Vendanges in Champagne
Rilly-la-Montagne is my favourite village in Champagne, just on the northern edge of the Montagne de Reims. So I paid a visit yesterday to survey things following this year’s vendanges (harvest).
The vendanges took place at the beginning of September. This is one month earlier than just twenty years ago. Climate change and hot weather are really hitting Champagne.
Yesterday, mid-September, there were still a few people picking grapes (see photos). They did not seem to know much about Champagne, they were just there to pick grapes.
But they were a friendly mixture of Africans (Burundi, South Sudan), Eastern Europeans (Serbia, Bosnia etc) and even a few French. They claimed that their work had not been affected by our recent rains.
My walk took me out to Ludes le Coquet where I tasted the lovely Extra Brut Champagne of Forget-Chemin. The manager assured me that this year is a great year for them, with both excellent quality and quantity of grape juice.
Their Champagne is made by equal proportions of Champagne’s three permitted grape varieties — Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay. They blend these three grape varieties, using juice from several years to achieve a constant flavour year after year. In other words, their Champagne is basically manufactured, though from natural ingredients of course.
Walking back I stopped off at my favourite Champagne restaurant, “Couvert de Vignes”, in Chigny-les-Roses. Once again, a very warm welcome and delicious and inventive cuisine.
Logistics
TGV high-speed train from Paris Gare de l’Est to Reims, then local train to Rilly-la-Montagne.