Hotel Les Crayeres and Champagne Pommery

Hotel Les Crayeres and Grounds

After our smooth Delta combination from Atlanta to Paris, we continued to Reims by "motorcoach". This connection also went cleanly and we arrived at Hotel Les Crayeres (at the heart of Reims) by 9:00 am. The hotel received us not just graciously, but even enthusiastically. They accepted our baggage (which is considerable)  5 hours before what would be normal. And hosted us for 2 hours. They assisted me as organizer in MANY ways.


After a very pleasant social gathering in the hotel bar,

Champagne Pommery

we walked across the street and down the block to the venerable old Champagne house, Pommery. In my early days, we reveled in the fabulous bubbly of "Pommery and Greno".  Those bottles taught me the magic of true Champagne. Now the house is owned by Vrancken who own and manage Pommery, Vrancken, Heidsieck & Co, and Charles Lafitte. This is still a great wine and a great visit. Our guide gave us the perfect introduction to the realities of fine Champagne explaining much about the region, the varietal grapes, and the production methods.  All with the real thing in view the whole time.

We began as we should with a brief version of the very long history of the site; The Romans began excavations (to quarry rock) 2,000 years ago, and a great deal has happened since. This is indeed interesting and does much to support the Pommery brand.  The miles of aging cellars and connecting tunnels did not just appear, and, they are not likely to be duplicated. Notable characters fill the last 200 years of Pommery's winemaking history.  There is also the long-standing dedication to other arts, including the huge decorative carvings on the wall s of the awe inspiring crayeres (funnel-like cavities which go down many stories into the earth).  However, even with all this, it is still the explanation of Champagne, the product, that leads the way in the presentation at Pommery.  Process has a lot to do with the distinctions between Champagne and most of the world's other Sparkling Wines. The folks at Pommery give a great primer on Champagne.

They also do a pretty fine lunch. We enjoyed an elegant three course meal that kept us keen and eager

 even  though most of us had been up for over 24 hours.  Jean Schmidt "kicked off" the festivities by "Sabering" a magnum of Pommery Brut Royal (under the close supervision of Pommery's Sommelier).  She seemed eager to serve, and completed the duty with firm dispatch.  One brisk swipe of the Saber, and the bottle was cleanly decapitated.  While I would put this pretty much in the "don't try this at home" category, it sure is fun on the grounds of a great Champagne House.  After dessert (with just a bit more Champagne all around) we enjoyed a round of stout coffees.
While most of our crew retired to Les Crayeres, the hotel not the limestone quarries, a few set out to "learn" more about Champagne, perhaps at Veuve Cliquot a block or so away.  We'll see who makes it to dinner at "Les Jardins" Brasserie (safely on the hotel grounds).

Here you see Jean preparing to Saber the Pommery Magnum on the steps leading to the dining room.  Bob Bruce is beating a hasty (prudent) retreat, but NOT hiding in the bushes. The second photo shows just a portion of the Press Corps on the scene.

You may notice that the journalist taking these photos is positioned safely behind the ladies.