Cider growers Champagne-Ardenne

When you walk through the door of Gérard and Corinne Hotte's farm, you already know almost everything about the adventure of the little apple in the Champagne-Ardenne region. At the beginning, Gérard and Corinne, not wanting to give up the farm (although it was too small for them to make a living from it), decided to restore the orchards, replanting apple trees of old local varieties and opting straight away for organic farming. There is love in all of this: the couple share their passion by welcoming the public to the 19th century farmhouse and to the Pays d'Othe museum set up in the barn where three centuries of memory and old materials are recorded. A journey through time accompanied by a visit to the orchards and a tasting. It's so intoxicatingly beautiful. Ciders? You will taste a few choice vintages, some of which won medals at the Paris agricultural competition: traditional cider from the Pays d'Othe, sweet cider, Champagne cider "Saveur de pommier", still cider, and also new products such as Cidromel or rosé cider, as well as rapeseed oil or cider brandy. Note: the old-fashioned pressing (as in the Middle Ages), which takes place on the last Sunday in September with horses and stone millstone, is not seen anywhere else.

The small Cider Museum traces no less than three centuries of history around the apple and cider. You can admire many old objects to discover the production of the time, including presses with parrot wheel, slaughtering, parallel screws ...

Natural effervescence: just what you'd expect from champagne country! Fruit is Véronique and Jean-Christophe Leglantier's specialty, and they make the most of its richness to extract the very best. For the past 25 years, the apples from their orchards have helped to supply the local cooperative (Agrial), but, cleverly, they always keep a small portion aside to make Brie champenoise cider, a blend of the farm's own apples and old varieties collected in the surrounding area. A real treat!