Facts About Champagne and Other Sparkling Wines | Page 9

champagne. In the
central aisle a similar slab marks the resting-place of Dom Thedoricus
Ruynart--obit 1709--an ancestor of the Reims Ruinarts, and little square
stones interspersed among the tiles with which the side aisles of the
church are paved record the deaths of other members of the Benedictine
brotherhood during the 17th and 18th centuries. Several large pictures
grace the walls of the church, the most interesting one representing St.
Nivard, Bishop of Reims, and his friend, St. Berchier, designating to
some mediæval architect the site the contemplated abbey of St. Peter
was to occupy. There was a monkish legend that about the middle of
the 7th century this pair of saints set out in search of a suitable site for
the future monastery. The way was long, the day was warm, and St.
Nivard and St. Berchier as yet were simply mortal. Weary and faint,
they sat them down to rest at a spot identified by tradition with a
vineyard at Dizy, belonging to-day to the Messrs. Bollinger, but at that
period forming part of the forest of the Marne. St. Nivard fell asleep
with his head on his companion's lap, and the one in a dream, and the
other with waking eyes, saw a snow-white dove--the same, firm
believers in miracles suggested, which had brought down the holy oil
for the anointment of Clovis at his coronation at Reims--flutter through
the wood, and finally alight on the stump of a tree.
In those superstitious times such a significant omen was not to be
disregarded, the site thus miraculously indicated was at once decided

upon, the high altar of the abbey church being erected upon the precise
spot where the tree stood on which the snow-white dove had alighted.
The celerer of St. Peter's found worthy successors, and thenceforward
the manufacture and the popularity of champagne went on steadily
increasing, until to-day its production is carried on upon a scale and
with an amount of painstaking care that would astonish its originator.
For good champagne does not rain down from the clouds, or gush out
from the rocks, but is the result of incessant labour, patient skill, minute
precaution, and careful observation. In the first place, the soil imparts
to the natural wine a special quality which it has been found impossible
to imitate in any other quarter of the globe. To the wine of Ay it lends a
flavour of peaches, and to that of Avenay the savour of strawberries;
the vintage of Hautvillers, though fallen from its former high estate, is
yet marked by an unmistakably nutty taste; while that of Pierry smacks
of the locally-abounding flint, the well-known pierre à fusil flavour. So
on the principle that a little leaven leavens the whole lump, the produce
of grapes grown in the more favoured vineyards is added in certain
proportions to secure certain special characteristics, as well as to
maintain a fixed standard of excellence.
[Illustration]

[Illustration]
II.--THE VINTAGE IN THE CHAMPAGNE. THE VINEYARDS OF
THE RIVER.
Ay, the Vineyard of Golden Plants-- Summoning the Vintagers by Beat
of Drum-- Excitement in the Surrounding Villages-- The Pickers at
Work-- Sorting the Grapes-- Grapes Gathered at Sunrise the Best--
Varieties of Vines in the Ay Vineyards-- Few of the Growers in the
Champagne Crush their own Grapes-- Squeezing the Grapes in the
"Pressoir" and Drawing off the Must-- Cheerful Glasses Round-- The
Vintage at Mareuil-- Bringing in the Grapes on Mules and Donkeys--
The Vineyards of Avenay, Mutigny, and Cumières-- Damery and

Adrienne Lecouvreur, Maréchal de Saxe, and the obese Anna
Iwanowna-- The Vineyards of the Côte d'Epernay-- Boursault and its
Château-- Pierry and its Vineyard Cellars-- The Clos St. Pierre--
Moussy and Vinay-- A Hermit's Cave and a Miraculous Fountain--
Ablois St. Martin-- The Côte d'Avize-- The Grand Premier Crû of
Cramant-- Avize and its Wines-- The Vineyards of Oger and Le
Mesnil-- The Old Town of Vertus and its Vine-clad Slopes-- Their Red
Wine formerly celebrated.
With the exception of certain famous vineyards of the Rhône, the
vinelands of the Champagne may, perhaps, be classed among the most
picturesque of the more notable vine districts of France. Between Paris
and Epernay even, the banks of the Marne present a series of scenes of
quiet beauty. The undulating ground is everywhere cultivated like a
garden. Handsome châteaux and charming country houses peep out
from amid luxuriant foliage. Picturesque antiquated villages line the
river's bank or climb the hill sides, and after leaving La
Ferté-sous-Jouarre, the cradle of the Condés, all the more favoured
situations commence to be covered with vines.
This is especially the case in the vicinity of Château-Thierry--the
birthplace of La Fontaine--where the view is shut in on all sides by
vine-clad slopes, which the spring frosts seldom spare. Hence merely
one good vintage out of