Verzenay is a Champagne village that decided to build a lighthouse in the middle of a sea of vines. The Phare de Verzenay, put up in 1909 by a local Champagne merchant as an advertisement, stands among the vineyards on the northern slope of the Montagne de Reims, a long way from any actual coast. It is a delightful piece of folly, and you can climb it for a view across the rows of Pinot Noir to the plain of the Marne and the spire of Reims cathedral on a clear day. A small museum inside tells the story of the vine.
The Montagne de Reims is not really a mountain. It is a wooded plateau rising a few hundred metres above the surrounding plain, with vineyards on its slopes, and Verzenay sits on its northern edge, where the chalk subsoil and the exposure give a rich, firm Pinot Noir. The village is classed grand cru, one of the top-rated in Champagne, and its fruit goes into some of the most famous bottles in the world. The whole landscape, the hillsides, houses and cellars of Champagne, was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2015, and the chalk cellars dug beneath the villages run for kilometres.
On a motorcycle, the Champagne Tourist Route is a gentle pleasure rather than a thrill. The lanes wind among the vines in easy bends, past low stone walls and grower houses with their names painted on gates, and the surface is generally good. Speeds are low because the road is narrow and tractors work the rows. September and early October are the busiest and most fragrant time, when the grape harvest fills the villages with pickers and trailers heavy with fruit. Spring brings fresh green shoots and risk of late frost, and the vines are bare and brown in winter. Summer is warm and quiet.
The forests above the village hide a curiosity: at Verzy, a short way along, the Faux de Verzy are a grove of dwarf, twisted beech trees whose branches droop and tangle, found in very few places. They are worth a short walk if you have time.
For practical stops, Verzenay itself is tiny, with a few cafés and growers who offer tastings, so book ahead for a visit to a cellar. Fuel and supermarkets are better found at Cormontreuil, about nine kilometres away, or in Reims. Remember that tasting and riding do not mix, so keep your tasting small or save it for the evening.