Tour French Champagne houses with the Togninis

Love champagne and food?

Sometimes life provides you with an opportunity – and this is one of them.

Join Mark and Narelle Tognini with David Cross from Moët Hennessy on a five night Champagne + Food Tour from  September 11-16.

You’ll experience the Champagne region in a unique way staying in boutique hotels.

•             Paris one night

•             Epernay two nights

•             Reims two nights

There will be visits to four champagne houses - including Moët + Chandon -  and a meal at a Michelin star restaurant in Reims. Best of all, you’ll travel in a small group.

Here's what you'll see

Nastassia, Maddie + Mark outside Moet + Chandon

Cellar storage of champagne – Pol Roger

The infamous Limestone caves of Moet Chandon

Magnum bottles of Pol Roger under cellaring

Some chickens that didn’t quite lose their heads !

Classic dish of snails, Epernay

Vintage Dom Perignon, house of Moet + Chandon

CHAMPAGNE AND FOOD TOUR 

Land content is $2,850 which includes transfers, accommodation, entries to champagne houses and most meals. Numbers are limited so you’ll need to secure your place with a $1,000 deposit by 28 February 2011.

For tour enquiries please contact Mark or Narelle: 07 3831 5300, eat@togninis.com

GETTING THERE: FLIGHTS

Exclusive airfare rates are available from our travel partner Dean Tuckwell  from The Adventure Traveller.

ECONOMY: Brisbane / Paris Return

•             Air France $1,700* + taxes (approx. $750)

•             Singapore Airlines $1,820*+ taxes (approx. $600)

BUSINESS: Brisbane / Paris Return

•             Air France $6,300* + taxes (approx. $750)

•             Singapore Airlines $7,700*+ taxes (approx. $600)

THE ADVENTURE TRAVELLER

197 Latrobe Terrace, Paddington Q 4064. 07 3369 0799 dean@theadventuretraveller.com

* All prices approximate and subject to change and available until January 2011.

Epernay, France - October 19/20

Champagne region approx 160 km from Paris
Cool 8-12 deg - sunny

This is our very first time  to the Champagne region in France, so forgive me for getting just a tinsy bit EXCITED!

I cannot believe how beautiful this little town in the middle of the champagne region is. Epernay is every thing and more than I imagined - tree lined streets - cobbled paths - fountains - little churches - just gorgeous and the best thing of all a street named "rue de Champagne", the avenue that is home to all of the best known champagne houses and runs the entire length of the town.

We stay in a delightful 12 room hotel, Hotel Jean Moet - www.hoteljeanmoet.com, ideally located around 200 metres from the train station and around 20 metres from the Ave de Champagne. Perfect for our visits to the Moet Chandon and Pol Roger Champagne houses.

Thanks to our wine merchants in Brisbane we  have two private tours and tastings arranged, one to the each of these champagne houses. Both tours were quite different - Moet + Chandon is the largest  producer of champagne in the region with approximately 29 kilometres of underground chalk lined caves for the maturation of the champagne. Pol Roger is a slightly more boutique production, but both visits were absolutely unique.
Thanks to Matthieu Blanc from Pol Roger for such a wonderful informative tour. There are approximately 100 km of caves running underneath the region at a steady temperature of 10 degrees all of the year.The production line is quite complex and all champagnes are cellared for a minimum of three years before bottling. We are all in heaven and having an experience of a lifetime. The importance and significance of this region and the production of champagne is obvious  and understandable why the French are so protective of their unique product "Champagne".

We eat at a few local restaurants. We enjoyed a typical French meal at La Grillade Gourmande, with chef Christophe Bernard greeting all customers personally , www.lagrilladegourmande.com  I had a wonderful dish of quail and Foie gras - beautifully cooked. 

At any bar or restaurant you can choose up to 20 local champagnes by the glass and enjoy the experience at any time of the day - as we did!

Two days in Epernay - a wonderful experience but barely enough time. We didn't make it to Reims, the larger town , so we are planning our next visit now!

Cassis

June 15 Sunny 28deg - perfect!

Cassis is one of those places you dream about - nestled amongst the famous Calanques rock formation that runs 20 km along the southern French coastline from Cassis to Marsielle - this sleepy 'fishing village' is far from asleep.

Breathtakingly beautiful scenery ,an abundance of fresh seafood , friendly waiters and of course 'Cassis'- the wine of he region also in abundance. We love it here.

On our first night we have a seafood platter- fresh to to say the least! I don't think the mussels or clams were indeed cooked in any way - 'al a natural' like oysters and they were amazing - (see pic). But with ample quantity of Cassis wine it all washes down okay and I am happy!

Second night we settle for more traditional French fare from a cute ally way bistro , L' Escalier, in rue Frederic Mistral. This classic little bistro has a menu totally in French (of course we are in France) even though Mark keeps breaking out in Italian. I order the classic dishes Soup de poisson et sa rouille - classic seafood bisque served with grated emmethal and croutons . Mark had the Palourdes et Moules a la provencale - translates to grilled mussels and clams with a buttery herb gratin - Yum .

During the day it's quiches lorraine like I've never tasted before and Croque monsioure at our little cafe overlooking the harbour of boats.

A trip to Cassis is not complete without a boat excursion to Les Calanques - this is the amazing limestone rock formations that took place10,000 years ago where the land joins into the sea resulting in beautiful private beaches in amongst caves that can only be reached by boat and intrepid explorers. Rock climbers paradise!

One could spend weeks here soaking up the Mediterranean sun if only there was an endless budget as well.

A gin and tonic will set you back 8 euro - but it is worth every cent to see the sun go down at 9pm on the French Riviera!

Bon soiree! My French is non existent! But that doesn't stop us from shopping or going hungry !