May 2012

Springtime in the Champagne region of France means a brief respite from the work of pruning and a little more time in the schedule to take visitors on a tour. We Socks took advantage of this rare opportunity to visit the Domi Moreau vineyard.

The Domi Moreau vineyard is a family-owned operation. Nathalie Moreau – our hostess on the tour – married into the Moreau family. The “Domi” name is her mother-in-law’s maiden name.

All of the work is performed by the Moreau family and seasonal help during harvest season. The Moreau family owns six arpents of land – scattered throughout the area – so they live in town and travel to their vineyards to work.

The Moreau family lives in the small town of Mancy about twenty minutes south of  Epernay. This is also where the grapes are processed on antique machines or by hand, unlike the big Champagne corporations.

These bottles are stored upside down to coax the sediment into the necks so that it can be removed by hand after the bottle is uncorked on this weird machine.

We were treated to a demonstration, and we can assure you it takes a quick hand and keen eye to remove the sediment without removing a lot of the fizz and wine.

Then it was time for the best part – the tasting! Domi Moreau produces three Champagnes: Blanc de blancs (Chardonnay), Argent (Blend), and Rosé (Blend).

These wines had that perfect balance of sweet and tart, and – in the humble opinion of a pair of Socks – can rival (even surpass) any of the big names.

We purchased one bottle of each variety, then headed to Epernay for a light, yet tasty lunch of salad, potatoes, and – of course – Champagne.