Picture this: you’re in your robe, lying on a couch in the spa at your hotel in France overlooking lush vineyards that sprawl for as far as the eye can see, sipping champagne. Behind you, the bartender (do they call them ‘bartenders’ at the spa?) is mixing drinks and fresh juices for the guests and picking up the ever-present piles of towels to be cleaned and set back out. All around you, your fellow guests are fast asleep, as the temperature in the room is slightly warmer than cool, but also slightly cooler than warm. And the sunlight beaming in through the windows puts even the most caffeinated among you into a cozy lull.
You prop yourself up and have the following conversation with whoever you’re there with:
- You: So, what should we do tomorrow? I think I’ve been at the spa too much and need to do something.
- Them: Well, we are in Champagne, France, so maybe…go taste some champagne?
- You: Sounds great. Where should we go?
- Them: Dunno, let’s look around and see what comes up.
The Research
So off you go, Googling and checking TripAdvisor for recommendations. You visit the hotel’s front desk and get some suggestions to head into town and visit the most famous of the champagne houses (yes, that’s what they’re called) like Moet (maker of Dom Perignon) and others. Seems right, so you start to build the following day’s schedule around that. But first, let’s check Instagram just to be sure we’re not missing anything #fomo. And much to your surprise, someone from a champagne house you’ve never heard of has sent you a message inviting you to their house for a unique champagne experience.
Most folks might be leery of such offers, and not without good reason, as it does check a few of the ‘be cautious’ boxes your parents warned you about when you were younger:
i) someone we don’t know,
ii) contacted us on social media,
iii) invited us to a place we’d never heard of, and
iv) our hotel front desk had similarly never heard of them and it’s 20 minutes from their front door.
Yeah, we’ve seen those movies, too, and had some pause. Still, our curiosity got the better of us and we did a little more looking around and everything seemed legit: they had amazing reviews on both Google and TripAdvisor, and many of those reviews said they’d been contacted the same way we had. That made us feel better: either someone went through an awful lot of work to lure us in, or it was legit and could be a good time. Never afraid of an adventure, we decided to take our chances and go the route unknown – always in support of smaller, local businesses!
The Adventure
The next day after breakfast we headed out, but not before asking the front desk, again, if they’d heard of the place. Still no. Okay, well, we’re going to give it a try. In our minds, this was our way of telling people where we were going, just in case. Whether they picked up on that is a different matter. Just, let’s not tell our mothers, mmk?
About 20 minutes after leaving our oasis of a hotel, we arrived at our destination: Champagne Gardet in the village of Chigny-Les-Roses (between Epernay and Reims). If you’ve never heard of this champagne house, do yourself a favor and take a look. And if you ever find yourself in the Champagne region of France, we’d definitely recommend stopping in for a visit, oh and a tasting, obviously.
Francois!
Immediately upon arriving at the house, we were greeted by the very same Francois who’d reached out on Instagram. He took us to a table on the back patio of the house, gave us a sheet of paper that explained their different champagnes, and said he’d be right back to get us started.
These Aren’t the Same
For people who aren’t really champagne lovers, believe us, you’re in good company, or at least you were. However, this was such a cool experience! Francois first asked whether we liked champagne, and when I said no, he asked why. It’s usually too sweet for my liking, I said. He asked what champagnes I’d tried, and, with no small amount of hesitation, my only reply was Andre. I was a little surprised he wasn’t familiar with the mainstay champagne – sorry, sparkling wine – of many a US-hosted event, so he looked it up. That was unfortunate. His reaction is hard to put into words, but it was somewhere between shock, disgust, and irritation. That’s not champagne! He exclaimed. Okay, fair enough; show me what is. What ensued was one of the most impressive wine tastings we’ve ever experienced. We hesitate to call it a ‘tasting’ because most of the champagnes were full pours. Also, there were eight of them. Also, no food. Yeaaaa. #donttellmyparents
I should say that despite the sheer volume of fizz we consumed that morning, it was all amazing. I don’t know if it was the setting, the explanations from Francois, the wine itself, or a combination of all three, but he was right: this wasn’t anything like what I’d had before. Most were drier than I was expecting, even the rosé was pretty good, and if you know me you know I do not like rosés.
Interesting Information
One of the things we really appreciated about Francois was that he really knew his product. He thoroughly explained each champagne we tasted: what grape varietals were in it and in what quantities. He’d even explain how they got the juice from the grapes (evidently not all juicing methods are the same…who knew?), whether they left the skins on, and what kind of barrel the wine was aged in. He’d tell us what to expect with each wine and, sure enough, that’s what we got. Such a cool experience!
What Francois also explained was that his champagne house sells their wine under its label and brand (in the US too!). Obviously. What wasn’t quite so obvious, at least to us, was that he also sells his grapes, their juice, and even his finished product to some of the larger, more famous champagne houses. They blend it with grapes/juice from other vineyards and put their label on it, selling it for a higher price point because they have more brand recognition. Interesting, right? So, the next time you’re drinking that fancy, expensive champagne, just know it might have come from a much smaller operation you’ve never heard of.
Cool Business Practices
Some major highlights for Tasha were the company’s commitment to the environment and the melding of traditional and modern practices. They’ve been a family business since its start in 1895 and maintained all that time, so they must be doing something right! You can read about some of that here to get into the nitty-gritty. Another high point is their wine also contains very low amounts of sulfites (preservatives), the things that lead to that headache you typically get the next morning after a night of too much wine. Thank goodness because…
So, after a few hours, eight – yes, eight – glasses of champagne (stop judging) we said our goodbyes to Francois and the Gardet house of champagne. Obviously, we bought some of their product to take home with us. Sadly, not all of it made it back across the Atlantic, as we had a champagne picnic the following day at our hotel. #fancy
Oh well, when in France…
Merci
A huge shoutout to Francois for reaching out to us in the first place and for encouraging your guests to leave reviews. Without those reviews, we’d have likely wound up someplace else, spending far more money for a less impressive experience, though still drinking his champagne most likely. And for our friends reading this post, make sure you see the major sites when you’re out exploring, but don’t forget to look into the smaller, more local businesses, too. In our experience, they usually have better experiences, lower prices, and top-notch service.
Just, you know…make sure you do your homework before setting out on your adventure.
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