Champagne Region Day Trip with Two Champagne Tastings and Reims Cathedral
Above: G.H. Mumm Champagne. Reims is known as the champagne wine-growing region of France.
The morning consisted of visiting G.H. Mumm Champagne and Reims Cathedral. Entrepreneur Georges Hermann Mumm brought a philosophy of excellence to Mumm champagne that still guides their champagne production today. We toured the cellars and were educated on the 3 grapes that make champagne (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier). We were given an excellent demo on how to open a bottle of champagne and samples were included.
The next stop was Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Reims which has crowned the Kings of France for over 1,000 years. Bullet holes from WWI and WWII are still visible on the outside walls. This is due to the Cathedral being located half way between Germany and Paris. There was time to look around the cathedral, the surrounding area and have lunch at our own expense.
We visited Georges Cartier in Épernay in the afternoon, toured the cellars and sampled more champagne.