Champagne Wine Tours: Reims & Épernay
Champagne is made one way, the traditional method, and tasted best at the source: the grande maison cellars cut into the chalk under Reims, the Avenue de Champagne in Épernay, and the family growers in the villages between them. Compare the top-rated tours below, then read our notes on the wine and the day.
Champagne tours from Reims
Tastings and tours from Épernay
Formats: half-day tours from Reims to family growers with tastings; morning cellar visits to the grandes maisons; full days with three domains and lunch; tastings in the centre of Reims. Day trips from Paris are on our Paris wine tastings page.
What you taste: Champagne across its styles, brut, blanc de blancs from Chardonnay, blanc de noirs from Pinot Noir and Meunier, rosé and vintage, at both the great houses and the growers.
Price: 52 dollars for a tasting in Reims; 139 to 300 for a half or full day with a driver and cellar visits.
How Champagne is made
Every Champagne is made by the méthode traditionnelle: a second fermentation in the bottle you buy, then years ageing on the lees in cold cellars, which is where the fine bubble and the bread-and-brioche flavour come from. The three grapes are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier; a blanc de blancs is all Chardonnay, a blanc de noirs all black grapes. The distinction that matters on a visit is between the grandes maisons, the famous houses that blend across villages and years, and the récoltant-manipulant, the growers who make wine only from their own vines. Tasting both in a day is the education.
Reims and Épernay
Reims has the cathedral and the great houses, Taittinger, Veuve Clicquot, Pommery, whose cellars run through the crayères, the chalk pits the Romans dug, now filled with millions of bottles. Épernay, half an hour south, has the Avenue de Champagne, a single street under which Moët & Chandon, Perrier-Jouët and others store their wine, said to be the most valuable avenue in the world. Between and around them are the grower villages of the Montagne de Reims and the Côte des Blancs, a UNESCO landscape, where the family tours happen.
How to visit
Reims is about 45 minutes from Paris by TGV, so many people come for the day; tours with a driver from Reims reach the growers you cannot get to by train. For the Paris-based day trips with tastings and lunch, see our Paris wine tastings and Champagne day trips.
Frequently asked questions
Reims or Épernay for Champagne?
Reims for the grand houses and the chalk cellars; Épernay for the Avenue de Champagne. They are 30 minutes apart and a good tour takes in both worlds, house and grower.
Can I do Champagne as a day trip from Paris?
Yes; Reims is 45 minutes by TGV, and guided day trips include the transport and the growers. See our Paris wine tastings page.
What is grower Champagne?
Champagne made by the family that grew the grapes, rather than blended by a big house; look for récoltant-manipulant on the label.
How we choose
We list only experiences with a strong rating over a meaningful number of reviews and free cancellation where available, and we favour small-group and family-run hosts. FindEatLocal earns a commission when you book through GetYourGuide or Viator links on this page; it doesn’t change the price you pay. More about how we choose.