The 7th annual International Wine Tourism Conference, IWINETC, will take place in the Champagne region of France on April 8th and 9th in 2015. That is Easter week and hopefully many people will have the time to attend the Wednesday/Thursday conference.

Our first trip to La Champagne was in the summer of 2013 with a group of winemakers and wine growers. The trip was organized by the Washington State University enology and viticulture program. Perhaps the memory of the Champagne region that stands out in my mind the most is Le Phare de Verzenay. Most people associate a lighthouse in water surrounded by a sea of blue. In the case of the Lighthouse of Verzenay, the pharos is in a vineyard surrounded by a sea of green. Small villages dot the horizon like ships on an aqueous ocean.

Verzenay from Le Phare de Verzenay, vineyards are a sea of green.

Le Phare de Verzenay

One hundred years ago the lighthouse was created by Joseph Goulet to promote his champagne. It became a meeting point between Reims and Epernay. The lighthouse suffered damage during World War I and eventually fell into disrepair.In 1987, the lighthouse was given to the municipality of Verzenay by a champagne house that owned the property that it was on. In 1994, the Community of Vesle Montagne de Reims Municipalities decided to create a museum that was completed and opened to the public by 1999.

Our group toured the museum and lighthouse. Donning a headset we ambled through the museum learning about Verzenay, vineyards, the forest and life of the many people that worked in the vineyards and forests. Some of the displays were photographs while others were artifacts from a specific time period. The museum gives a good background of the Champagne area and would make a great first stop for wine tourists.

Display of spraying equipment

After touring the museum, we climbed the 102 steps to the top of the lighthouse. Although the day was rainy, we had a 360º view of the countryside. There is a sea of green surrounding the lighthouse. Even a rainy day afforded views of Verzenay and vineyards. After our climb down, we met champagne maker Cédric Lahemade.

Champagne Jean-Claude MOUZON

Cédric explained that many of the winemakers in Champagne are born into the business. In his case, he married into the business. Cédric accompanied us on our bus to his petite winery in the lower level of his house, Champagne Jean-Claude MOUZON in the town of Verzenay. Although space is tight, the quality of the champagnes is delightful.

Verzenay is one of those areas in Champagne that has an excellent terroir for champagne making. The MOUZON owners, Frédérique and Cédric, have three hectares of mostly Pinot Noir and a few vines of Chardonnay. According to Cédric, at least 10 of the largest famous champagne houses have vineyards in Verzenay.

Notre-Dame de Reims

We only visited four champagne houses over our three days. We spent our evenings in Reims, in a delightful walkable area about 20 minutes from the Cathedral. Delegates to the 7th annual International Wine Tourism Conference will have opportunities to visit champagne houses throughout the Champagne region. They may want to take several extra days and spend Easter week in Champagne.

Additional articles:
Le Phare de Verzenay en Champagne
Champagne Jean-Claude MOUZON

Cheers,
Terry