Champagne
region is located East of Paris, along the Marne, Vesle and Aisne
rivers. The wine region starts 120 kilometers (75 miles) from Paris, around
the city of Meaux and stretches along the Marne river to the city
of Epernay.
Champagne
spreads on 3 districts: Marne, Aube and Aisne. The heartland
of the Champagne region is Marne which can be separated into 3
areas: Montagne de Reims, Vallée de la Marne and Cote des
Blancs.
Weather is
quite special in Champagne. Winter is cool, summer and fall are
sunny. The average temperature in the region is around 11 to 12 C (52 to 53.5 F). Champagne is the most up north wine region in France. Sparkling wine usually come from areas where grapes don't have enough sun to ripe according to other wine standards.
The soil is
chalky which is what is needed for Champagne wine.
| Location: |
East of Paris, along
the Marne river |
| Size: |
25,000
km2 (size of the Champagne Ardennes region) |
| Weather: |
Continental, cool
winter, sunny summer and fall |
| Population: |
1.2 million (population
of Champagne region) |
| Main Cities: | Reims
(185,000)
Troyes
(60,000)
Chalons en Champagne (50,000)
Epernay
(25,000)
|
| Places of Interest: | Reims cathedral
Cellars (originally chalk mines)
Champagne Wine Road
Troyes (ancient houses)
|
