When I have ample time I shall write an eloquent article about this subject. For the time being you will have to do with the following explanation:

The climate is cool (yearly an average temperature of 15 degrees Centigrade) so it is more or less a miracle that such excellent grapes can be grown in “la Champagne”. In the Netherlands we also have a cool climate but instead of chalky soil we have mostly wet clay, dry sand, a little bit of peat and some chalky soil in the province of Limburg.  Therefore the grapes from Dutch soil are of a different quality. In summer “La Champagne is about 5 degrees Centigrade warmer than the Netherlands (it has a land climate, the sea being at a distance of 500 kilometres) in winter the region might have a little snow. Just as in Holland as a matter of fact. 

The soil of La Champagne is limey. This originates from the tertiary when this part of France was still submerged. Shells that during a period of several million years amassed on the bottom were pressed together and formed a thick layer of chalk.

The grapes are planted on the slopes of the hills. Here you’ll find a thin layer of clay with immediately there under a layer of chalk. The eastern slopes are the most ideal for vineyards as they benefit the most from the sun.