Champagne region of France?
Jan 27th, 2007, 02:36 AM
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Champagne region of France?
Just curious about the Champagne region of France. I'm more a fan of champagne rather than wine, but I wonder if there are similar tours and tastings as you find in wine country. Anyone been, and have any recommendations/pictures? I'm working on planning a trip to France, then talking the boyfriend into it for our vacation 
Jan 27th, 2007, 02:47 AM
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You will probably get a lot of replies on this from people with more up to date knowledge. That said, fear not there is no shortage of wine tours and tastings in Champagne country! It is probably one of the most commercially developed wine regions in the world.
Head for Eperney (my preference) or Reims. They both have a large number of champagne "houses" most of which offer walk in tours of their cellars and facilities. There are well signposted driving routes to guide you through the vineyards and countryside.
Head for Eperney (my preference) or Reims. They both have a large number of champagne "houses" most of which offer walk in tours of their cellars and facilities. There are well signposted driving routes to guide you through the vineyards and countryside.
Jan 27th, 2007, 04:21 AM
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We took a day trip from Paris in December to Reims. With truly no knowledge of French, we did fine by using this official site. www.reims-tourisme.com. You can click on a translate button and it'll pop up in English. We made reservations at a couple of plaaces on the web, but wouldn't have been necessary in December. Perhaps would be for you depending on time of year. Have a good time. Don't forget Reims Cathedral.
Jan 27th, 2007, 05:04 AM
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We spent 3 nights in the Champagne region in December. My husband is really into wines; we've been to various wine growing regions of France and California. I'm stating this because although we thoroughly enjoyed Epernay and Reims, tasting champagne in this area is lovely but time consuming. Most require you to undergo tours that last an hour & 1/2 through the champagne caves - fantastic the 1st, maybe even 2nd time. The chalk caves run miles underground, notably Moet & Chandon which does an impressionable tour as did Veuve Clicquot (love their boutique store with those gorgeous signature yellow & pink colors and fun Clicquot merchandise).
After the walk through the caves and listening to why their particular champagne is better than their neighbors, you go into a tasting room to finally sip the heralded nectar. Needless to say, by the 2nd day, my husband was tired of underground treks and preferred to skip the tour and do the tasting - thus move on to the next champagne house. He usually is very patient so this says a lot!
Most champagne houses require appointments and refused his request to pay the same fee but just do the tasting. There is a law that the tour must be done, we were told in Piper Heidsick. The ones that did allow us to just do the tasting were Pommery (in Reims) and Mercier - the latter of which I did regret not doing that tour but we were with my German relatives and limited on time.
Go to the smaller champagne vineyards of Epernay; there are several that your hotel can make private appointments for you. We stayed in Epernay at the Villa Eugene - absolutely fabulous - extremely romantic, elegant and beautiful, very art deco. It's a mansion that was recently expertly remodeled. The atrium breakfast room with views of a delightful pool and gardens was one of the loveliest places we've seen, the floor tile mosaics were stunning. We stayed in a smaller, least expensive room and were quite content. Request a room in the back of the hotel as the traffic noise from the Avenue of Champagne can be loud, we were told.
You will need a car, unless you stay in Reims where a few of the champagne houses are a nice walk (except in cold weather!) from the center of town. The cathedral in Reims is very nice; if you go on a sunny day, the light from the stained glass windows reflects off the columns and Chagall's blue stained glass window is inspiring.
I recommend staying maybe just 2 nights here and then going on to the Alsace region, a few hours by train to Strasbourg and then renting a car and doing the Route de Vin there. Look at my previous postings on Alsace; this area still remains one of my favorites.
After the walk through the caves and listening to why their particular champagne is better than their neighbors, you go into a tasting room to finally sip the heralded nectar. Needless to say, by the 2nd day, my husband was tired of underground treks and preferred to skip the tour and do the tasting - thus move on to the next champagne house. He usually is very patient so this says a lot!
Most champagne houses require appointments and refused his request to pay the same fee but just do the tasting. There is a law that the tour must be done, we were told in Piper Heidsick. The ones that did allow us to just do the tasting were Pommery (in Reims) and Mercier - the latter of which I did regret not doing that tour but we were with my German relatives and limited on time.
Go to the smaller champagne vineyards of Epernay; there are several that your hotel can make private appointments for you. We stayed in Epernay at the Villa Eugene - absolutely fabulous - extremely romantic, elegant and beautiful, very art deco. It's a mansion that was recently expertly remodeled. The atrium breakfast room with views of a delightful pool and gardens was one of the loveliest places we've seen, the floor tile mosaics were stunning. We stayed in a smaller, least expensive room and were quite content. Request a room in the back of the hotel as the traffic noise from the Avenue of Champagne can be loud, we were told.
You will need a car, unless you stay in Reims where a few of the champagne houses are a nice walk (except in cold weather!) from the center of town. The cathedral in Reims is very nice; if you go on a sunny day, the light from the stained glass windows reflects off the columns and Chagall's blue stained glass window is inspiring.
I recommend staying maybe just 2 nights here and then going on to the Alsace region, a few hours by train to Strasbourg and then renting a car and doing the Route de Vin there. Look at my previous postings on Alsace; this area still remains one of my favorites.
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