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Wines of

Champagne

Anchored by the historic towns of Reims and

Épernay, the hillside vineyards, touring routes

and champagne houses of France’s renowned

Champagne region make a perfect getaway.

The mill at

Verzenay in the

champagne country

southeast of Reims

Cellar tours

Wine education Food & champagne

MUSÉE DE LA VIGNE ET

DU VIN

This outstanding wine museum,

in the comely village of Le

Mesnil-sur-Oger, belongs to the

Launois family, champagne-

makers since 1872. It displays a

collection of century-old winery

equipment. Two-hour tours run

in French and English

(champagne-launois.fr; 2 Ave

Eugène Guillaume; tours 10am &

3pm Mon–Fri, 10.30am Sat–Sun;

tour incl 3 flutes US$12).

CHAMPAGNE DOMI

MOREAU

Nathalie and Max run scenic and

insightful three-hour minibus

tours (in French and English) of

their vineyard in Mancy, outside

Épernay, passing through local

villages, getting among the vines

and then finishing with a tasting

back at their house. The pick-up

point is in Épernay; they can also

organise self-guided cycling

tours (champagne-domimoreau.

com; tours 9.30am & 2.30pm

except Wed & Sun, closed last

three weeks of Aug & Dec–Mar;

US$32).

VILLA BISSINGER

You can try champagne anywhere

but if you want to know more,

Villa Bissinger near Épernay, home

to the International Institute for

the Wines of Champagne, runs an

informative two-hour workshop

(in French). Besides covering the

basics such as names, producers,

grape varieties and characteristics,

the workshop includes a tasting of

four different champagnes.

Call ahead to secure a place

(villabissinger.com; 15 Rue

Jeanson, Ay; 2.30pm first Sat of

the month Apr–Oct; from

US$27).

MUMM

Pronounced ‘moom’, Mumm is a

convenient tasting stop in central

Reims, founded in 1827. Engaging

and edifying guided tours take

you through cellars filled with 25

million bottles of fine bubbly and

conclude with a tasting. Phone

ahead to book if possible

(mumm.com; 34 Rue du Champ

de Mars; 9.30am–1pm &

2pm–6pm daily, shorter hours &

closed Sun Nov–Dec; tours incl

tasting from US$20).

TAITTINGER

The headquarters of Taittinger are

an excellent place to see a clear

presentation on how champagne

is made. Parts of the cellars, now

Unesco-listed, were 4th-century

Roman stone quarries; other bits

were dug by 13th-century monks.

The maison is a mile southeast of

central Reims (taittinger.com;

9 Place Saint-Niçaise; 9.30am–

5.30pm daily Apr–mid-Nov,

shorter hours & closed weekends

rest of year; tours from US$18.50).

ÉPERNAY’S AVENUE DU

CHAMPAGNE

This handsome street in the

region’s champagne capital is lined

with mansions and maisons de

champagne. Moët & Chandon and

Mercier are both based here; the

tours at Moët are impressive,

offering a peek into its 17-mile

labyrinth of cellars (uk.moet.com;

20 Ave de Champagne; 9.30am–

11.30am & 2pm–4.30pm daily

mid-Mar–mid-Nov, Mon–Fri rest of

year, closed Jan; from US$25).

C. COMME

There’s a relaxed ambience at

this champagne bar in Épernay,

which offers tasting plates and

a stash of 350 varieties of

champagne in its cellar ready

for sampling (from £5 a glass).

The bar-bistro is kitted out with

funky bottle-top tables, and

plates include rillettes (pâté),

regional cheese and charcuterie

(c-comme.fr; 8 Rue Gambetta;

10am–8pm, to midnight Fri–

Sat, 3pm–9pm Wed; dishes

from US$9).

LA CAVE

À CHAMPAGNE

‘The Champagne Cellar’ is rated

by locals for its champenoise

cuisine – such as snail and pig’s

trotter casserole, and fillet of

beef in pinot noir – served in a

warm, traditional atmosphere

in Épernay. The restaurant also

offers a tasting flight of four

champagnes for £24 (la-cave-a-

champagne.com; 16 Rue

Gambetta; lunch Thu–Tue,

dinner Thu–Mon; menus from

US$21 for three courses).

PATISSERIE VINCENT

DALLET

This sweet dream of a

chocolaterie, patisserie and

tearoom is the place to come for

a champenoise speciality called

the ‘Baba’ – vanilla cream

topped by a cork-shaped pastry

flavoured with champagne. Or

order the café gourmand: coffee

with a selection of mini desserts,

costing US$9 (chocolat-

vincentdallet.fr; 26 Rue du

Général Leclerc, Épernay;

7.30am–7.45pm Tue–Sun).

A château run by the owners of

the Musée de la Vigne et du Vin

Champagne bottles in ‘pupitres’

(wooden racks) at Taittinger

A platter of local cheeses to go

with champagne at C.Comme

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MINI GUIDE