Avenue de la Champagne

Vintage Emmanuel Ungaro jacket (similar)
Sezane cardigan
Mavi jeans (c/o)
Rouje boots (similar)
Sezane handbag
ASOS beret
RayBan sunglasses
Stella & Dot ring
Location: Avenue de la Champagne – Epernay, France

Epernay, October 16, 2021

Dear friends,

I think that whoever said, “…and the streets were paved with gold…” must have been describing Epernay. We’re spending our last day in France outside of Paris, something it’s not easy to convince me to do. I inevitably compare all travel destinations to my favourite city, and very few meet the Parisian standard. But Epernay, in the heart of champagne country, is special.

Ian planned this day-trip. He came to Epernay when he was in school, to visit Maison Taittinger. How it took us this long to get back here, I don’t really know – expect maybe that I couldn’t believe a place like this could be real. Ian tells me, “We need to turn down avenue de la Champagne,” and I instinctively respond, “Are you serious?” It all seems too good to be true, the charming brick buildings and paint doorways, the polished sidewalks dotted with yellow leaves… and especially, the giant complex emblazoned with the words Moet 1743 when we turn onto the aforementioned avenue de la Champagne.

Yes, it is a real place.

Epernay is home to dozens of the world’s most famous champagne houses. And avenue de la Champagne, a long, wide street with gleaming (although not actually golden) sidewalks on either side, is where you’ll find most of them. We’re here to visit the newly reopened Cellier Belle Epoque at Perrier-Jouet. Perrier-Jouet is my champagne of choices, for reasons I can’t properly articulate.

I had my first taste of sparkly wine when I was twelve, a sip of Freixenet from my Dad’s glass at my aunt and uncle’s wedding. I was not a fan. In general, I don’t love carbonated drinks, aside from Diet Coke. And while it’s true I’ve never turned down a mimosa at brunch, I spent a lot of my life thinking I wasn’t crazy about prosecco and sparkling wine. Truth is – I’m still not. But real champagne, which is over-the-top indulgent, especially when you buy it in Canada, is an entirely different thing. I got spoiled with constant access to the real thing at media events in Vancouver and now, there’s nothing I love better.

Champagne selection is limited in Canada, especially Winnipeg, and prices range from indulgent to outrageous. My beloved Perrier-Jouet isn’t available at all.

Frankly, as we walk down avenue de la Champagne towards the place where it’s made, I’m inclined to think it will taste better here, anyway. There’s only one way to find out, of course, so we settle in at an outdoor table at the Cellier Belle Epoque. It’s a beautiful, sunny fall day, warmer outside than we had an right to ask it to be – perfect weather for sipping chilled champagne, really. When our waitress brings us two flutes, decorated with the signature green flowers that are emblematic of the Perrier-Jouet brand, I can’t help thinking that although it’s not Paris, there’s nowhere I’d rather be.

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