Stonework across Champagne

Drive times

• Côte des Bar (Bar-sur-Seine, Les Riceys, Essoyes), 40 to 55 minutes.
• Côte des Blancs (Vertus, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Cramant), about 1 h 15.
• Epernay and the Marne valley, about 1 h 20.
• Reims and the Montagne de Reims, about 1 h 25 on the A26.

A fitted top means two trips, so further away we group jobs on the same route.

Winegrowers' houses

A lot of buyers end up with a village house over a chalk cellar. Chalk holds water, and porous stone on a cold slab goes dark at the edges. Pick a stone that absorbs little, seal anything porous, and leave an air gap behind units on outside walls. See the farmhouse guide. The water is hard, so no vinegar on marble, see hard water.

Tasting rooms

Champagne has a pH close to 3 and leaves dull rings on polished marble within minutes. For a counter that's poured on every day, we'd go granite, quartzite or Dekton. See Epernay.

Gîtes

New guests every week, lemon, wine, hot pans. Granite takes all of it, quartz all but the heat. If you want marble anyway, have it honed. See granite and quartz.

Timing

Avoid the harvest, usually late August to September. Nobody has time and the roads are full of tractors. October to June is easier. Travel is priced on the quote. Call +33 7 45 20 76 39 or use the quote form.