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CHAMPAGNE DON’T STAIN
GARETH DAVIS
looks after the editorial content at Travel Channel and on the website.
So if you’ve any comments or complaints, he’s the one to get in touch with!
He also produces and presents on the channel, primarily the series THE TRAVEL BUG
and THE TRAVEL CHANNEL GUIDE TO … And when he has a spare minute, he writes for
the travel section of the Sunday Mirror in the UK.
It must be age, then most things are, but in recent years I’ve gone off the larger urban centres with all their push and shove, and instead, am happy to explore the smaller, lesser-known provincial towns and cities. That’s just what Aube en Champagne en France offers. Reims of course is considered the capital proper of Champagne, a bubbling powerhouse of major magnums like Veuve-Clicquot and Pommery (and strangely pronounced “Reems” by us English and “Ranse” by the French. Weird.). The ancient capital of France’s most sparkling region however is Troyes, a town of some hundred and twenty thousand, at the heart of the area known as the Aube (this is a river by the way), and it’s in the Aube you’re likely to stumble across the lesser known gems of the champagne art that’ll turn your friends pinot gris with envy.
Troyes is all about history and half-timbered housing. There is almost a thousand of the latter dating from the 16th century onwards. The jury’s out on whether or not this is some kind of Western European record. It does make for a pretty stroll however around the town centre, which the tourist literature will NOT let you to forget is shaped like a champagne cork. Your preference may be for navigating the real thing, but the stroll doesn’t take too much out of your schedule and you get to take in all Troyes’ top sights within a short distance. Number One historically will be the cathedral, a 500 yearlong building project, which looks as if it will take half that time to crumble into dust. The local limestone doesn’t make for a very good building material. The cathedral’s importance lies in the fact that it was the scene of the signing of the “shameful” Treaty of Troyes between the English and French in 1420.
Shameful to the French, that is. Henry V dropped a whole lot of whoopass on them at Agincourt, and then signed the Treaty of Troyes, married Katherine Valois (at the Church of St Jean just a cobbled street or two away) thus sealing the deal that ceded the French throne to his descendants. Of course, a few years later, along came Joan of Arc with a victorious French army and that idea bit the dust.
Troyes has more than enough to pack a weekend in its own right. There are seven museums and two art galleries. The Museum of Modern Art is said to house one of the most important collections in France. Even more important in my book is the covered market, a shot to the sensual jugular that provides your first whiff of some Aube specialities – from Chaource cheese to champagne. For the latter head for Aux Crieurs de Vin, a stall specialising in small producers like Champagne Drappier, a favourite of mine, which you can pick up for €19.
The same company has a little eatery on the other side of the town cente, and what a joy it is; a knockabout wooden affair that just screams bistro. At lunch you can rummage amongst the charcuterie, saucissons, terrines, and salads for around €6. Mains such as the classic Troyes andouillette (a suspect tripe sausage) average €11, while desserts are €5, and the old cheeseboard €6. The place has a cute, kitchen atmosphere; there are two stone-topped sideboards, one strewn with guillotined baguettes, the other with weeping cheeses.
In Troyes you can’t get much more central than the Best Western Hotel de la Poste but it’s a pretty standard base. Not much bad can be said and not much good. It’s all location – which is excellent. For more character head up towards the Cathedral and check out half-timbered little bijou numbers like the Champ des Oiseaux. Surprisingly rooms at either start from €100 a night. One definite reason for visiting the Poste is its restaurant. Les Gourmets is a classy winner even if it does feel as if you’re onboard a cruise liner. Starters are from €9, mains from €18, and desserts from €9, though there is also a Menus Saveurs offering two courses for €24.
Heading southeast brings you not to the rolling fields of Champagne but into the thicket of it. The region known as the Pays d’Othe is named after the vast forest that once grew here, “Othe” is an old French word for “forest”. 50% of the forest remains as do many orchards, the source of the Othe’s reputation for cider. Forty varieties of apple are cultivated by forty-five producers who squeeze out 120,000 bottles of cider a year. Learn about it all in the small village of Eaux Puiseaux and the Musee de Cidre du Pays d’Othe. The latter is a barn housing a collection of renovated apple presses dating back to the 16th century. The explanation of their operation is provided in French and in English. The barn is definitely one for the agricultural history buffs but the €4 admission also allows you to sample some of the heady sweet stuff that’s a far whiff away from a Woodpecker.
My base during my forage into “cidration” (If there isn’t such a word there should be) was the Auberge de la scierie, just up the road in Aix en Othe. An old whitewashed 17th century water mill now houses twelve bedrooms (it will eventually be eighteen), an outdoor pool (operable in clement weather), a modest restaurant, and a star international chef. Eddy Kansowa, chef et patron, hails from Sabatini in Florence and Drones at London’s Savoy via an eighteen year stint in Melbourne. Now sequestered at this quaint rustic getaway, Eddy’s ready to greet the uninitiated. Cross his palm with €340 and you’ll be given 2 nights accommodation, 2 slap up gastronomic experiences PLUS a two days’ masterclass with Kansowa.
The latter’s great fun. Early in the morning Eddy whisks (excuse the culinary adjective) you off to the market in Aix en Othe, listed as one of France’s Top 100 markets. There, you’ll forage for fresh goodies before rolling up your sleeves in M. Kansowa’s kitchen and culinary creating like you never thought you could, under his watchful eye. Having dabbled a bit I thought I’d have the edge on others but even my jaded eyes were opened to the simplicity and rigour of this sizzling hot haute cuisine. And even though I do say so myself, my loin of venison in juniper and red wine was a triumph.
The Auberge (that’s a sort of French “inn”) is a wonderful weekend retreat, even if there’s a touch of the trad B&B about the bedrooms. And the food that emerges from Eddy’s pan is glorious.
Cheese now, and the AOC (Appellation Origine Controle, a type of guarantee of quality) fromage of choice in Aube is Chaource, a creamy cow’s milk cheese that looks from the outside like a tubby squat Camembert and inside has the consistency of a chevre. Don’t be deceived however. This is a frothy, light, dewy thing, totally devoid of the asperity of a goat’s cheese. There are 5 producers of Chaource and for a sumptuous example of their work visit the Fromagerie de Mussy on the Route de Maisons les Chaource.
It’s conveniently situated en route to the village of Les Riceys, a unique place, tip-top full of champagne producers and famous throughout France as the only village with three AOC wines; they are Coteaux Champenois, Rose des Riceys (a still rose which was a fave of Louis XIV) and of course, champagne. M. Gallimard’s family has been producing fine wine since 1880 and champagne since 1930. His standard annual product is a Brut (100% Pinot Noir) and a racy little number this Ricey is. But it is as naught compared to the Rose Brut (also 100% Pinot Noir). This evokes little baby strawberries skipping over your tongue like babbies on a pink duvet. It’s a champagne for Valentines and weddings, great fun, and a full mouthful. Only a small quantity is produced so yours truly snapped up a half dozen for a mere €82,80.
The Aube is a wonderful rollicking corner of Champagne rolling with greens and rapeseed – at least in May. But surely the whole purpose of a visit to this part of France is to come home bearing bubbles and if that’s your intention be sure you drive. The limitations are myriad if you’re travelling by air, weight being the least consideration. In fact, officially you’re only allowed to carry two bottles as hand luggage. Need I say more, nudge, nudge, wink, wink….
Gareth travelled to Aube en Champagne with Air Turquoise from Luton to Reims. Single flights start from €50.
Photos courtesy of LNA, Ph. Praliaud, R. Bayon CDT Aube, Le Névé Vile d, Ph. Praliaud CDT Au, and Ph. Pr.
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June 2006 |