I%26#39;ve heard there are champagne caves in or near the city and wondered if anyone knows the location or even names of the caves. Also, recommendations on a lunch place would be appreciated.
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Whilst there might be wine caves, and even wine caves producing sparkling wines, there won%26#39;t be any Champagne caves, as Chartres is in the departement of the Eure et Loire.
Only caves in the Champagne-Ardenne departement can carry the name -- and then only if the vines grew within certain prescribed areas.
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Thanks for the explanation, and if I you know of any wine caves in the area, I would certainly appreciate any information you could provide. I%26#39;ve never been to a wine cave, I%26#39;m not exactly sure what it even is.
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IN many cases, it%26#39;s exactly what it sounds -- a cave in the ground -- the wine is stored there, both in barrels and in bottles, and it%26#39;s not uncommon for the front part of the cave to be fitted as a store and tasting room.
A cave, however, is also the catch-all term for the place of business for a winery -- a cave can also be a warehouse!
Check with a local wine merchant -- many times you can find a class giving a good introduction to French wines. The Eure-et-Loir isn%26#39;t specifically known for its wines, but its neighbours in the Loire region produce wonderful whites (Vouvray, Sancerre) and lush, gorgeous reds (Touraine, Chinon).
The website for the Chartres office of tourism is here: www.chartres-tourisme.com -- there are a number of links, including one to a half-day introduction to French wines (under Art de Vivre)
You can also find lots of information at the official French tourism website: http://uk.franceguide.com -- Chartres is in the Loire region, in the departement Eure-et-Loir (departement 28, as you%26#39;ll sometimes see it noted) Make sure you click around the Loire website, as there are many wonderful things close to Chartres.
(it%26#39;s not 100% accurate, but a region could be thought of as a state, with the departements as counties -- politically that%26#39;s not true, but it might help you get your head around the divisions.)
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Many of the caves in Champagne were actually dug specifically to store wine. There are many caves in the Loire region specifically dug to provide limestone in the construction of the area%26#39;s numerous chateaux. These caves not only provide an excellent location to store wine, they are also used by large mushroom production operations.
Today, few of these sites are open to the general public. However, the entrance to one of the largest caves in the Touraine is found among the vineyards of the Domaine Oudin Freres near Chemery.
At one time, Philipe Oudin welcomed visitors to the property and sold a great deal of wine just to those who knew about the operation and stopped by to see the cave.
I believe the cave is still open to visitors. The Domaine is located between the towns of Contres and Chemery about 25 minutes east of Blois.
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Champagne can only refer to sparkling wines from the Champagne region. However, there are well regarded sparkling wines made by the same method in parts of the Loire valley - about 80 miles away though.
You could check Vouvray and Saumur (which also does mushrooms, as Sarastro said) On the Saumur website are some links to caves, but the names I recognise only do group visits: ot-saumur.fr/Vignoble-degustation_r72.html
There is some info on http://www.vinsvaldeloire.fr/en_EN/ about local tasting.
Years ago, we visited a place near Vouvray, possibly france-vin.com/valdeloire/…ecomusee2.htm
They demonstrated the traditional way (non-production line) of corking a %26#39;champagne%26#39; bottle - which they then gave to my young son who is still the proud owner of an unopened bottle ... which is empty!
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