Friday, August 12, 2011

The Vineyards...

On our third day in the Champagne region of France, we headed for Epernay via a leisurely drive through the countryside and the many picturesque villages situated among the vineyards...


These rusty old bikes were just propped against the tree in the middle of a village named Courville..


pretty houses, with their shutters flung open, were in abundance...


This red gate was begging to be photographed...


This floral horse was quirky and illustrated a little 'tongue in cheek' humour by the locals...


as did this scarecrow, found a little further up the road.


One the bank of the River Marne this village was very picturesque with the vineyards rising up behind...


The bridge itself was bedecked with masses of red flowers...


But...the whole point of the visit here is all about these little grapes...


that grow in these gorgeous vineyards...



Amid these vineyards are the villages or 'Crus'...


The 'Cru' is graded in importance according to the type of grape it produces...and if the soil, slope (drainage) and aspect are perfect these villages are rated at 100% for the 'pinot noir' grape...accordingly they are named 'Grand Cru'.


One such Grand Cru is the village of Verzenay, which is overlooked by the famous windmill...


situated on top of Mont Boeuf, it was purchased by Maison Mumm in 1972 and looks out over the cherished vineyards...


We were blessed with a beautiful day to see these sites...blue sky...green vines and picturesque villages with flowers blooming in window boxes and streetscapes...


and we still hadn't reached Epernay....the Chateau's were still to come...


Posted by Robynne's Nest at 7:32 PM

8 comments:

  1. flowers on my tableAugust 12, 2011 at 10:08 PM

    A very interesting tour Robynne. I love all the red flowers. Lovely pic of you and hubby. Thanks for the tip about taking an extra photo. Thanks for visiting. Have a great weekend, love Linda x

    ReplyDelete
  2. flowers on my tableAugust 12, 2011 at 10:08 PM

    A very interesting tour Robynne. I love all the red flowers. Lovely pic of you and hubby. Thanks for the tip about taking an extra photo. Thanks for visiting. Have a great weekend, love Linda x

    ReplyDelete
  3. BethAugust 15, 2011 at 4:59 AM

    Gorgeous photos Robynne. I am planning a trip home for next year and have France on the list of places to go to. I remember going to some of the vineyards and sampling the local wines, cheeses and bread...fabulous.
    x

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  4. helen tilstonAugust 15, 2011 at 5:00 AM

    Hi Robynne

    Red is the predominent colour in your photos. Looking forward to hearing about the vineyards.
    Have a wonderful time. You and your husband looks happy.

    Helen xx

    ReplyDelete
  5. ZosiaAugust 15, 2011 at 8:22 AM

    Great illustrations to Peter Mayle's books. Enjoy the rest of the trip.

    ReplyDelete
  6. micheleAugust 22, 2011 at 8:32 PM

    omg breathtaking. mouth is watering. eyes are wide. can't wait to go someday. catching up on your beautiful blog...

    michele

    ReplyDelete
  7. LindyLouMacAugust 23, 2011 at 9:36 AM

    I love all the touches of red in the village, especially the flowers on the bikes.

    ReplyDelete
  8. the fishermans cottageAugust 27, 2011 at 10:17 AM

    Hi Robynne, I must of missed a couple of your posts, just catching up. Such a lovely country the bridge with the red flowers, the French do it so well and tastefully too and I love the little fenced gardens with the scarecrow :) x

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