Reims Champagne Houses
Oct 6th, 2015, 03:27 PM
#1
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Reims Champagne Houses
Hi Fodors Friends-
I have a few questions as a newbie to the Champagne region. My Mom, sister & I are traveling to the Champagne region for ~1.5 days (early wednesday train from Paris>late Thursday). We plan to spend the first day in Reims, visit one major Champagne house for a thorough tour & tasting, then hope to visit 1-2 additional smaller boutique houses/producers. Does anyone have a recommendation on specific large & boutique houses?
We will be staying overnight in Reims, then taking the train back to Paris the following afternoon. Does it make sense to take a brief day trip to Epernay, or do you anticipate it may feel too rushed? If recommended, we could hire a driver so we can all enjoy the Epernay tastings.
In terms of major champagne house options in Reims, I have heard general recommendations for Veuve & Dom Perignon, Ruinart for their caves, and Krug as fancy. I appreciate any additional feedback you all may have.
Merci!
I have a few questions as a newbie to the Champagne region. My Mom, sister & I are traveling to the Champagne region for ~1.5 days (early wednesday train from Paris>late Thursday). We plan to spend the first day in Reims, visit one major Champagne house for a thorough tour & tasting, then hope to visit 1-2 additional smaller boutique houses/producers. Does anyone have a recommendation on specific large & boutique houses?
We will be staying overnight in Reims, then taking the train back to Paris the following afternoon. Does it make sense to take a brief day trip to Epernay, or do you anticipate it may feel too rushed? If recommended, we could hire a driver so we can all enjoy the Epernay tastings.
In terms of major champagne house options in Reims, I have heard general recommendations for Veuve & Dom Perignon, Ruinart for their caves, and Krug as fancy. I appreciate any additional feedback you all may have.
Merci!
Oct 7th, 2015, 01:17 AM
#2
Hi, welcome to Fodors
Your selection for Reims looks good to me, there are others but these are fine, I can't remember if they are close by to each other so factor in any movement time.
I love Epernay but can see little reason to visit it with a visit to Reims, it is a very different town (country market farm town/ historical ancient city with wine) though the train dows stop on the Montagne de Reims (I think, don't trust me on this) so if you want a wander in the woods and a look down on acres of vines you can do that.
In Reims, don't miss the Cathedral and consider eating in the old Forum area, a fair few restaurants in this old Roman centre (all that is left is underground, but you can look at old walls in the car park, also underground) and new ones spring up every so often. There is also a Carnegie Library in town for thos who want to know where all the money went.
Your selection for Reims looks good to me, there are others but these are fine, I can't remember if they are close by to each other so factor in any movement time.
I love Epernay but can see little reason to visit it with a visit to Reims, it is a very different town (country market farm town/ historical ancient city with wine) though the train dows stop on the Montagne de Reims (I think, don't trust me on this) so if you want a wander in the woods and a look down on acres of vines you can do that.
In Reims, don't miss the Cathedral and consider eating in the old Forum area, a fair few restaurants in this old Roman centre (all that is left is underground, but you can look at old walls in the car park, also underground) and new ones spring up every so often. There is also a Carnegie Library in town for thos who want to know where all the money went.
Oct 7th, 2015, 01:18 AM
#3
I wrote this a few years back, may help.
http://www.mybikeguide.co.uk/Champagne_Cellars.php
http://www.mybikeguide.co.uk/Champagne_Cellars.php
Oct 7th, 2015, 03:05 AM
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The wineries are all pretty much the same - barrels and bottles in mineshafts driven into chalk.
For a small winery which is a bit different, I would recommend Launois in Le-Mesnil-sur-Oger because they have an extensive Champagne museum too. Would however require a car to get there.
For a small winery which is a bit different, I would recommend Launois in Le-Mesnil-sur-Oger because they have an extensive Champagne museum too. Would however require a car to get there.
Oct 7th, 2015, 10:31 AM
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Ruinart offers a longer, smaller group tour than most of the others but it's also more expensive.
Dom Perignon is produced by Moet & Chandon which is located in Epernay. I don't know if they offer a specific Dom Perignon tour.
I'm not aware that Krug offers public tours.
We took a half day tour from Reims that visited a small producer in Hautvillers and also stopped in Epernay. If you click on my screen name, you can find my trip report which details other things we did in Reims.
Dom Perignon is produced by Moet & Chandon which is located in Epernay. I don't know if they offer a specific Dom Perignon tour.
I'm not aware that Krug offers public tours.
We took a half day tour from Reims that visited a small producer in Hautvillers and also stopped in Epernay. If you click on my screen name, you can find my trip report which details other things we did in Reims.
Oct 7th, 2015, 11:40 AM
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I took a recent day trip to Reims. After visiting the Cathedral we took the train to Rilly la Montagne - which is about 10 minutes away.
The town was very quiet, but charming and we managed to have a walk-in tasting there at Daniel Dumont.
It was fun wandering around for a bit before taking the train back to Reims - leaving just enough time for a glass of Champagne at the train station before our train back to Paris.
The town was very quiet, but charming and we managed to have a walk-in tasting there at Daniel Dumont.
It was fun wandering around for a bit before taking the train back to Reims - leaving just enough time for a glass of Champagne at the train station before our train back to Paris.
