As everyone knows, Reims is the capital of LA Champagne and THE champagne. But what you may not know are the underground galleries where the bottles are stored! These are chalk pits!
On the heights of Reims, there is a hill, called Saint-Nicaise, which is in fact a kind of huge gruyère, hollowed out by galleries and chalk pits, that is to say quarries where chalk was mined! For 2000 years, they provided stones to build houses, churches, fortresses, and even the cathedral of Reims! Since the 18th century, champagne winegrowers store their bottles there. Some chalk pits have high ceilings over 30 meters! And during the war of 14-18, the inhabitants took shelter there from the bombardments…
The advantage of chalk pits is the constant temperature of 11°C and humidity, which is close to 100%! These are the ideal and natural conditions for aging bottles of champagne. We find in these chalk pits the productions many housesamong the most prestigious, such as Moët et Chandon, Perrier-Jouet, Charles-Heidsieck, Ruinart, Veuve Clicquot, Martel, Taittinger and Pommery.
And to accompany all this champagne, we can take pink biscuits from Reims ! This is the region’s other legendary product, and these biscuits have been known since the 16th century! It is said that the kings of France ate pink biscuits from Reims before going to sleep, the day before the coronation, to spend a quiet night!
The recipe is simple : eggs, sugar, vanilla, flour, baking soda to make the dough light, and icing sugar sprinkled on top before baking. In 1825, a house in Reims obtained the patent of “king’s biscuit manufacturer”, stamped with the seal of Charles X, but it was the Fossier house that, 20 years later, develop production and notoriety pink cookie. Even today, it is the same house that markets these famous biscuits all over the world.
“Girly” biscuits, because of their pink color, which will necessarily please our runners, and bubbles for the one who will go up on the podium to celebrate her victory! But in case of defeat, it also works, if we follow the advice of a famous champagne lover, Sir Winton Churchill, who declared during a visit to Epernay: “I couldn’t live without champagne. In victory I deserve it, in defeat I need it”.
In moderation, of course!