If you’re anything like us and you’re a big Champagne fan then it’s difficult to celebrate without the Champagne touch … but how much do you know about exactly what’s hidden behind these delicate bubbles? Last week our General Manager, Keith Isaac MW, took three of our top London customers to Champagne De Castelnau’s cellars and vineyards in and around Reims, the heart of the Champagne region.

As well as witnessing the start of one of the earliest harvests for many years the 33 degree heat meant a glass of chilled De Castelnau was never more welcoming with a picnic and Champagne tutorial whilst overlooking the wonderful views of the Cumières & Haut-Villiers vineyards.

Armed with all the viticultural information they could ever need to know the group moved onwards to meet our friend and colleague Louis-Charles Pluot at Champagne De Castelnau to find out the secret of producing these fine French bubbles.  

They were shown every part of the production process from the hole in the tanks that on slimmer days Louis-Charles used to be able to climb through (!) to the humidified room where the corks are kept in perfect condition in preparation for their all important role. Finally after a thirst inducing walk around De Castelnau’s vast cellars that home 29 million bottles of our favourite champagnes the group were treated to a tasting of the full range from Brut NV to Cuvee Speciale.

“It’s always a privilege to be able to show our customers around the wineries that we work with, even more so when they’ve not visited a region before, we had a great time living the De Castelnau experience” – Keith Isaac MW

For more information on Champagne De Castelnau click here for consumer information and here for trade details.