Crugny

Location in the Ardre valley

Crugny lies in the north-west of the Marne département, in the Tardenois, west of Reims. The village sits in the valley of the Ardre, exactly where the Brouillet stream joins it from the south. The Ardre is a river just under 39 kilometres long that flows into the Vesle near Fismes. Around Crugny the land rises: across the commune's 1,246 hectares the altitude ranges from 72 to 236 metres. The high ground in the surrounding area includes the Montagne de Lhéry and the Mont de Béry. The highest point of the commune lies in the Bois le Moine.

Neighbouring communes include Unchair, Hourges, Serzy-et-Prin, Brouillet, Arcis-le-Ponsart and Courville. Administratively, Crugny belongs to the canton of Fismes-Montagne de Reims and to the Fismes Ardre et Vesle community of communes.

Land, climate and vine

Crugny is rural in character, with loosely scattered buildings. Around 72 per cent of the area is farmed, most of it arable land (just under 65 per cent). Woodland covers about a quarter of the commune. Permanent crops, which can include vines, take up only about 2.8 per cent. Crugny is not classified as a Grand Cru or Premier Cru, so do not expect a classic champagne village with famous houses here.

“For the years 1971 to 2000 the mean annual temperature is 10.5 °C, with rainfall of around 721 millimetres a year.

The climate is temperate oceanic. For the years 1971 to 2000 the mean annual temperature is 10.5 °C, with rainfall of around 721 millimetres a year. These are the conditions you know from the northern Paris Basin and from Champagne.

History

According to tradition, Clovis gave the village to Saint Genevieve, who passed it on to Saint Remigius and the bishops of Reims. The income was meant to go towards building the cathedral. A lime kiln can still be seen in the village. It supplied the region and provided, among other things, material for the city walls of Reims in the 14th century.

Charles Lafitte Champagner Flasche

In the First World War there was an airfield on the grounds of the Bonne Maison, home to the famous Escadrille des Cigognes, the Stork Squadron.

Sights and practical information

• The church of Saint-Pierre, protected as a monument historique, is the most important building in the village.
• The village has a bakery, a bar and a restaurant.
• Henri Bocquillon, physician and botanist, came from Crugny.

Crugny makes a good stopover if you are exploring Champagne away from the big names and want to get to know the Ardre valley. For tastings, you are better off planning visits to the well-known winemaking villages further afield.