definitely want to be at one of four of the best and most dynamic champagne tastings taking place this year.

The first is the Terroirs et Talents de Champagne and  takes place in Epernay on  Sunday 13th and 14th April at the Restaurant Au  Théatre. In no particular order (!) Champagne producers taking part at this tasting will include:

From La Montagne de Reims:

  • Aspasie
  • Maxime Blin
  • Penet Chardonnet

From La Côte des Blancs:

  • de Sousa
  • André Jacquart
  • Vazart Coquart

From La Vallée de la Marne:

  • Janisson Baradon
  • Michel Loriot
  • Sélèque

And Jacques Copinet from Le Sézannais
and  Coessens from further south in La Côte des Bar

To book your place at this event, simply email: terroirs.et.talents@gmail.com

Your next date is on  Monday 14th for the Terres et Vins de Champagne at the
Hotel Castel Jeanson, Ay, and in no particular order,  the champagnes being presented at this tasting will include:

  • Horiot
  • Agrapart
  • Françoise Bedel
  • Bérche
  • Francis Boulard
  • Chartogne-Taillet
  • Couche
  • Doquet
  • René Geoffroy
  • Etienne Goutourbe
  • Jeauneaux-Robin
  • Benoit Lahaye
  • Laherte Fréres
  • Tarlant
  • Leclapart
  • Franck Pascal
  • Hubert Paulet
  • Pouillon & Fils

Go here to book your place at this event (unfortunately their website is not up to date for 2014)

http://www.terresetvinsdechampagne.com/home/formulaire.php

Go to Formulaire d’Inscription

And third is Les Artisans du Champagne on 15th April at Chateau Les Crayeres, Reims.  You’ll be able to meet and chat with these producers there:

  • Maillard
  • Paillard
  • Savart
  • Huré
  • Hébrard
  • Gerbais
  • Doyard
  • JL Vergon
  • Alfred Gratien
  • Margaine
  • Vilmart
  • Lancleot Pienne
  • Dehours
  • Gonet Médeville

You’ll need to go here to get yourself into this event:

http://www.lesartisansduchampagne.com/

Go to Inscription en Lignes,

And finally, on the 16th April, David Pehu and his group in Verzenay will be presenting their champagnes, venue to be confirmed, so let us know if you want more details and we’ll be sure to get them to you when we know more.

Well, if that’s not a great selection of small producers, I don’t know what is!   CLICK HERE to book your room.  Looking forward to seeing you in Champagne in April.

Stay Bubbly!

Yvonne

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Curious about what to do, where to stay and who to meet in Champagne?

Download your Free Guide by CLICKING HERE

 

Merry Christmas from Champagne

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Thank you so much for choosing to stay with us in 2013.  We had a great year once again, thanks only to you 🙂  May I take this opportunity to wish you, your family and your loved ones a very Happy Christmas and may all your dreams come true in 2014.

Yvonne, Jiles & The Team

Questions raised about living in Champagne

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Hello again,

We’ve had a lot of questions about what it’s like to live in Champagne, so I thought I’d do a blog post to answer them for you.  So here goes…

What are the costs of running the house?

There are three charges to pay that are relatively fixed:

Taxe d’Habitation (residents’ tax) which is approximately €80 per month

Tax Fonciere (property tax) again about €80 per month

Assainissement ( Local water cleaning services ) around €430 per year

 Variable running costs

The house is heated by gas, and including electricity,costs approximately  €330 per month

The water supply is metered and costs approximately  €77 per month

Keep in mind that the approximate costs mentioned above include the costs of running the whole house including the B & B.

I work from home. What’s the Internet access like?

There is broadband service to the house which is reliable and comes in at around €36 per month

There is reasonable coverage for mobile (cell phones) which can vary in different parts of the house, but it is generally reliable.  SFR is the best service provider for the village

I don’t have much experience of driving in France. Is there any public transport?

There is little in the way of local transport. A car is necessary. The huge advantage though, is that there is very little traffic and driving around here is still pretty enjoyable.

What are the neighbours like?

In general people are very family-oriented and tend to keep themselves to themselves. Nevertheless we have never experienced anything but kindness and helpfulness from any of the villagers.  We’ve made some great friends here.

The house itself is one of several in the centre of the village with adjoining walls and/or gardens. As happens the world over they occasionally have parties, but these are once or twice a year and not a problem.   The upside of that is whenever we have a party, no-one complains.  The French really do “live and let live”.

How easy it is to set up a business?

This is an area in which you need to take specialist advice but our own experience is that there are two main options:

a)You can register as an auto-entrepreneur (self-employed sole trader).

This does not require any capital investment however there are certain limits to the turnover you are allowed before you have to register as a company. No bookkeeping is required; you simply report your turnover each month or each quarter and pay a percentage of tax on that amount.  At the moment, the flat rate is 15%.

b)If you register as a business you will need to invest a capital amount. In this case complete bookkeeping is needed to record income and expenditure. Tax is paid on the net profit.

The current upper income limit for a B & B is €81,500 per year

Note that a B & B may have up to 5 bedrooms. More than that and it is classified as a hotel which brings with it a lot more regulations and costs.

Will I have to learn to speak French?

That depends on you, and what you want to get out of your experience in France.  You know when you see foreigners all grouped together in your country, how does it make you feel that they don’t speak your language, and yet they are living in your country?   If you want to get the most enjoyment and the best experience of France, then you’ll need to be able to speak a little French.  And when you try to speak French, they will help you, (except in Paris of course!)

Are there many English speaking people living there?

Yes, in fact there’s a small but growing, supportive ex-pat community in the region, and we get together regularly to do silly anglo-saxon things, like carol singing, bonfire night etc. The French think we’re mad, and we probably are!

Do you have some more questions?  Simply drop us an email at yvonne@lesmolyneux.com and we’ll be happy to answer them 🙂