Day 2 continued.

12.30pm Three glasses later of the excellent and varied Collard Picard champagnes it was time for lunch.
Croque Monsieur and rose wine go very well together. Again the whole restaurant was jumping. It must be the smell of the champagne in the air. Sadly no time to actually visit Eperney centre as the Moet tour was about to start.

Stunning surroundings, very grand and the tour guide was from Hong Kong. The introductory video was hysterical. It would have been better to put it in French with subtitles as it sounded ridiculous in English. Imagine Nigella Lawson with a glass of champagne - yugh!
Miles and miles of cellars. The champagne process was described. The riddling to get rid of the sediment. How Veuve Cliquot invented a machine to turn the bottles. Dom Perignan, the monk who accidently discovered how to make champagne.
The different "Cru" =these are the villages around the Champagne region. Some are Grand and Petit Cru and again it is strictly controlled how much and when they can produce. Terroir is an important word in Champagne production. The area has to be just right. The vines are on hillsides. The drainage has to be just right and the soil not too fertile so the vines have to dig deep for nourishment. The soil in the Champagne region is chalky and the walls of the caves are cold and damp to touch which gives a steady temperature.
During the wars all the schools and hospitals and living quarters were in the cellars.

Disappointing tasting session as it was all a bit rushed and two glasses were thrust into your hand. So different from earlier in the boutique house. Explanations about the champagne were also very brief.
Nora rushed off to buy some glasses from Collard Picard and I think Moet miss out by not making the experience more relaxing at the end. No one was buying in the shop and talking to Koreans and Australians they also felt disappointed. As a bottle of Moet is drunk every second and they sell 30 million each year I don't supposed they are bothered. It is part of a conglomerate which owns  Louis Vuitton and Veuve Cliquot so they are probably not interested in feedback from the masses. To cope with the demand for Moet The company buy bottles from co-operatives and then add their own sugar and blends.
Train back to Reims, on time luckily. We had planned to eat in Flo a very expensive restaurant but as we were "champagned" out we decided on a cheaper version in the square. We had rose and red wine with our meal which was eventful towards the end with a person suffering from mental health issues being escorted off by the police after a lot of discussion. This meant that another nightcap in the Latino bar was required to settle the stomach. Very smooth Calvados here and good music. Absolutely fantastic day.