Champagne Tasting & Vineyard Tour from Epernay: 15 tastings

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Free cancellationExcellent quality

1/44

Duration7h–8h

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN · FR

PickupAt your hotel

Fifteen tastings across four stops: Champagne, Ratafia, Marc, and the villages that make them

A private, full-day Champagne tasting experience from Epernay that combines a playful aroma workshop, visits to 3 independent family producers, and 15 commented tastings of Grand Cru and Premier Cru Champagnes paired with regional dishes. You'll drive through UNESCO-listed vineyards, stop in the Côte des Blancs, and walk the famous Avenue de Champagne where 200 million bottles rest in cellars below. The guide speaks English or French and handles all transport and tastings; lunch and snacks are included.

7h–8h

Step-by-step itinerary

Champagne tasting and vineyard visits

Start workshop on Champagne aromas
Taste 9 Grand Cru and Premier Cru Champagnes
Discover Ratafias, Fine de la Marne, and Marc de Champagne
Visit Champagne bar and taste Coteaux-Champenois wines
Stop in Aÿ-Champagne vineyard and learn viticulture
Lunch with Grand Cru Champagnes and regional dishes
Drive through Marne Valley and Côte des Blancs
Visit third Champagne producer and taste Grand Cru Champagnes with biscuits
Walk along Avenue de Champagne in Epernay
End day with a French surprise discovery

The Experience

The day starts with a workshop where you learn to identify the three grape varieties that define Champagne—Pinot Noir, Meunier and Chardonnay—by their aromas, then taste them again across different Champagnes to lock in what you've learned. If you pass the olfactory test, you get a Champagne knowledge certificate. From there, the tastings build: 9 Grand Cru and Premier Cru Champagnes in different styles (Blanc de blancs, Blanc de noirs, rosé, extra brut, natural, aged in oak), plus three regional spirits—Ratafia, Fine de la Marne and Marc de Champagne from the Goyard Distillery—each one commented and paired with local dishes. Ratafia, a sweet wine made from Champagne grapes, is little-known outside the region; you'll taste several versions and discover why it's a regional treasure.

The route moves through the villages and vineyards that produce what you're tasting. In Aÿ, a Grand Cru village famous for Pinot Noir since the 16th century, you'll stop in the vineyard itself to see the work of the vines and the terroir. Lunch happens at a winemaker's estate, where you taste their Grand Cru and Premier Cru Champagnes and Ratafias alongside charcuterie, regional cheeses (Chaource, Langres, Jambon de Reims), duck rillettes, and traditional French bread, finishing with chocolate filled with Ratafia and Biscuits Roses of Reims. In the afternoon, you drive through the Côte des Blancs, the kingdom of Chardonnay, passing the famous villages Cramant and Avize on the way to the third family producer.

At the third estate, you visit the press, winery and cellar while learning more about how Champagne is made, then taste more Grand Cru Champagnes with Biscuits Roses from the original 1756 recipe. A commented passage through Epernay's Avenue de Champagne—called the most expensive avenue in the world—shows you the grand houses of Moët & Chandon, Perrier Jouët and Pol Roger, with their cellars holding 200 million bottles beneath the street. The day runs 7 to 8 hours, with private transport and a local guide throughout.

What’s included

15 commented tastings of 9 Grand Cru and Premier Cru Champagnes, Ratafia, Fine de la Marne, Marc de Champagne and Coteaux-Champenois.
private visits and tastings at 3 family estates.
the aroma workshop with Champagne knowledge certificate if you pass.
lunch with regional charcuterie, cheeses and dishes paired with Champagnes and Ratafias.
snacks with Biscuits Roses at the third estate.
private transportation and a local guide in English or French.
pickup and drop-off within 6 kilometers of Epernay.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPublic transport nearby

Operated by Aÿ-Champagne Experience

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to taste Champagne in the villages and estates where it's made, not just in a tasting room—the visits to 3 family producers and the stops in the vineyards themselves are what turn the tastings into a story about terroir and the people who work it.