The low rolling hills with their chalky soil make it ideal for growing just the right grape for the wine that is used in Dom Perignon’s famous invention, and, perhaps most importantly, the ground is ideal for tunnelling enormous caves to store the precious liquid for the required period. Everywhere tourist trips are advertised for visits to the establishments of the famous champagne houses, so, ever curious, I went along to try to find the answer to something that had always puzzled me. Everyone knows that champagne comes from this district alone and the growers from this part of the world spend fortunes on defending the name so that other manufacturers in other parts of the world are not able to sell their products calling it champagne. Since the number of hectares available for cultivation is finite, how was it that every year another few million bottles of champagne are produced? I decided on a company with a German name and had the regular tour with a charming lady whose deliciously accented English somehow added to the mystery, as she spoke of the ‘distinguished bubbles’ her company produced.
