A first champagne tasting in Champagne can be a guided tour of a house's cellars that ends with a tasting, or an appointment with a grower in the villages who shows you the press house and cellar.
This page covers how to reach the houses from Paris, when they open, what a visit involves, the terms on the label, how to taste, and what it costs.
Getting there
The fastest way in is the direct TGV from Paris Gare de l'Est to Reims-Centre, which takes 45 minutes. Direct trains from Gare de l'Est to Épernay take 1 hour 20 minutes.
| Option | From | To | Time | Changes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TGV | Paris Gare de l'Est | Reims-Centre | 45 minutes | 0 |
| Train | Paris Gare de l'Est | Épernay | 1h20 | 0 |
| Car | Paris | Épernay (140 km) | 1h30 | — |
Reims has a second station, Champagne-Ardenne TGV in Bezannes, linked to the city by tram. Book a ticket to Reims-Centre if your house is in the city. For the full rail picture, see Paris to Reims by train and Paris to Épernay by train.
The regional Ligne des Bulles train runs between Reims and Épernay about every 30 minutes, stopping at Rilly-la-Montagne, Germaine, Avenay-Val-d'Or and Aÿ-Champagne. The Avenue de Champagne is a 5-minute walk from Épernay station. See Reims to Épernay and Champagne without a car for the details.
By car, Épernay is 140 km from Paris, about 1 hour 30 minutes, or up to 1 hour 45 minutes in traffic.
When to go
The Comité Champagne says Champagne can be visited in any season. Mercier and G.H. Mumm open on fewer days in winter.
- Moët & Chandon in Épernay opens daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Mercier in Épernay opens daily from April 6 to November 15, then Wednesday to Sunday from November 18 to December 27, with an annual closure from the evening of December 30.
- G.H. Mumm in Reims opens every day from May 1 to October 31, Thursday to Monday from March 1 to April 30 and November 1 to December 21, and Thursday to Saturday from January 15 to February 28.
Champagne Louis Brochet closes on weekends, the week of August 15 and Christmas week, and Champagne Joseph Desruets closes on Wednesdays and Sundays.
Harvest begins about 90 days after full flowering, typically in September, though in recent years it has often started as early as mid-August. Every grape is picked by hand, because the clusters must reach the press whole. The Champagne et Vous festival in late October adds estate tours and meetings with winemakers.
Visiting the estates
At Taittinger in Reims, the visit is a guided tour of the cellars and Gallo-Roman crayères, then a guided tasting, in 35 to 55 minutes, in French or English.
How champagne is made
After blending, the wine is bottled with a liqueur de tirage of still wine, sugar and yeast. The yeast consumes the sugar in the bottle, releasing alcohol and bubbles.
The bottles then rest on their lees for at least 15 months before release, and vintage champagnes for at least three years. In practice, non-vintage wines age 2 to 3 years and vintage champagne 4 to 10 years, in dark cellars at a steady temperature of around 12°C.
Riddling racks are called pupitres. Riddling turns and gradually tilts each bottle neck-down to move the sediment into the neck. By hand it takes 4 to 6 weeks; machines that handle metal racks of 500 bottles take one week.
At disgorgement the neck is plunged into a solution at about -27°C, freezing the sediment into a plug that the pressure pushes out when the bottle is opened. The dosage, a little cane sugar dissolved in wine, goes in just before corking: about 1 cl per 75 cl bottle for a brut.
Houses in Épernay and Aÿ
Every Mercier tour includes a driverless train through the cellars at no extra cost. The tours run from The Founder, a 45-minute audio-guided visit with one glass of Blanc de Noirs, to Bubble Talk, a 1 hour 30 minute guided tour with three glasses. A tasting at the Mercier visitor center without a tour needs no reservation.
At Moët & Chandon, The Imperial Moment is a 1 hour 30 minute cellar tour with Moët Impérial and Rosé Impérial. Visits without a booking are possible, but places are limited and the house recommends booking online.
Aÿ is a stop on the Ligne des Bulles. Ayala takes visits by reservation from Tuesday to Saturday. Its Introduction to the AYALA style is a 30-minute guided tasting of two champagnes with no cellar tour, and the AYALA Experience adds the cellars and a third champagne over 1 hour 30 minutes.
Houses in Reims
In Reims, G.H. Mumm runs all its tours on foot in 1 hour 30 minutes. The Cordon Rouge tour includes one tasting, and the Pinot Noir Celebration and Vintage Grand Cru tours include two.
Growers in the villages
Champagne has more than 16,000 growers, who own and tend nearly 90% of the area under vine. The growers below receive visitors by appointment.
- Champagne Louis Brochet, Écueil: 20 minutes from Reims. The visit covers vineyard work, winemaking, the aging cellar and the disgorging and bottling areas, then three cuvées. Open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., in English, French and Russian.
- Champagne Joseph Desruets, Hautvillers: a visit of the press house, vat room and a cellar of vintages aged in oak barrels, ending with two or three champagnes of your choice. Open 10 a.m. to noon and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
- Champagne H. Goutorbe, Aÿ: a cellar visit and tasting in the family's 17th-century vaulted cellars, by appointment only, Tuesday to Saturday, in English, French or German.
Walk-in tastings
On the Avenue de Champagne in Épernay, walk-in means a tasting at a bar, boutique or caveau without a booking. Cellar visits there usually still need a reservation, and some places close between noon and 2 p.m. in low season.
Styles and terms
Pinot noir covers 38% of the vineyard and gives body and structure, chardonnay covers 31% and brings freshness, and meunier covers 31% and adds roundness.
- Blanc de blancs: made only from white grapes, mainly chardonnay.
- Blanc de noirs: made only from dark-skinned grapes, pinot noir and/or meunier.
- Rosé: made by macerating black grapes or by blending in red Champagne wine, at around 5 to 20%.
- Vintage: a year on the bottle means the wine comes from that harvest alone, with no reserve wines. Non-vintage brut is the most common champagne.
The dosage term on the label tells you how sweet the wine is. Over 90% of Champagne wines are brut.
- Brut nature: under 3 g of sugar per liter, with no added sugar.
- Extra brut: 0 to 6 g per liter.
- Brut: under 12 g per liter.
- Extra dry: 12 to 17 g per liter.
- Sec: 17 to 32 g per liter.
- Demi-sec: 32 to 50 g per liter.
- Doux: more than 50 g per liter.
A two-letter code before the registration number shows who made the wine. NM, for négociant-manipulant, covers the big houses that buy grapes, must or wine. RM, for récoltant-manipulant, is a grower making champagne only from its own vineyards. CM is a cooperative.
How to taste
The Comité Champagne recommends serving champagne at 8 to 10°C in a fairly tall, tulip-shaped glass, since the flute is too narrow for the aromas to develop.
Its tasting steps start with sound: listen to the opening and the pour. Then look at the color, from pale yellow to old gold or pink, and at the bubbles. Feel the glass, then smell and taste, giving the wine time to open up.
Spitting is normal at a tasting. Use the spittoon, take small sips, and leave a glass unfinished if you have had enough. Eat before a visit, and space out the houses through the day.
What it costs
A first tasting costs €15–90 ($16–97). A tasting alone at a grower starts at €15 ($16), and an entry-level house visit with a cellar tour runs from €25 ($27) to €90 ($97).
- Mercier, Épernay: The Founder €25 ($27), Mercier Duo €30 ($32), Golden Bubbles €35 ($38), guided tours €45 ($49). Teenagers aged 10 to 17 pay €12 ($13), and children under 10 go free.
- Moët & Chandon, Épernay: The Imperial Moment €48 ($52), Signature €65 ($70), Grand Vintage €85 ($92).
- Ayala, Aÿ: tasting €30 ($32), the AYALA Experience €60 ($65).
- G.H. Mumm, Reims: Cordon Rouge €30 ($32), Pinot Noir Celebration €42 ($45), Vintage Grand Cru €60 ($65).
- Reims houses: G.H. Martel from €28 ($30), Veuve Clicquot €36 ($39), Taittinger €40 ($43), Ruinart €90 ($97).
- Champagne Louis Brochet: tasting €15 ($16), tour and tasting €32 ($35).
- Champagne Joseph Desruets: tasting €15–25 ($16–27), tour and tasting €25–35 ($27–38).
At Taittinger, children aged 7 to 17 pay €25 ($27) and taste chardonnay juice. Mercier offers teenagers and children an alternative to the glass of champagne. For booking rules and cancellations, see Booking champagne house visits.
Before you go
- Book ahead: most champagne houses require advance booking for guided tours and tastings, especially on weekends, public holidays and in summer. In high season the Reims tourist office calls advance booking essential.
- Bring a warm layer. The cellars are cold even in summer, at 10 to 12°C at Mercier and 8 to 12°C at Taittinger.
- The legal driving limit in France is 0.5 g of alcohol per liter of blood (0.25 mg per liter of exhaled air), and 0.2 g per liter on a probationary license.
Mumm admits under-18s only with an adult, and Mercier requires a booking for every minor.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to drink everything I'm poured at a champagne tasting?
No. Spitting is normal at tastings, so use the spittoon. Take small sips, leave what you don't want, and spit every glass if you are driving. The French limit is 0.5 g of alcohol per liter of blood.
What does brut mean on a champagne label?
Brut is a dosage term for champagne with under 12 g of sugar per liter, and over 90% of Champagne wines are brut. Drier styles are extra brut and brut nature, while sec, demi-sec and doux are sweeter, up to more than 50 g per liter.
Can I do a champagne tasting without booking?
Yes, in places. Mercier pours at its visitor center with no reservation, Moët & Chandon accepts visitors without a booking when places remain, and bars, boutiques and caveaux on the Avenue de Champagne in Épernay pour walk-in glasses. Guided cellar tours usually need a reservation.
Is a grower visit different from a big house visit?
Grower visits are by appointment and smaller. At Champagne Louis Brochet near Reims, you see the vineyard work, aging cellar and disgorging area before tasting three cuvées. At a house such as Mumm, a guide leads a 1 hour 30 minute cellar tour on foot.
