The best road cycling routes around Vertus

Small church on a hill in the middle of vineyards - not to be missed!

The Holy Father known as Pope Urban II was born here around 1035. His name is known as Odon de Lagery, also Eudes de Châtillon, or Otton de Châtillon. He joined the Benedictine Order named after Benedict of Nursia (OSB for the Latin "Ordo Sancti Benedicti") and became prior of the highly important Cluny Abbey. In 1088, he was elected pope, taking the name Urban II. As the supreme shepherd of the Roman Catholic Church, he supported the Reconquista in Spain and the First Crusade in support of Byzantium. His theological reasoning was based on the second chapter of the Old Testament Book of Daniel, which describes a turning point in history. He died in 1099. His feast day in the calendar of saints is July 29, the recorded date of his death.

Possibility of picnicking nearby with a view of the church and the valley

Between 1872 and 1884, the concierge and the orangery were built on the outer edge of a vast park, according to plans by the architect Alphonse Gosset (1835-1914)[5]. In 1920, the park was acquired by the municipality with the Auban-Moët mansion and opened to the public. The part of the park around the town hall is laid out in the French style, to emphasise the classical and sober facade of the building. It consists of a grass path and two symmetrical access paths arranged in a horseshoe shape around a fountain. It is decorated with two bronze lions, cast iron statues of ancient gods and various other statues. The other part of the park is laid out in the English style: it is crossed by hilly paths, groves, two pools of water, an artificial island and a rocky grotto with a waterfall. On this side of the garden is a temple of love, built of limestone. This belvedere with Corinthian columns has a coffered ceiling. It is inspired by the Temple of Love in the Petit Trianon in Versailles. The City Hall Park has the label "Remarkable Garden".🪴 In

Épernay Town Hall is located at number 7bis in the former Auban-Moët mansion, built in 1858 by Victor Moët (1797–1881)[5] to a design by the architect Victor Le Noir, who also designed the Montparnasse railway station in Paris. In the early 19th century, Jean-Baptiste Isabey had the building redesigned in a classical style for Jean-Remy Moët, owner of the Hôtel Auban-Moët and mayor of Épernay. The current layout dates from 1857 and is the work of the brothers Denis and Eugène Bühler. It was donated to the city in 1919, which took it into use as a town hall in 1920. The building houses luxurious rooms, including the wedding hall and the council chamber. The building has been listed as a French Historical Monument since 26 June 2012.[5][6]

In his day, the fermentation of wine in the bottle, which produces sparkling wine, was a huge problem for winemakers. When colder weather arrived in autumn, the fermentation process would sometimes halt before all the fermenting sugar in the wine had been converted into alcohol. If this wine was bottled at this stage, it literally became a time bomb. When the weather warmed in spring, the remaining yeast would begin to work again, producing carbon dioxide, which would at least force the cork out of the bottle and often cause the bottle to explode, setting off a chain reaction in nearby bottles. This posed a danger to workers and sometimes destroyed an entire year's worth of wine production.[citation needed] Dom Pérignon sought to prevent this imperfect fermentation and introduced several improvements that are still in use in the Champagne region today, such as the extensive blending of wines from different winemakers.

Pierre Pérignon (Sainte-Menehould, 1639 - Hautvillers, 24 September 1715) known as Dom Pérignon was a Benedictine monk to whom the méthode champenoise, the method of making champagne, is often attributed. The best champagne of the Moët et Chandon winery is also named after him: champagne Dom Pérignon. Legend has it that he exclaimed: "Come quickly, I'm tasting the stars!" when he tasted the first sparkling champagne. The reality is, however, that although the Dom worked tirelessly to improve the wines of the Champagne region, he invented neither sparkling wine nor champagne.

The view from the beautiful rest areas around the monument of Pabst Urban II over the Marne valley and the vineyards of Champagne is magnificent ☺️