A visit to the vineyards of northern France left RICHARD JOHNS feeling a bit of a 'Champagne Charlie'.

WHAT vintage do you think it is? That was the question restaurateur Heuv asked, as I sipped champagne in his private cellar in the beautiful city of Rheims.

I didn't have a clue. All I knew was it tasted fantastic.

With wine connoisseurs probably able to taste raspberries and strawberries with essence of old bike saddles and creosote overtones, I didn't have the 'bottle' to say that it reminded me of fruit pastilles!

The generous owner of Le Vigneron had opened a dusty magnum from his dimly-lit vault. I felt a bit of a Champagne Charlie when I discovered it was a Pommery from 1952 - the year of the century - and could now fetch up to £1,000 a bottle.

But I was here on a wine-soaked voyage of discovery, beginning at a lighthouse more than 200 miles from the sea at Verzenay. It was built at the beginning of the century and towers over a sea of vines which cascade down the slopes of the Montagne de Rheims (Mountain of Rheims) and forms part of a museum dedicated to the history of wine growing.

At the top of this 'mountain range' is the Verzy forest, an area of beautiful wilderness peppered with Les Faux de Verzy, hundreds of mysterious bonsai-esque beech trees. Buzzards circled the skies above this paradise for walkers and cyclists with its numerous woodland trails.

The village of Rilly-la-Montagne hid a secret during the Second World War. In an underground tunnel it housed German munitions and V1 rockets and suffered relentless bombing raids by the Allies.

At the champagne house of Vilmart & Cie, I met Ren Champs who, now retired, has made it his labour of love to restore the stained-glass windows of the village church, which suffered in the raids.

This incredible task has taken 6,000 hours and 9,000 pieces of glass to restore just one of the windows to its former 13th-century beauty.

The Champs family are traditionalists and use Alsace-made oak barrels and no chemical fertilisers in their wine-making process - I recommend the Coeur de Cuve, 1993.

It is claimed the richest street in the world runs through Epernay - the champagne capital on the banks of the River Marne.

The Avenue de Champagne is lined with glorious 18th and 19th century mansions housing famous names such as Mot et Chandon, Pol Roger and Mercier, beneath which miles of cellars contain millions of bottles of the bubbly stuff.

But the town's most distinctive landmark is the tower of de Castellane. This champagne house, with its famous red cross label, operates cellar tours to take you through the history of the wine-making process. It includes a visit to the fascinating printing museum and the inevitable dgustation (tasting).

One of the best champagne/

museum/dgustation visits can be discovered at Launois Pere & Fils, at Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, south of Epernay.

M. Launois is a real character who admits to being an obsessive collector - his latest passion is books. He has established a magnificent wine museum which is well worth the £3.50 for a guided tour which ends with the dgustation of three champagnes. Another interesting personality is former international concert pianist, Franck Riviere, who gave up the world stage to become a one-man band producing his unique style of champagne at Cramant.

A fun place to visit for bubbly people is Piper-Heidseick in Rheims where Jorvik-style time cars take you on a subterranean trip through the history of champagne and the wine-making process.

Consequently, I will no longer have a 'Blanc de Blancs' expression on my face when it comes to the wine list.

I also discovered chocolate and champagne is a definite no-no...but what about fruit pastilles?

Fact file

Richard travelled by rail to Kings Cross courtesy of GNER (08457 225 225) and then by Eurostar to Paris.

For more information, contact the Champagne Wines Information Bureau on 020 7915 4788. Fax: 020 7915 4778. Web address: www.champagnes.com

PICTURE: On the champagne trail amid the vineyards of France