Picardy Wine

At first sight, the Picardy region does not seem to be a winelover’s paradise. When taking a closer look at this French region, you will discover it is producing some good wines and local produce like ciders and beers too, that are excellent drinks; as well as eau de vie.

The local wines are not renowned, but worth-a-tasting produce, Picardy Calvados, beers and ciders are excellent and it would be a shame not to taste them while on holiday in Picardy or while searching your second home in the area.

Located in the northern area of France, this region can also provide you with fine beers and ciders from local producers. Picardy’s main wine is the Champagne

; a part of Picardy’s vineyards being allowed to produce this outstanding wine.

The communes producing Champagne are foremost Condé en Brie, Château-Thierry, Charly, Soissons and Vailly, located in the Aisne department. A law allows this in the Picardy area since 1936. The famous Champagne is the wine drunk to celebrate the best moments of one’s life.

Champagne evokes happiness, sophistication, and will accompany you in all the pleasant moments you will live. You will appreciate the elegance and lightness of Champagne wine’s natural effervescence.

Top Tip! But take care, the French appellation Champagne has to be deserved, indeed this outstanding wine needs at least 9 legal mentions to be considered as true French Champagne.

The Champagne wine is produced thanks to three varietals; Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir.

These three varietals are the only ones to be authorized for the production of the authentic French Champagne. Picardy produces 10% of the French Champagnewines.

There are several kinds of Champagne Wine:

• The blanc de blanc wine is produced from the Chardonnay, which is the only varietal of the three allowed to give white grapes. This Champagne is appreciated for its finesse which is more relevant than that of the two others varietals.
• The blanc de noir results from the Pinot Meunier or Pinot Noir which produce red grapes. These two kinds of Champagne wines are renowned for their power and their fruitiness. These two are really intense French wines.
• We have also to notice the presence of another Champagne wine which is actually scarcely found than the other Champagne varieties. This is the rosé Champagne wine. It results from the fermentation of red grapes or by the blend of white and red wine Champagne together. This category is particularly tasty when accompanying red meats.

Mediaeval Wines from Picardy

• The Hypocras is a red wine melt with honey, cinnamon and many other secret ingredients. It is a much appreciated aperitif drink in Picardy.
• The Saugette is a white wine with honey and Sage.
• The Claret is a white wine melt with cinnamon and other ingredients. It is normally drunk as a dessert wine. You can buy these wines in Le Trebuchet, 2 rue du four, 02150 Lappion, phone number: 00 33 3 23 79 63 47.

Picardy not only produces wine and Champagne, it also offers a lot of ciders, beers and eaux de vie that you will really enjoy sipping.