Uncorking Champagne's secrets

In search of the sparkle in the cellars and vineyards of Champagne.
    
As we walk into the tiny neighbourhood bar in Epernay, the self-proclaimed capital of Champagne, two burly blokes stand chatting at the bar.

Their thick fingers clasp not a schooner of beer, but the delicate stem of a tulip-shaped champagne flute.

It may be the world's most revered drink, but in this corner of northeastern France, champagne is the local tipple.

France's Champagne region is made up of roughly 34,000 hectares of vineyards spread across 319 villages, or "crus".

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Published in Yahoo!7 Travel. Copyright AAP. Photo: Glen Pearson.

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