Ay, Marne

Ay
Ay
Location within Champagne-Ardenne region  Ay
Administration
Country	France
Region	Champagne-Ardenne
Department	Marne
Arrondissement	Épernay
Canton	Ay
Intercommunality	Grande Vallée de la Marne
Mayor	Dominique Lévèque (2001–2008)
Statistics
Elevation	76 m (249 ft) avg.
Land area1	10.43 km2 (4.03 sq mi)
Population2	4,315  (1999)
- Density	414 /km2 (1,070 /sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	51030/ 51160
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Ay (alternative spelling: Aÿ; also referred to as Aÿ-Champagne) is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France.

Champagne

Ay is most famous as a centre of the production of Champagne. Ay's vineyards are located in the Vallée de la Marne subregion of Champagne, and are classified as Grand Cru (100%) in the Champagne vineyard classification. Many prestigious Champagne houses own vineyards in the immediate vicinity, and several producers are located in Ay, including Ayala and Bollinger.

Twin towns

Ay is twinned with:

• Besigheim, Germany
• Newton Abbot, England
• Quaregnon, Belgium
• Sinalunga, Italy - since 2004

Notable people

Ay was the birthplace of:

• Lucien Berland (1888–1962), entomologist and arachnologist
• René Lalique (1860–1945), glass designer
• Stephen Rochefontaine (1755–1814), military engineer

See also

• Bollinger
• Champagne Krug
• List of short place names
• Communes of the Marne department
• Classification of Champagne vineyards