Champagne Houses
Champagne houses vary. We visited a smaller house in a small village west of Reims.
Walking up the hill, we passed rows of vines. Some belonged to F. Cossy and some did not. Seemingly, they all ran together on the hill side. In reality, they did not.
That’s what makes this area so special. Even though vines run up and down the hills, through the small villages, and next to the winding roads it’s different than in many places. You won’t find acres of vines for as far as you can see which are all owned by one winery.
Here, an entire row may be owned by different people. One person may have vines which go a few feet or a few hundred feet. It doesn’t mean the whole hectare belongs to one person.
We set off to the small village of Jouy-les-Reims in search of a Champagne house a sommelier friend suggested. Traveling on narrow roads through small villages, we thought we may have made a wrong turn and were actually driving on a private lane. We’ve driven on a lot of roads similar to these. This time, we were following the GPS and wondered if we had entered the wrong address.
Houses and buildings perched so close to the road we could reach out and touch them. Vines with small bunches of remaining grapes begged to be photographed. There would have been no room to meet another vehicle. Maybe we were on the wrong road.
Turning a tight corner, we arrived at the address. Since it was a house and not what we were expecting, I called the winery owner. We were in the right place and she was on her way to meet us.
Some of her vines were ones we had passed. This time, we could photograph them. And, taste the remaining grapes. So sweet. She has other vines in a neighboring village.
Sophie Cossy had taken over the winemaking part of their family business when her father unexpectedly passed away. She was only 25 at the time. Young for a winemaker of a Champagne house. Their family had been farming these vineyards since 1764. They had been bottling under their own label since the 1950s.
The tour of her operation and the tastings were outstanding. Of all the Champagnes we tasted…these were among the best.
If you are in the Champagne area or are planning a trip, do not miss this house.
If You Go: Located in the 1er Cru village Jouy-les-Reims. You will be on the western outskirts of Reims. Check their website for visiting information, champagne-cossy.com.