1879 Facts About Champagne and Other Sparkling Wines

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Oha1npagne Establish?nents at Ay ancl Ma1·euil.

the packing department, installed in one of the three celliers into which the story aboveground is divided, quite an animated i::cene presents itself. Iron columns support the r oofs of this and its companion celliers, where the firm make their cuvee, and the bottling of the wine t akes place. On descending int o the basement beneath, the popping of corks and the continual clatter of machinery intimate that t he disgorging and r~-corking of the wine are being accomplished, and in· the dim light we discern groups of workmen engaged in the final manipulation which champagne has to under go, while fresh r elays o~ wine a re arriving from the cellars by the aid of endless chains. There are two stories of these cellar s which, excavated in t he ch a\k, extend under the road and wind r ound beneath the ch at eau, the more modern galleries being broad, lofty, and admirably venti– lated, and provided with suppor ts of masonry wher ever t h e in– stability of the ch alk r ender ed this r equisite. After a lengthened promenade thi·ou gh them we come to the ancient vaults ext end– ing immediat ely under the grounds of the ch ateau, wh ere ever y particle of available space is u tilised, and some difficulty is found in passing b etween the serried piles of bottles of vin briit-mostly the fine wine of 1874-which rise continuously on either side. Within a hundred yards of the

open space, sun·ounded by houses of different epochs and considerable diversity of design, where the Ay market is weekly h eld, and in one of the narrow winding streets com– mon t o the t own, an escutcheon , with a bunch of grapes for device, surmounting a lofty gat eway, at– tracts at t ention , Within, a trim courtyard, girt round with orange– trees in bright green boxes, and

clipped in orthodox fashion, a:ffords access to the h andsome r esidence and offices of M. Duminy, well-known in E ngland l