Champagne Festival in Epernay

Written by on December 4, 2012 · 2 Comments

The « Habits de Lumiere » Festival in Epernay is only a couple of weeks away now, and the theme this year is “Imagination”.

Your weekend starts at 6.30pm on Friday 14th December, on the Avenue de Champagne, where the usually closed doors of the large champagne houses, fling open their gates and invite you in to taste their champagnes at the bars,   indulge in the gourmet food, listen to the live music, and maybe even dance.

Chestnuts are roasting on the street, fairy lights adorn the buildings, and the sound of music, Jazz, Spanish, Mexican is everywhere along this famous street.

At 7.15pm the street procession begins at Place de la Republique and finishes at the top of the Avenue de Champagne at Mercier, where at 8.30pm you’ll witness an amazing firework display set to music.

Time to head on back to the champagne bars and indulge a little more perhaps?

On Saturday 15th December, there’s more, with many local celebrated chefs giving live demonstrations of their culinary skills and of course there’s wonderful delicacies to delight your tastebuds.  Art exhibtions, photographic exhibitions and of course cellar visits, followed by the street procession again at 6.45pm, and then back to Chateau Perrier for a fabulous light display and perhaps another glass of champagne?  Why not…

And on Sunday morning, if you’re feeling up to yet more champagne  (and why wouldn’t you be? ), there’s a vintage car procession starting at 11am through the town of Epernay.

A fabulous weeked not to be missed…. Are you coming?

 

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Gifts for Him – Champagne Connoisseur

Written by on November 22, 2011 · Leave a Comment

 

A quirky selection of great champagne related gifts all beautifully presented in our Champagne Connoisseur gift box.  Inside you’ll find:

  • A book for keeping the labels of your favourite champagnes, plus a unique system for removing the labels all in tact from the bottles
  • A little book for writing down your notes on all those wonderful champagnes you’ve tasted, so you’ll know what to look for next time
  • Test your knowledge with this fun champagne trivia quiz (in English) to amuse you and your friends at your next party
  • A hermetically sealed champagne stopper, for when you really can’t finish the bottle
  • A pourer to make sure you don’t spill a single drop
  • And a lovely apron to protect your clothes, just in case you do spill a bit

All beautifully presented in a gift box for yourself or for the special champagne connoisseur in your life

Price includes all contents, gift box and shipping

Champagne Connoisseur
Champagne Connoisseur
A selection of unusual gifts to delight and inspire the Champagne Connoisseur in your life. Click on the title to read more.
Quantity:
Price: €106.57

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B&B moments in Champagne

Written by on September 2, 2011 · Leave a Comment

What do you do when you’re driving up a narrow street and someone has left their car parked so you can’t get past?  Do you honk your horn and wait patiently, and still no-one comes?  Or do you get in the car, seeing that the keys are in it, and move it so you can pass?  That’s exactly what Nicolas Rainon did this week, when I was invited to experience an “Oenovasion Vendanges” – a Harvesting Discovery Day!  That was just the beginning of an eventful and amazing day.

We climbed into his Landrover Discovery at 10AM and then found ourselves driving along the disused railway line called the CBR which used to connect all of the villages along the Montagne de Reims until it was finally taken up in the 60s.  Then he stopped while we admired the view, and then he advanced literally over the cliff!  I must confess I didn’t look!  And then we were in the vineyards literally, driving along grass tracks while he was explaining how to tell the difference between the different vines, and how in fact 50million years ago, the chalky terrain now known as Champagne was created. Nicolas is a mine of information about this region.

Next we climbed 102 steps up the lighthouse in Verzenay while he explained just how small each parcel of vines can be and why each grape farmer must spread his parcels far apart to avoid localised adverse weather conditions and complete destruction of his livelihood.  It was all truly fascinating.

After a hard morning’s study, we then pitched up at his wife, Marie-Noelle’s champagne house where we were treated to a harvester’s lunch and 4 matching champagnes.  Marie Noelle is passionate about the skill of matching champagne and food and is in fact, teaching this skill to their 6 year old daughter, Marie Amelie, by never mixing flavours on the same plate of food.

Then came the hard part.  Out into the vineyards we were taken by Nicolas, this time by the road (!) and we each took our secateurs and a bucket and were given instructions on how to pick the grapes.  When we had all picked a bucket-full, we emptied them into a large box, and then followed the boxes to the pressoir, where we witnessed the pressing of the grapes we had picked.

The press is so sophisticated, that it only presses the mature grapes and leaves everything else un-pressed, even the ladybirds!

The results of our hard work will not be known for at least 4 years, but I’ve no doubt that it will be an amazing cuvee that everyone will be talking about for years to come!

Happy days :-)

 

If you’d like to know how you too can be part of this exciting event on the Champagne calendar in 2012, email now at yvonne@yvonnehalling.com before all the places are taken.  Looking forward to hearing from you soon :-)

 

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A Walk in the (Verzy) Forest

Written by on July 6, 2011 · Leave a Comment

Today was such a beautiful day, my daughters and I took a stroll through the wonderful forest of Verzy and shot some video so you can see what it’s like.  Rare beech trees grow here, called “Les Faux” which literally means the false ones, but they’re not false, they’re real!  Instead of growing straight up like a regular beech tree, they grow this way and that in a gnarled and hap-hazard way, and cast their branches right down to the ground, making a sort of umbrella or igloo shape.  Rare indeed.

Take a look at the video here… enjoy!

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More Clicquot

Written by on May 17, 2011 · 2 Comments

Continuing the Veuve Clicquot theme that I started on a previous post, I took Pepper out into the vineyards today, behind the Clicquot Manoir here in Verzy, and discovered some little yellow signs alongside the vines.  Each sign had a name on it with a date, and I was fascinated to learn what they were for.

Take a look at the video and you’ll find out.

Enjoy!

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Veuve Clicquot’s Mansion in Verzy

Written by on May 9, 2011 · Leave a Comment

I was out and about with my dog today, so I took three short videos on the lovely mansion here in Verzy, built by Mme Clicquot in the mid 1800s for entertaining her very important clients from the European aristocracy. It’s still used to today to entertain VIP clients, by invitation only. Take a look at the videos here… Enjoy!

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Sexual confusion in the vineyards

Written by on May 5, 2011 · 2 Comments

This is a short video about how the grape farmers stop the rot caused by two particular butterflies.  They attach small brown plastic pods to the wires which support the vines, inside of which is the sexual hormones of the female butterflies.  The emission of the hormones confuses the male butterflies and so they can’t find the eggs to fertilise!  I thought that was so clever when it was explained to me by Isabelle Corbeaux of Champagne Pierre Deville and Veronique Lallement of Champagne Lallement, two lovely French ladies who are part of my English class here in Verzy. 

You can see what I’m talking about in this video below.

Enjoy!

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Out and about in Reims

Written by on April 21, 2011 · Leave a Comment

Today was such a glorious day again, I decided to shoot some video of Reims.  The new Tramway is now operational, and transporting people around this historic city, easily and smoothly.  The cathedral looks fantastic having just been cleaned (well some of it, at least) and so I wanted to showcase the city here.  

Reims is the only place in the world to have three UNESCO World Heritage sites, the magnificent gothic cathedral, the Palais du Tau and the Basilique St. Remi.  

The cathedral was first constructed in 1097 and was used to crown the Kings of France, before they did away with all that during the French Revolution! 

It was originally a Roman town, and when they began excavations for the tramway, the work was considerably delayed due to archeologists having to be informed whenever an artefact was discovered, and there were many! 

If you’ve been to Reims in the last few years, you’ll know how disruptive the works were, but now it’s all done, I hope you’ll agree that it was worth it.  The city looks lovely now and well worth a visit.   

I hope you enjoy these videos.  Please do leave a comment and let me know what you think of Reims.

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More reasons to visit Champagne

Written by on March 26, 2011 · Leave a Comment

Since returning to Champagne just over a year ago, I have been surprised at the amount of development that’s been going on in the region.  Reims is expanding, growing and bringing itself into the 21st century with style and elegance, and it’s a joy to watch. 

First the arrival of the high speed train TGV in 2007, then a new southern bypass around the city, and then lots of new businesses springing up and the opening of  IKEA.  Next is the official inauguration of the smart new tramway in the city centre on the 16th April.

It’s buzzing, thriving and upbeat.  A refreshing change from other recession-hit areas. 

Take a look at this great article in the Guardian, then come on down and see for yourself.

Enjoy!

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Autumn 2010 Newsletter

Written by on September 10, 2010 · Leave a Comment

Greetings from Les Molyneux, your home from home in the heart of Champagne, and welcome to our first ever Newsletter.

Don’t worry we won’t be bombarding you with offers every five minutes, just timely information about what’s going on here in France and there are a couple of things we really think you should know about.

More about that later but first of all, the summer has been lovely with temperatures in the low to mid thirties which has been brilliant for the grapes, although we’ve had a bit too much rain in late August/early September so some of the grapes are rotting on the vines, which is worrying to say the least.

However, the Harvest starts on Monday 13th and there’s a real buzz of anticipation about the place.

Over the next few weeks there’ll be opportunities to come and pick some grapes, experience the atomosphere of a traditional harvest and meet some of the local champagne makers, as well as taste the juice as it’s pressed. Call us now on 0033 (0) 3 26 48 20 52 or email me at yvonne@yvonnehalling.com to check availability now. Places are limited.

And now news about two very special weekends coming up this autumn for serious champagne lovers.

First is our Reims Wine Festival weekend – November 12/13/14th where you’ll get to discover some amazing wines from all around France at one of the most spectacular wine fairs I’ve ever seen.

Check out full details here and call us to check availablility. Places are limited and at the time of writing there are only 4 places left, so don’t delay, call today.

Second, is the Habits de Lumiere weekend on December 10th/11th/12th . This is an extra special pre-Christmas treat for you, where you’ll experience the magical atmosphere of Epernay.

The famous Avenue de Champagne lights up the sky with street entertainment, glittering candle-lit champagne houses and a fabulous firework display, just for starters.

Check out the full programme here and then give us a ring to book your places.

We’ll be closing from December 13th until March 1st, so don’t miss these opportunities to round off your year with a well-deserved break. We’re looking forward to welcoming you.

Until next time…

Yvonne & Jiles Halling

 

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