Power Tasting has alluded to the French city of Reims in a number of previous issues, but we have never highlighted it as a Place to Visit. Perhaps the first thing we ought to say about Reims is how to pronounce it. Not easy for American mouths, it certainly is not Raymes or Reems as the spelling might indicate. You need to start with that French “r”, which sort of comes from saying the sound of the letter at the same time you are clearing your throat. The vowels don’t follow the usual American path either; they’re more like aah, as in “aah, phooey”. The “m” disappears altogether and is pronounced sort of like “n” as spoken through your nose. At least the “s” survives intact.
Maybe more Americans would go to Reims if they called it Smith, which the French have a hard time pronouncing correctly. Americans, at least those who love Champagne wine and medieval splendor should visit Reims, because the city has a lot of both. If you just want a day trip from Paris for wine tasting and sightseeing, Reims is perfect. And if you’re looking for a base for touring the Champagne region for several days, Champagne is perfect for that, too.
The Charles de Cazanove winery is five minutes’ walk from the Reims train station. Photo courtesy of the Union de Maisons de Champagne.
Reims is one of the two major centers of Champagne production, the other being Épernay. The best known grands maisons in Reims are Mumm, Veuve Clicquot, Pommery and Taittinger. There are many other lesser known houses in Reims, including Lanson, G. H. Martel and Cazanove. Getting to Reims from Paris is easy. There’s a TGV train from the Gare de l’Est that will get you there in under an hour. (TGV means train à grande vitesse, or very fast train.) Getting around once you’re there is more difficult. There are taxis at the train station or on-call and Uber works just like at home.
The “Smiling Angel” at the Cathedral of Reims.
Besides tasting the local sparkling wines, the Reims Cathedral is not to be missed. It was for more than twelve centuries the place where the kings of France were crowned, including Charles VII. He only got there because Joan of Arc captured the city from the English. The cathedral that now stands in Reims was built in the 13th and 14th centuries. The entire structure is a model of Gothic glory. Among the best loved sights are the “Smiling Angel” in one of the entrance arches, the extraordinary rose window and the Chagall windows in the Lady Chapel. The rose window had to be taken down – very carefully – and stored to preserve it during the First and Second World Wars. Other windows weren’t so lucky. That’s why they recruited Marc Chagall to replace the ones destroyed in the second war.
You can drive from Reims to Épernay in under an hour, but don’t. Drive slowly and admire the gorgeous countryside. Take small side roads, even get a bit lost, and visit some of the hundreds of Champagne houses between the two cities. They don’t get the volume of visitors that the big houses do, so they greet you just a bit more enthusiastically. And tell yourself how lucky you are to be in Champagne.