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Not your everyday supermarket car park

We spotted these signs to designate the different car park aisles at Le Clerc in Pierry near Epernay- I thought they were great – if you can remember your grapes!

Le Clerc is one of our favourite places to pop into when we visit the Champagne region- there is a huge one just off the motorway near Reims- the cheese aisle, the fish aisle, cake aisle and wine department are particular favourites!

When you emerge from food and wine heaven there are great views of the vines to feast your eyes upon…

Thought we’d share with you where we stay on our travels to Champagne, it’s a converted military building- despite a lengthy search of the internet it wasn’t possible to find any images of the buiding as a military establishment or any history about it. (In case you were interested!)

From a practical point of view it’s well placed for exploration of villages in the Montagne de Reims and Vallée de la Marne. The rooms have a very basic kitchen -you sometimes have to request a kettle but the staff are friendly and helpful and we think it’s good value!

Cheers from Helen and Tony – hard at work below – albeit with slightly unconventional tasting vessels!

 

 

 

The weather

We experienced a day of wild weather on our travels round the Champagne region today. I love the way the light has intensified the emerald of the green field and of course the rainbow is an added bonus. This was taken above the village of Mareuil sur Ay.

Here are some more pics.

 

And finally we were treated to some blue skies… fingers crossed for more tomorrow!

On the high seas

Tony decided to mark the New Year by ringing the changes on the travel front. Our usual trek to Champagne involves a long journey to Dover and then a quick hop over the Channel. This time he opted for the Hull to Zeebrugge crossing- a short drive to Hull, slumber in your cabin and then on the other side the drive to Champagne is a similar distance as it is from Calais.

All this seems perfectly reasonable and indeed makes a pleasant change… however the picture above goes only a very small way to illustrate the weather conditions we faced as we battled our way through gale force winds to Hull.

5pm- checked in and joined the queue.

5pm-6.30pm watched initially with puzzlement, then rising frustration and finally full blown annoyance as a young girl dressed head to foot in fluorescent orange appeared, waved one car on board then disappeared again for long periods…apparently the captain was going to great lengths to ensure the ship was balanced with freight… and we later discovered why.

6.30pm- 9pm Found cabin – very pleased with it -cosy, warm and clean, settled in – very pleased with ourselves. Indulged in pre dinner drinks +++ then attacked the ‘all you could eat’ buffet with gusto – best line our stomachs we reasoned!

8pm-9pm ‘enjoyed’ the resident band playing classics such as ‘Blowing in the wind’, ‘Rock around the clock’ (or should that be dock) and less reassuringly the theme tune from Titanic…

9pm-10pm Spiritedly, joined in the game of Bingo (noting that several people were already at the stage of  “eyes down, look in” but sadly not at their Bingo cards). Despite the lack of competition we still  failed to win the £55 cash prize.

10pm -3am Slept intermittently but remained in agreement that the swaying was quite comforting and indeed almost soothing.

3.05 am Ship lurched alarmingly

3.10-4.10am Helen visited bathroom on several occasions.

4.15am Helen went for an early morning stagger to find fresh air, doors all locked. Located a Pepsi machine instead.

4.25am returned to cabin and search began on hands and knees for enough loose change to purchase said fizzy drink.

4.30-5.30am more staggering round green, red and blue decks.

6.30am finally drifted off into a fitful sleep.

7am The morning announcement bellows through the decks that the ‘all you can eat breakfast’ is now being served.

9am finally reach terra firma

9pm still feels like I’m on the boat

Really looking forward to return crossing…

 

York Food Festival

We had a great ten days running the ‘Fizz Bar’ at York Food Festival. It was a family affair from the start- the picture above shows Helen’s Mum Evelyn, Helen, Helen’s Dad Ron and Rebecca ready for action.

It was certainly an eventful 10 days! The first evening the marquee flooded during an absolutely torrential downpour and we had to move all our stock to higher ground!

We met visitors from America, Japan, Sweden and Norway. Teresa even had the chance to put her language skills into action with some visitors from France.

We ran tasting sessions – a whistlestop tour around the differences between Champagne, Cava and Prosecco.

During the ten days we sold about 600 bottles of fizz, used around 4,000 glasses and carried over 1000kg of champagne, we also shed a few pounds between us (always a bonus!)

We talked to lots of lovely people about our champagnes and sparkling wines and glowed every time someone commented on how lovely our wines were!

Our best selling champagne was Triolet Brut with Champagne Ellner Réserve and G.Tribaut Rosé getting a really strong following. Amorino Rosé was the clear winner amongst the sparkling wines with almost everyone who tasted it  gasping: “That’s nice” and smiling broadly and generally coming back for a 2nd glass!

We made lots of new friends and our sincere thanks goes to Michael Hjort and Debbie Waite of York Food Festival who agreed to let us run the bar.

Thanks to everyone who visited us at the Fizz Bar, hope to see you next year….

 

 

B’s ventures into the vines part 2 & 3…

Since my last blog, the Royal Wedding has been and gone and what an amazing day that was.  I felt that the whole event was just what the country needed and I’m not ashamed to admit that I shed a tear or two taking in the full grandeur of such a spectacular ceremony; listening to ‘Jerusalem’ reverberate around Westminster Abbey and of course the first glimpse of Kate’s Alexander McQueen wedding dress.

Apparently, at the wedding celebration they enjoyed a case or two of Pol Roger.  If you fancy a change from Pol Roger  or any other big name brand  for that matter- you may be interested in the Champagne Warehouse ‘find your fizz’ service, (as many of you are …we’ve been inundated). Tell us your favourite big brand so we know what sort of style of champagne you enjoy and we will suggest one of our grower champagnes which we think you would like .

At Champagne Warehouse HQ, we celebrated the wedding with a bottle of the Jean Paul Morel Carte Noir which brings me neatly back to where I left you last time; waving goodbye to the charismatic Jean-Paul and his love of aged champagne …
We spent the next 90 minutes enjoying the rolling hills and sunshine on our drive south to visit Mr and Mrs Triolet, aka Thierry and Frédérique at their champagne house in Bethon in the Sezanne. Frédérique welcomed us and then Thierry arrived straight from tending to his vines!

We sat in the sun and chatted about the weather in true English fashion! The unusually warm weather means the grapes, which tend to mature quicker the further south you go anyway are really growing. There was worry about late frosts and discussion of early harvests. While we chatted we sipped the latest Triolet a vintage 2005 Blanc des Blanc (100% Chardonnay). It had great length, it was zesty but with biscuity notes and reminded me of a lemon tart.

Helen asked Thierry if there was any other champagne he enjoyed when he wasn’t drinking his own.  Thierry told us he also grows grapes for Krug and Billecart- Salmon.  This made me smile. The ‘Grand Marques’ ie the big name brands, don’t only use their own grapes.  They produce 80% of all the champagne made in the region, yet own only 12% of the vineyards; so where do the rest of the grapes come from?  Small champagne growers like those we champion at Champagne Warehouse.

As we were saying our goodbyes, we noticed a set of golf clubs and so the conversation turned to golf.  It turns out that Thierry is a relative newcomer to the game, yet anxious to perfect his swing. He stands in his back garden and practices into a net, however occasionally balls go off course into the vines opposite! The vine workers are very obliging and when they find a ball they know it’s Thierry’s and they throw it back! What a lovely story to end our visit on.  We all exchanged thanks and kisses and we made our way back to base in Epernay.

Day two and I was really excited about our first visit of the day because we were going to Champagne Charles Ellner  who produce my favourite champagnes; I wasn’t disappointed. They are based in Epernay with vineyards in the Montagne de Reims, Cote des Blancs, Marne Valley, Aube and Aisne.

We were greeted by Laurence, who I met in London at the CIVC tasting back in March and we were ushered into their tasting room where we were surrounded by the original artwork used on the caps of their champagne. I also spotted a couple of stools shaped to look like champagne corks ; rather racy artwork; a wrought iron filigree spiral staircase at the far end of the room; brightly coloured enamel drop lights and several pretty cabinets showcasing a range of interestingly shaped champagne flutes.

Laurence opened a bottle of their 2001 vintage, (containing 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir grapes) – really dry; fantastic.  It was a swift tasting because Laurence then took us out to eat. As we left the restaurant, I noticed that above their open cooking stove there were 12 huge glass vessels, each one labelled with a month of the year.  Inside the vessels were the champagne corks of all the bottles opened that particular month. I noticed that the ‘September’ receptacle was the fullest, which might have been explained by post harvest festivities.  Laurence told us that at the end of the annual harvest, each champagne house will organise a party for all the workers in celebration of the grapes having been picked.  We definitely need to go back again in September; although with the early hot Spring this year, the rumour in Champagne is that harvesting may well begin in August….

Next stop was at Champagne G. Tribaut with the very articulate and welcoming Valerie Coudrain-Tribaut.  G. Tribaut are situated in the Premier Cru village of Hautvillers, with breath-taking views of the Marne Valley.  If ever there was a moment when I could have stayed put, then that was it. Valerie spent time filming for our website and explaining the differences you get in grapes grown on vines in the ‘chalky place’ as compared to grapes grown on vines in the ‘sandy place’. She also told us that she remembers the family cellar being built in 1976 when she was just five years old; she has been immersed in the family business ever since.  It was wonderful to sit and sip champagne and listen to Valerie talk.

The trip to Champagne was very memorable and has whetted my appetitie for more! Long live champagne and grower champagne especially!
Cheers
B

B’s first venture into the vines – part 1

The champagne corks have been flying so thick and fast recently that my poor blog has been well and truly pushed to one side.  So what have the team at Champagne Warehouse been up to?  We had a great piece about us in the Yorkshire Post last week -A case of lovely bubbly for the champagne chaps.  This was published whilst we were away in the Champagne region of France.  Oh yes, the best part of the job, visiting our grower/producers and tasting the fruits of their labours.  I hope you enjoy reading part one of our fantastic adventure in Champagne.

Our first stop was at the champagne house of Janisson et Fils to meet with the quietly charming Manuel Janisson.  His champagne house is nestled in the hills of Verzenay;  a Grand Cru village in the north-east of the Champagne region.  Manuel first invited us to taste a range of his base wines (vin clairs) from his huge stainless steel tanks. These are wines that have undergone the first fermentation and are resting in the tanks before bottling and their second fermentation. Spitting was definitely required as this wasn’t the finished version, pretty much akin to sucking on a couple of lemons, ie bone dry and very acidic!  The vin clairs are then expertly blended to give balance to the champagne, before being bottled. Yeast and sugar are added to the bottles and a second fermentation then occurs while the bottles lie quietly in the cellar; it’s during this time that the bubbles form.
We then toured the bottling area, the bottles arrive upside down with the sediment from the yeast and sugar worked into the neck of each bottle. The bottle necks are then frozen (to freeze the sediment into a plug), the bottles are righted, the crown caps removed and the force of the champagne pops the ice plug out of the top of the bottle. Then dosage (a mixture of wine and sugar) is added and the cork is inserted, before each bottle is checked for content level and any impurities.  The smell in there was addictively heady and the sounds and movement of the travelling bottles completely mesmerising. A symphony of champagne!
Of course no visit would be complete without a tasting and this took place in Manuel’s tasting rooms overlooking the undulating vineyards of Verzenay with a glass or two of his Brut Tradition;  toasty on the nose with hints of vanilla and a blend of 70% Pinot and 30% Chardonnay. Beautiful.

Next we took a hop, skip and jump literally, down the road and into the tardis like champagne house of the utterly charming Jean-Paul Morel.  Jean-Paul spent a couple of hours with us and I don’t think I would be exaggerating if I said I left a little bit of my heart in his corner of Verzenay!  He took us to his vines, spent time filming for Champagne Warehouse TV – (coming soon) and shared with us his passion, knowledge and great love of champagne.  He believes in ageing his champagnes much longer than many other producers. He spoke with great passion about the 1996 vintage: “tres, tres bon!” he announced, kissing his lips.
In the vineyards, he spotted a ‘Boarmie’ worm sitting on one of the vines, looking very much like … a vine!  I noticed that along the vines there were lots of small brown plastic shaped capsules, which Jean-Paul explained create ‘sexual confusion’ among insects. These little brown capsules saturate the vineyards with man-made, female insect pheromones which overpower the naturally produced pheromones from the female insect. This confuses the male adults (they can’t tell where the females are) and leads to less mating and laying of eggs on the vines. We also discovered that Jean-Paul doesn’t plant any Pinot Meunier vines and the majority of his blends are 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay because he believes that’s the right balance for wines from Verzenay.

We met his son, daughter-in-law and wife and watched his son and a colleague walking up and down the vines, methodically raising the height of the wiring for the vines so that as they grow they have new wire to wrap themselves along and around.

I felt like Jean-Paul was ‘Mr Champagne’ as he waved to passing fellow viticulturists including friends from Bollinger who were working in the next parcel of land.  Jean-Paul also works with the Champagne committee who check the vines constantly near harvest time and give the go-ahead to the whole of Champagne as to when they can start harvesting their vines.   He’s President of the Verzenay co-operative, as was his father and he’s a professional taster; he’s very talented and very modest.

I was really thrilled to meet Jean-Paul and can’t wait to share some of his stories with clients of ours who told me that the Jean-Paul Morel Carte Noir was their absolute favourite from a recent tasting case.
Of course it would have been rude to leave without a whizz up and down Jean-Paul’s lift to his different cellars, followed by a tasting in his tasting room, next to his roof top veranda overlooking the vineyards.  We sipped his 2000 vintage – “lemon curd on toast in a glass” and a blanc de blanc (chardonnay grapes only).   He offered to re-fill our flutes and I offered to stay for the rest of the day, but we had another visit before the sun finally went down on our beautiful first day in the breathtaking part of the world that is Champagne.

Join me next week to find out why we had to say no to that re-fill.
I hope you enjoy the Royal Wedding and raise a glass of fizz to the happy couple; of course if its grower champagne then you really will taste the difference!
Cheers
B

The champagne tasting of the year

For those of you who have been following my journey, you may remember that I mentioned we were preparing for the champagne tasting event of the year ; here’s what happened …
The event is organised every year by the Champagne Bureau – the education and promotional arm of the CIVC (Comite Interprofessionnel du Vin du Champagne.)   The tasting takes place in the atmospheric Banqueting House on Whitehall in a huge, light room with very ornate ceilings by Rubens. If you’re in London it’s £5 well spent to take a look.

There were approximately 60 brut champagnes in numbered coolers around one large rectangular table and 60 or so vintage champagnes round another. On arrival, everybody was given a glass and a ‘tasting’ manual to record their thoughts on the champagne being ‘shown’. The whole day was exhilarating, informative, champagne infused and very tiring.  Helen and I managed to taste around 30 champagnes from the central tables; using the numerous ‘spitoons’ placed around the room.  It was a fantastic opportunity to write our own notes and for me to see if my palate was getting any better at picking out the aroma and make-up of each one; what an amazing experience and one that reinforced the fact that I really do prefer a low dosage fizz.  Apart from our champagnes!! – Helen loved the Pol Roger Vintage 2000; very elegant and refined and I was impressed by Penet-Chardonnet, Brut Selection (Low Dosage) which I thought was well rounded with a  great golden colour. It was fruity yet dry with touches of pattiserie.

We spoke to a wide range of guests and listened to their feedback on the two champagne houses we were showing; Charles Ellner and Janisson et Fils.  Comments such as “wildly elegant” in relation to the Janisson Traditional and “the toasted honey we are getting from this vintage is unbelievably fantastic” in relation to the Ellner 2002.  We are still following up our leads and receiving calls from people who spoke to us on the day and loved our products.
Our new brochure certainly helped too; if you or your company want to check out our fantastic range of grower champagnes just drop us an email and we will get one out to you rebecca@champagnewarehouse.com

So what three gems did I learn in my third week?
1)    How much I don’t know; the tasting was amazing and the knowledge in the room was palpable.   This time next year …
2)    The  ground-swell of interest in grower champagnes continues.
3)    Never wear shoes with heels to an all day event; especially when you don’t get to sit down; pure agony!
See you next week and don’t forget to support the smaller independent grower brands.
B

an Impromptu tasting

I cannot believe that another week in the amazing world of champagnewarehouse.com has flown by and I’m well and truly ensconced in the world of fizz.  We have been preparing for the biggest champagne tasting event of the season which takes place next Tuesday 14th March at a secret location in London.  We will be showcasing two of our champagne houses, Charles Ellner and Janisson et Fils to a room full of journalists, wine writers, sommeliers and a whole host of movers and shakers in the drinks world. A whole day of champagne tasting; apparently it is de rigeur to spit, otherwise you would be absolutely legless (note to self: do not be tempted, however tempting it is!) An important part of our prep has been the writing and designing of our new trade brochure.  This has now gone off to press and we are very excited about collecting it from our designers next Monday before catching the train down to London.

The two solid days reading and re-reading was a fantastic way for me to get to know more about our range of independent growers and their champagne, cava and prosecco products.  To celebrate the signing off of our brochure we had a little tasting session; as you can imagine I was thrilled.  As a perk of the job, this has to be the best. First we sampled the 1+1=3 Cava Brut Nature Pinot Noir.  This is produced by a vineyard based near Barcelona which was founded by experienced producers Josep Bonell and Josep Pinol.  It contains 100% Pinot Noir grapes; I never tire of the sight of pink fizz, so many different shades and depth of colour.  Wow, the taste of berries really packed a punch together with the dryness I love (only 2g dosage ie added sugar) and a really long aftertaste (‘great length’.)   Looking at our official tasting notes, “floral aromas of violet, jasmine and red fruit” – I feel I’m gradually getting better at actually recognising the aroma and taste of what’s actually in my flute. Then we popped a bottle of G Tribaut Brut Cuvée de Réserve champagne and what an absolute stunner; we all stood there sipping and smiling.  This could be one to compete for my current favourite (perhaps I should have a top ten instead – will keep you posted on that.)  This champagne contains 33% Chardonnary, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.  It is produced at a small family run vineyard in the Premier Cru village of Hautvillers – yes, the very same village made famous by Dom Perignon.  I found this fizz ‘bready’ on the nose and very balanced on taste.  Again, I compared my take on it with our official tasting notes, “a complex, well-balanced and well rounded champagne that makes a lovely aperitif.  Stewed pears on the hose and the palate, also delicate hints of sweet candied fruits and red fruit jam.”  Pretty much a fantastic champagne you would be happy to drink anywhere.

So what three gems did I learn in my second week? 1)    I’m starting to get quite obsessed by tasting notes; it’s the most enjoyable experience ever.  How good are your taste buds? 2)    We are working on a fantastic plan for our customers to drink and donate (to charity) – more of which soon; all very, very exciting. 3)    I will absolutely never tire of opening one of our products (a new bottle) and by new I mean a label I haven’t heard of.  We are working with award winning, independent growers – how great is that?! See you next week, happy tasting. B

B’s Blog first week…

This isn’t a ‘before’ and ‘after’ diet diary, nor a weekly rant; it’s my journey into the world of champagne, specifically independent  growers here at www.champagnewarehouse.com.  On March 1st I started my new career in the world of fizz and eventually I hope to become a seasoned pro. It’s here in my blog that I want to share some of my experiences and new found knowledge with you.
How hard could it be? Chill, pour, sip, enjoy and pour again!  Except that’s what we want you, our customers to do.  I will be grafting hard with my colleagues, Helen, Teresa and Tony to bring you the best from our fantastic independent growers in the Champagne region (plus a range of cava and prosecco; more of which later.)
Ready to work on strategy, pr, sales and our target markets, it was day one and I gathered together my laptop, i-phone and other necessary accoutrements.  Prior to my arrival, an email had appeared with two words in the subject header ‘photo’ and ‘shoot’.  Panic quickly set in; what to wear, which accessories to take, etc, etc.  I arrived at the office on my first day, shortly followed by our very charming, photographer.  We cracked open a bottle of fizz (a Janisson et Fils  Premier Cru) and preened and pouted with ‘our’ trophy for ‘Online Champagne retailer of the Year 2011’ as voted for by Harpers Wine & Spirit Awards.
Then it was down to business, so Helen and I, now out of our glad rags, took a trip to the warehouse for my first lesson on our product range. However, as soon as somebody says “this would be useful to remember”, I go blank and my Premier Cru’s get mixed up with my Cuvée Spéciales and my Bruts with my Brut Intégrals.  I secretly think that one way to cure my fear of information overload will be a trip to the Champagne region and regular tasting sessions; I’m sure you will agree, all absolutely necessary to really encourage the information to stick!
The highlight of day 2 was a champagne tasting for the Friends of York Food Festival.  Tony presented four of our champagnes to a group of 28 eager, food and drink buffs while Helen and I gamely chilled, poured and distributed. Pouring the Charmant Brut Rosé Premier Cru amazed me it was like being dropped into a field of ripe strawberries – the aromas were fantastic. Roger Legros Cuvée Spéciale was a winner with most of our guests and a highlight for me was managing to get a sip or two of the Charles Ellner Vintage 2000; a fabulous, full, toasty taste of heaven and from my favourite champagne house, Charles Ellner.  I loved the whole evening and arrived home quite late but with my head spinning with ideas and enthusiasm.

The next few days throw up more strategic planning, trips to the warehouse, month end admin and endless discussions about different grapes, champagne houses, food and fizz pairings and our outline plans for our ‘Fizz Roadshow’ (watch this space for more detail in the coming weeks.)
So what three gems did I learn in my first week?
1)    When the French label a bottle with ‘Millesime‘, this means Vintage (a blend of wines purely from the particular stated year) in other words, it’s a goodie.
2)    Three types of grape can be used in champagne – chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier; the last 2 both being black.
3)    When distributing champagne at a tasting you need to keep a firm and balanced grip on the tray to ensure you keep all 14 glasses upright!
See you next week.
B

Introducing -Rebecca – our new team member

We’re very excited to welcome Rebecca Bramwell to our team here are her initial thoughts…

The satisfaction of a well executed ritual can be sustenance for the soul.  A great cup of tea, from your favourite pot, your very own cup and using your particular blend (herbal all the way for me) simply makes me smile.  However, it gets better than that.  I truly believe a great glass of fizz should be a moment to behold, as often as possible, for no reason or for a great reason, with a crowd, with your lover or simply a freshly poured flute and you.
You can then understand that it wasn’t a tough decision when I was approached by Helen and Tony to work at Champagne Warehouse. It took all of thirty seconds to weigh up their offer, less than 24 hours to hand my notice in and I’ve been immersed in my favourite ritual ever since.
Over the years my passion for fizz has grown and I have the Champagne Warehouse family to thank for my current favourite; Ellner (my number one for the last two years).  Ellner is extremely dry, which suits my palate; zero dosage (no added sugar) so kind on the hips and the bottle alone is a work of art.
In a world of niche brands and markets, finding a delicious, independent brand of fizz brings satisfaction, kudos and clout.  This is where we come in.
I look forward to talking rituals with you.
Rebecca Bramwell