Visiting 2 wineries in Epernay, France

YOU CAN FEEL THE temperature falling as we walk down the long, stone staircase descending into the cellar. The cool air feels exhilarating, peaceful and wonderfully familiar.

There’s truly nothing quite like a wine cellar in Champagne — the barrel-vaulted ceilings, the near-total darkness of the labyrinth-like maze of tunnels and all those bottles, thousands of them neatly stacked floor to ceiling or upside down in V-shaped racks scattered throughout the cellars.

And then there’s that air.

That wonderful, brisk, damp air as cool as a foggy fall morning in New England. No matter what time of day or season of the year, the temperature in the cellars in Champagne always stays the same — roughly 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

That constantly cool air helps create these masterpieces in the bottle. So do the chalky stone walls. That’s why Champagne tastes so wonderfully crisp and dry. That’s why the French are so protective of Champagne. Only sparkling wine made in the Champagne region of France can legally be called Champagne. Everything else is sparkling wine.

As I walk down into the cellar and feel the goosebumps on my arms, I am instantly transported back to 2017.

That year, my wife and I visited three Champagne houses in Reims, France.

Six years later, just a few weeks ago, we visited two iconic Champagne houses nearby in Epernay — Moet & Chandon and Perrier-Jouet.

One of the great things about France’s Champagne region is how close it is to Paris. You can easily get there by train for a day trip.

Our journey to Epernay starts that morning in Gare De L’Est a few minutes after a long, antique-looking blue train with gold trim slowly pulls into the station. It’s the Orient Express. (Yes, that Orient Express, Mon Ami!) I wouldn’t believe it if I saw it in a movie.

Less than two hours later on

Days Of The Year

Founded in 1743 by wine trader Claude Moet, this Champagne producer added Chandon to its name in 1833 when Pierre-Gabriel Chandon de Briailles, who was married to one of the Chandons, joined the company. Moet & Chandon also created Dom Perignon, a high-end vintage Champagne starting in 1921.

a direct train gliding through the French countryside, we arrive in Epernay.

The small, stone train station is right in the heart of this charming, compact village. From the station, you can easily walk to many restaurants and Champagne houses, including the two we are visiting that day. Overall, there are more than 300 Champagne producers in the Epernay area.

We have half an hour before our first appointment. It’s a beautiful, sunny day in late May. There’s barely a cloud in the sky. We wander through the narrow, tree-lined streets past banks, bars and brasseries made of stone.

Everything in Epernay seems to be made of stone. It’s no surprise. Many of the stones removed from the wine cellars to make those massive tunnels were then used to build many of the buildings throughout Champagne.

After we pass through a traffic circle, we stroll through a tall, black iron gate into D’Ventures Du Parc, a beautiful, treelined park with winding paths that looks like a miniature version of Central Park South in Manhattan.

A few minutes later, on the other side of the park, we find Avenue De Champagne, the boulevard where many Champagne houses are located in Epernay. One of the first ones we find is the massive stone and brick building containing Moet & Chandon, the largest Champagne producer in the world.

Moet & Chandon

• 20 Avenue De Champagne, Epernay

Public tours available most

Nowadays, Moet & Chandon and Dom Perignon are separate businesses owned by the world’s largest luxury brand company, Louis-Vuitton-Moet-Hennessy, which is better known by its acronym of LVMH.

Moet & Chandon’s sprawling limestone cellars meander 30 feet beneath the winery for 17 miles. You can easily get lost in this maze of caves. That’s why you have to be part of a tour to visit the Champagne house.

The tour starts in a stark white room on the ground floor filled with paintings featuring many of Moet & Chandon’s owners over the centuries. There are also historic Champagne bottles celebrating different milestones in history and an impressive tower of Champagne glasses, something Moet & Chandon is well known for, according to the tour guide.

Downstairs in the cellar, we learn about the Champagne making process as we walk through the long, dimly-lit arched stone cellars. Like other Champagne cellars, there’s a quiet calmness to Moet & Chandon’s cellars. There’s also a sense of history.

Moet & Chandon has long been a favorite among kings, nobles and aristocrats. The Champagne was especially popular with Napoleon Bonaparte, who was friends with Claude Moet’s grandson, Jean-Remy Moet, and who would often visit the Champagne house.

One of the cellars, the Imperial Cellar, is named in honor of Napoleon. In the Imperial cellar, there’s also a massive wooden port wine cask Napoleon gave to Moet & Chandon in 1810 when Napoleon was

the Emperor of France.

Tasting Notes

Moet & Chandon Imperial Brut: No, it’s not called “Imperial Brut” because it’s some tough thug working for the royal family. This is the Champagne house’s best-selling Champagne, named in reference to its Imperial cellar.

“Brut” means “raw” in French and refers to the sweetness level of the Champagne. Brut Champagnes taste dry. That’s because they have less sugar than other Champagnes. This iconic Champagne is made with a blend of the three grapes that can only be used to make Champagne — chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier. The result — a light, refreshing, subtle Champagne with hints of pear, sea salt and