When asked why he drank champagne for breakfast, Noel Coward replied: “Doesn’t everyone?” Well, most of us probably don’t drink champagne for breakfast but that doesn’t mean we wouldn’t like to. Whatever the occasion it rarely falls flat as long as the corks are popping and the bubbles rising.

But apart from le champagne — the wine — there is la Champagne, the countryside. This is the smallest and most northerly wine-growing region in France with over 80,000 acres of graceful vineyards, rolling hills, and flower-filled wine villages — some with appropriate names such as Dizy and Bouzy (the significance of which the locals only understood when American and British troops were there during the First and Second World Wars).

Although not exceptionally beautiful, the region is pretty and has a very definite sense of style. In the villages every second house seems to produce its own champagne and there are signs inviting you in for a tasting — which is always a little ceremony. You won’t find the people of Champagne opening a dusty bottle on a bare table, such as you get in other wine regions (although this too can have a certain charm). Champagne must be opened slowly and poured into elegant glasses. The cork removal must never be accompanied by a loud POP! (Anyone who pops champagne corks is considered a peasant or English.)

Route Touristique du Champagne is well signposted. It’s fun to stop whenever you feel like it, explore, and try a local tasting. But you will need a base and Epernay makes an excellent centre for a wine tour of the region. It is at the heart of the Champagne region and is home to world famous champagne houses. The place to find these is the aptly named Avenue de Champagne which is lined with elegant l9th Century mansions — mostly belonging to the champagne barons.

You can take your pick of which famous champagne house you wish to visit. Mercier is the biggest seller in France and is probably the most visitor-conscious. On display in the foyer is the largest champagne cask in the world, constructed in 1889 with a capacity of 215,000 bottles.

A laser-guided train takes visitors around the vast cellars where, apart from 11 miles of bottle-filled galleries, there are some unusual carvings in the chalk, especially in the Cave of Bacchus.

Be sure to visit some of the smaller champagne houses which are often family-run businesses. I visited the l8th Century Chateau de Pierry in the village of Pierry, just a few kilometres south of Epernay. Their house champagne is ‘Paul Gobillard’ and Monsieur Gobillard himself discussed the making of the wine with me. (An extra service that you won’t get from the big houses.) This is the only house in the region to offer tastes of a variety of champagnes other than their own and for this reason might be a good place to begin.

You will not, however, be spending all your time tasting champagne and, although Reims is home to some of the great champagne houses, it also has a lot of other things to offer.

The superb cathedral dates from the l2th Century and is where all the kings of France were crowned from 1180 to 1825. Even here the influence of champagne is evident, with grand stained-glass windows devoted to people picking grapes, pruning, digging, and stamping barefoot in vats. There is also a window designed by Marc Chagall. Amongst the many coronations which took place in the cathedral, that of Charles VII stands out, when Joan of Arc brought him to Reims in 1429 after fighting her way through the English battle lines.

The Tau Palace, built in 1690, now houses the cathedral’s museum. Original sculptures removed from the cathedral, as well as tapestries and mementoes of the many coronation ceremonies are beautifully displayed.

Most remarkable is the salle du tau, a banqueting room used after the coronations.

Don’t miss the famous crayers, great cavernous chalk pits quarried by the Romans to build Reims and used today as champagne cellars. The cellars at Champagne Ruinart are unique; they are the only ones in Champagne to be classified as an historical monument and are 200ft tall. Ruinart, founded in 1729, is the oldest of the existing champagne firms and was one of the first to export champagne to the US in the early l9th Century. Visits are by appointment only but it is well worth the effort of booking ahead. English is spoken and you will be offered a glass of champagne.

Other things worth seeing are the French Motor Car Museum with its historical displays of vehicles from 1769 to the present day, and the Hotel Le Vergeur Museum which is a mansion dating from the 13th Century. It has fine antique furniture and a set of engravings by Dürer.

While you’re in Reims don’t miss out on a visit to one of the town’s most popular restaurants. Le Vigneron specialises in regional cooking and has a vast selection of regional wines, especially some of the hard-to-find old vintage champagnes. With its collection of antique Champagne posters and memorabilia, it’s truly worth a visit.

Another place you must see before you leave la Champagne is Hautvillers, home of Dom Perignon, the l7th Century Benedictine Abbot who is credited with the complicated double fermentation method which encouraged the localwine’s natural sparkle. The end result was a clear wine with constant effervescence. At the time he is said to have cried out, “Brothers, come quickly, I am drinking stars.”

The village is very pretty — take a walk around its winding streets and notice that almost every house has some kind of sign attached to it which advertises the delights of champagne. The place practically floats on bubbly.

Hardly anyone confesses to not liking champagne. People who normally never drink will sip quite happily. Even crusty old George Bernard Shaw said “I’m only a beer teetotaller, not a champagne teetotaller”.

All I can add is that I’d have a label put on each bottle, “to be consumed without moderation”. Cheers.

Fact File