French Champagne

Chateau Select specialise in supplying quality Champagne from some of the smaller growers such as Bernard Remy whose vineyards are just 8 hectares, producing Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier. Bernard Remy is a true family business. Chateau Select also include a selection of the Moutard range from the traditional Moutard family business around Buxeuil.

A brief history of Champagne

The Champagne region of France is in the Northern portion of the country, Northeast of Paris and near to the Belgian border. The Montagne de Reims, Valle de la Marne and Cote des Blancs are the base of thousands of vineyards and Champagne producers. The climate of the area is cooler than that of the more Southern French vineyards and, therefore, the growing season is shorter. The weather is part of what naturally made Champagne's bubbles, initially. The region is also characterized by chalky soil and rolling hills

The viticulture of the Marne region of France was first documented by the Roman Pliny around the year 79 A.D., but fossil evidence exists showing that wild vines flourished naturally in the area round Epernay over a million years ago. The Romans quarried the chalky hillsides in their search for chalk to make building blocks and at the same time began to develop the vineyards and the art of winemaking. The chalk pits dug by the Romans all those years ago have since been used as cellars for millions of bottles of champagne.

The Romans were concerned that the vineyards of France were competing with those in their native Italian Peninsular, and in 92 AD the then Roman Emperor Domitian decreed that the French vines should be uprooted to eliminate the competition. For two centuries the vineyards were cultivated secretly, until the Emperor Probus rescinded the decree and ordered the vineyards to be replanted. From the very outset, the wines of Champagne were prized above all the vineyards of Europe.