Champagne tasting lunch. Registered guide, entrance fees & tastings, Vranken Pommery & Family Champagne estate.

Itinerary

Pick-up is at 9:30 AM in the outside forecourt of the Reims Train Station, facing the park.
Your Guide will have the gray Mercedes minivan parked in front of the Tourist Office to the right as you exit the station.

Guided tour of Reims, city of coronations.

Your day will start by sightseeing the vibrant City Centre, a place full of charm, layers of unique history and regional culinary delights.

Guided tour and tasting at world famous Grande Maison de Champagne Vranken Pommery (Visit included with 2 glasses of Champagne).

Pommery proposes a tour of its cellars and Gallo-Roman crayères (chalk pits). Discover the magnificent Elizabethan style buildings in the depth of the cellars, at 30 metres below the ground. You will experience every aspect of the wine-making process and discover the contemporary art exhibition, Experience Pommery. At the end of your visit, you will be able to taste a glass of the house's emblematic cuvée, Pommery Brut Royal and a glass of Millesime 2008.

*English being the most common language for our customers, the tours in the Grandes Maisons de Champagne folllows suit.

*If an unforeseen circumstance arises affecting the Vranken Pommery tour, it may be replaced by one at the House of Mumm or Taittinger.

Guided tour of the Cathedral of Reims.

A Unesco World Heritage Site, the 13th century Notre-Dame de Reims Cathedral is one of Europe's most important Gothic structures. You will be captivated by the enormity, the hypnotizing stained glass windows and the exceptionally rich statuary (there are over 2300 figures - and among them the famous Smiling Angel). Here King Clovis was baptized late in the Fifth Century AD, giving birth to the Kingdom of the Franks and started a lasting tradition: between 1027 and 1825 all but two Kings of France were coronated here!

Reims Mountain Grand Cru Vineyards.

Then we'll leave the city and drive through the Grand Cru vineyards on the Mountain of Reims, where the Scenic Route of Champagne winds its way between fields of barley, vinyards, forests and picturesque villages such as Verzy, Verzenay and Mailly. Realm of the Pinot Noir varietal, the Mountain of Reims is known for its special "terroir" that gives Champagne much of its power and character. We'll take a tranquil, picturesque pause in such a vineyard to take it all in with our own five senses.

Champagne Tasting Lunch* & Cellar Tours at a Champagne Grower's Family Domain.

In the heart of the Champagne’s Vineyards, you will be welcomed at a beautiful Champagne Grower's Family Estate. More that 4000 family winemakers contribute to the prestige of Champagne, keeping the Tradition alive from generation to generation with a common goal: the true expression of Champagne.

First you will experience a refined meal with authentic French ingredients which will be paired with different glasses of Champagne (Brut non vintage, Blanc de Noirs, Rosé). This Family of Growers is a Champagne Expert in assembling Pinot Noir with Chardonnay and Meunier grapes from Grand Cru and Premier Cru vines in the Mountain of Reims.

*According to their availability, lunch at the winery is subject to change and may be replaced by a comparable meal at a local restaurant.

Visit of the Production Site and Second Champagne Tasting

After Lunch we'll stroll to the production site to see how Champagne is made: the press, the winery's vats and barrels, the chalk cellar, the labelling machine. The lovely afternoon will finish with another tasting of 2 glasses of different Champagne wines from the same Family Grower, and a glass of their Ratafia (a sweet liquor made with Champagne brandy mixed with grape juice and aged in barrel). After heartfelt thank-yous and goodbyes we'll gently return you to the city of Reims.

Drop off is at 5:30 PM at the Reims Centre Train Station forecourt, or at your hotel.

English being the most common language for our customers, the tours in the Grandes Maisons de Champagne folllows suit.

This tour includes

• Transportation in a comfortably appointed minivan
• A semi-private English-speaking Guide
• Tour of Reims Cathedral
• Entry tickets and tastings at Vranken Pommery and at a family estate
• Champagne tasting lunch with drinks as described included.

This tour does not include

• Personal expenses
• Other meals and drinks
• Guide gratuity

Additional information

• Reims being only 60 minutes away from Paris by TGV, here is our train timetable and recommendations : to be advised shortly
• From Reims return to Paris : to be advised shortly
• Hotel pick up  is available for an additional 15.00 € per person (and only for hotels located in Reims city center).