Denise Medrano for lovethatwine

When one thinks of Champagne, seashells are not usually one of the descriptors used to define the wine or the region but they have had a profound influence on the region and the wines. 45 million years ago Champagne was covered by a tropical sea populated by coral, invertabrates such as snails, gastropods and urchins as well as vertabrates like sharks and fish. All of these animals eventually died and contributed their shells to what is now the Kimmeridgian Ridge. The ridge is the unique limestone marl that gives Champagne it's distinctive mineral, chalky flavours and aromas.

Usually, when you visit the cellars of Champagne, they are dug out of the chalk beds but you don't actually get to see the sea animals that make up the chalk. Occasionally, you can stop at one of the exposed cliffs that line the roads of Champagne and look for fossils but more often then not, the white hillsides barely register as you whizz by to visit the next champagne cellar. The Cave aux Coquillages (Cave of Sea Shells) hopes to give visitors an up close and personal view of those seashells that make up the all important limestone. 

The Cave was founded by a local vigneron, Patrice Legrand. He originally dug for seashells in his off time but there was such an abundance of shells in the village of Fleury-la-Riviere that it gradually took over his life and he left the grape growing to the other members of his family. The site contains a tasting room/gift shop, research lab and a small hotel attached where you can sleep next to the fossils. 

The site itself is dug into the hillside about 200 metres long and going about 8 to 10 metres down. There are a variety of sea shells found, the majority are of the giant snail, Campanile Giganteum, specimens which they have found can be as big as 60 cms. This area is unique in that it is one of the only major excavation site in Champagne. They are currently doing research into the area to find out why so many of them can be found in this particular spot. Some people speculate that they may have died here in such vast numbers because of over population and lack of natural predators. 

It was cool to see so many fossils in one place and we even had the chance to dig up a few ourselves. They are so plentiful that you are practically guaranteed to come across one in your digging. 

Afterwards, we had a glass of the family champagne, the Legrand-Letour Champanage, Made up of 90% pinot meunier and the remainder of chardonnay and pinot noir, there was definitely a strong iodine note to the champagne. It probably helped that they had a vial of iodine on hand for us to sniff and compare to the champagne in our glasses. 

All in all, a very entertaining and educational afternoon in the hills of Champagne. Tours are available on Fridays and Saturdays and cost 8 euros, glass of champagne included, 6 euros for under 16's. Tours are currently only in French but they are hoping to be able to do English ones in the near future. Visit their website for more info  http://www.lacaveauxcoquillages.fr/