Ay
| Ay or Aÿ | ||
|---|---|---|
|
||
| local community | Aÿ champagne | |
| region | Grand Est | |
| Department | Marne | |
| Arrondissement | Epernay | |
| Coordinates | 49 ° 3 ′ N , 4 ° 0 ′ E | |
| Post Code | 51160 | |
| Former INSEE code | 51030 | |
| Incorporation | January 1, 2016 | |
| status | Commune déléguée | |
Ay or Aÿ ( pronunciation : [ aˑji ]) is a village and a former French commune with 3,777 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the Marne department in the Grand Est region (until 2015: Champagne-Ardenne).
With effect from January 1, 2016, the previous municipalities of Ay , Bisseuil and Mareuil-sur-Ay were merged to form a Commune nouvelle called Aÿ-Champagne and have the status of a Commune déléguée in the new municipality . The administrative seat is in Ay.
location
Ay is located about 28 km south of Reims in the Montagne de Reims Regional Nature Park .
The town has several small champagne cellars, and Villa Bissinger is the seat of the Institut International des Vins de Champagne . The president of the institute gives theoretical introductions on the subject of champagne - also in German.
History and population development
Even the Gauls supplied themselves with wine from the Mediterranean via the Champagne routes until they themselves began to grow wine. From there to the invention of the second fermentation, which made this " terroir " unique in the world, it took a long time. Ay has been the center of the best champagne winemakers since the 17th century, where princes and the nobility owned their wineries. The chalk floor of the village of Ay is peppered - truffé , as the residents say - with extensive cellar vaults in which millions of bottles are stored on top of each other .
| year | 1962 | 1968 | 1975 | 1982 | 1990 | 1999 | 2007 | 2011 | 2013 |
| Residents | 4680 | 4884 | 4883 | 4773 | 4318 | 4315 | 4175 | 4041 | 3978 |
politics
As a working-class suburb of Épernay , where many railway workers lived, Ay was a communist stronghold for a long time .
Buildings and monuments
- Church Saint-Brice ( monument historique ) from the 15th century
- Tour of the city: Les Musardises Agéennes (inaugurated in 2004)
- Headquarters of the Institut International des Vins de Champagne
Festivities
Every two years, on the first weekend in July, Ay celebrates King Henri IV, who calls himself Sire d'Ay . He is said to have preferred the title of Lord of the Vineyards of Ay to all other titles to which he was entitled as King of France.
The festival corresponds to a wine festival at which many champagne cellars have opened their gates. The highlight is a large fireworks display that takes place every Saturday evening. The festival is musically framed by music groups from their own area and from partner cities. Besigheim , a twin town since 1966, is traditionally represented musically by the town band and school bands from the grammar school .
Personalities
- Joseph Jacob Bollinger (1803–1884), founder of the Bollinger champagne house in Ay and died there
- René Lalique (1860–1945), entrepreneur, company founder and one of the most famous art deco jewelry and glass artists , born in Ay
- Lucien Berland (1888–1962), entomologist and arachnologist, born in Ay
- Denise Schmandt-Besserat (* 1933), archaeologist, born in Ay
Viticulture and Gastronomy
Location and grape varieties
The municipality belongs to the region Ay Grande Vallée de la Marne of the vineyard Champagne . Their 355 hectares of vineyards are classified as Grand Cru . The place is dominated by a south slope on chalk soil. Since the valley of the Marne opens in Ay towards the Champagne plain, the microclimate here is drier than in the other municipalities of the Marne valley. All in all, strong and aromatic champagnes with a lively acidity are created here.
By far the most important grape variety is Pinot Noir with a share of 90%. The rest is shared by Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay .
Producer
The largest owner in Ay is the Moët & Chandon house with over 100 hectares of vineyards. Bollinger owns 21 hectares, including a plot of real-rooted vines from which a special cuvée called Vieilles vignes françaises is made. Other houses with significant vineyards in Ay are Ayala , Deutz and Gosset . 7.2 hectares in the best parcels belong to the local family business Gatinois . The following wineries are located in Ay:
- Ayala
- Bollinger
- Deutz
- Gatinois
- Gosset
- Henri Goutorbe
- Lallier
- Montvillers
The producer group, which sells under the Raoul Collet brand , was founded in 1921, making it the oldest wine cooperative in Champagne. Today she processes the grapes from 450 hectares of vineyards.
gastronomy
In addition to the champagne houses nested around the vineyards, Ay also offers a small weekly market, two restaurants and three bars. One of the town's family-run champagne producers , the House of Henri Goutorbe , runs the Hotel Jeanson in its old family seat, Castel Jeanson.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Decree of the prefecture on the formation of the Commune nouvelle Aÿ-Champagne of November 9, 2015 in RAA No.12 .
- ↑ a b c d Antoine Gerbelle: Les Grands crus de la Champagne in: La Revue du vin de France No. 521, May 2008, p. 41
- ↑ Serena Sutcliffe: Great Champagnes . Hallwag, Bern / Stuttgart 1989, ISBN 3-444-10359-X