Nanteuil, Champagne
Nanteuil is about 75 kilometres to the east of Paris. It sits on the border between the Île-de-France and Champagne regions.
As a local remarked to me, this is “petite Champagne”. If you are serious about Champagne, you must go to Reims or Épernay.
Nevertheless, the vineyards at Nanteuil are spectacularly beautiful, climbing up the hill slopes (les coteaux). It was a strenuous walk up to the top, but my doctor recommends hill-climbing.
Walking back down, I came across two ladies, hard at work. With their blond hair, I thought that they must be Ukrainian refugees. But close up, I could see that they had dyed their hair. They came from the local region.
The ladies said that the harvest will start next week. But they did not seem to know much about the grapes. In reality, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay are the grapes that dominate Nanteuil, with a lesser share of Pinot Noir.
Talking with locals in villages like Nanteuil gives many insights into French life. A local lady, whose house I photographed, is the sixth generation of her family to live in that house (of 600 square metres).
But it is too expensive to maintain for the succeeding generation, so they may need to sell it. She said that Nanteuil used to be a lively town with restaurants, cafes, shops and a post office. Now everything is closed.
With technology taking over winemaking, there are much less wine workers. People drive to bigger towns to do their shopping. Nanteuil has become a “Ville-dortoir” (a commuter town) for people working in Paris.
For me, Nanteuil was a real discovery. Being so close to Paris, it is an ideal place for when I am desperate for a wine walk!