WHEN thinking of Champagne as a region to visit, travellers invariably mention Reims, where the great champagne houses are based, and perhaps Epernay, its smaller satellite. But hardly anyone remembers Troyes, an exquisite medieval town whose very shape is said to follow the outline of a champagne cork.

There are, it is true, no grande marque champagnes based here, but it was in the wealthy commercial area in the lower part of Troyes that the medieval champagne trade fairs took place.

Champagne vineyards still come to within five miles of the city centre and it was partly to champagne that Troyes owed the prosperity that allowed it to rebuild, after a disastrous fire, creating what is now said to be the finest concentration of 16th-century timbered houses remaining in Europe. More than 400 cluster around narrow alleys, nodding their heads to one another in an eccentric time warp.

Troyes is the departmental capital of the Aube, which produces a quarter of all Champagne’s grapes, though it sends more than half its grapes, grape juice and unfinished wines to be transformed into champagne by the big champagne houses in and around Reims.

With its own flamboyant Gothic cathedral, one of the biggest in France, Troyes (population 61,000) is a quiet provincial backwater compared with the roaring business of Reims, which is three times bigger. That, and the rate of restoration work in the old quarter, makes Troyes an ideal centre from which to visit some of champagne’s minor producers.

The Route Touristique du Champagne through the Côte des Bar (named for the towns of Bar-sur-Aube to the north and Bar-sur-Seine in the south) is lined with 26 cellars awarded “Visitors welcome” certificates to assure the standard of their welcome and their wines. In September some wine-growers organise grape-picking days for guests, enabling visitors to become grape pickers for a day. Believe me, you are unlikely to volunteer for longer.

The shiny slopes, wide open views, and little bell towers of the region’s picturesque villages make this lovely, peaceful countryside for touring. One pilgrimage some like to make is to the village of Essoyes, which is on the champagne route but is best known as the adopted home of the artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir, many of whose pictures were inspired by the landscape.

His roadside villa is still in family ownership (and unidentified by plaques and such) but round the corner, at the bottom of his garden, is his former workshop, now a museum and summer home for a young resident artist working on a Renoir scholarship. Renoir himself rests in the cemetery.

Local specialities include not only champagne but also the cheeses of Mussy and Chaource. In the Pays d’Othe there is an unexpected “little Normandy”, where deep forests, plains and orchards harbour valleys specialising in cider production.

None rivals, though, the speciality for which Troyes is known throughout France: the andouillette de Troyes, a savoury tripe sausage which is one of the standard bistro and brasserie dishes all over the country. An unrivalled source of the authentic andouillette is a tiny charcuterie beside the covered market in Troyes. Patrick Maury’s shop at 28 Rue General de Gaulle is filled with almost as many cups, trophies and certificates as sausages and pat és, but everything he offers is home-made and most can be vacuum-packed to last the journey home.

No such problems with the champagne itself, of course. Sturdy bottles and the naturally engendered gas pressure within ensure that this is a wine that does travel well — if it is not left in the boot under a hot summer sun.

One champagne house that welcomes visits is Champagne Chassenay d’Arce in Ville-sur-Arce, a co-operative of 130 winegrowers. It attracts 20,000 visitors a year. Another favourite is Champagne Drappier at Urville. Champagne Drappier is unique in that it actually ferments champagne in large format bottles. Other houses fill their really big bottles with champagne decanted from standard sizes, but Drappier manhandles its bottle-fermenting wines. These come not only in Nebuchadnezzars (20 bottles) but also in Primats (36 bottles) and Melchizedeks (40 bottles) — surely enough to satisfy anyone’s thirst.

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