Champagne
The very name is synonymous with celebration; it is the wine of kings and the king of wines. Champagne-Ardenne is a very special place for the connoisseur of fine wines. The region abounds in lakes, forests, pretty floral villages and steep hillsides covered in the precious vines. Underneath this chalk and limestone, hundreds of miles of rock have been excavated to provide underground galleries for the housing and maturing of the wine.
Reims, the city of kings and the gateway to Champagne is less than 2 ½ hours drive from Calais and an ideal location for a Grape Weekend. The city is home to no less than 3 UNESCO world heritage sites, including one of the finest gothic cathedrals in northern Europe where 25 kings of France were crowned.
The region is rich in possibilities, from cultural tours in the city to walking and cycling among the vines. Alternatively, for a truly unique experience, try abseiling 30 metres into the cellars of a Champagne maker or learning the art of sabrage - taking the top off your Champagne bottle in exuberant style - with a Sabre.
Champagne is the most famous of all sparkling wines. Blended from base wines using up to three different grape varieties (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier) and grown in many different vineyards, the best Champagne houses use as many as 100 different base wines to ensure the consistency of their non vintage Champagne each year. The blanc de blanc Champagnes (made from 100% Chardonnay) are clean and elegant with great aging potential, while the addition of Pinot Noir adds backbone, body and structure and the Pinot Meunier adds floral overtones and fruitiness.
As the UK’s biggest specialist Champagne tour operator, we are able to offer a wide variety of trips to the region spanning 11 months of the year. We have 45 Champagne Weekends in 2008 alone! On every weekend tour or Champagne holiday, you can choose the type of accommodation that you wish to stay in and add extra nights as desired. For those who wish to extend their stay, our standard service includes providing you with recommendations of additional Champagne houses that you may like to visit and arranging these appointments if required.
All our weekends are designed to give customers a full insight into the Champagne making process. We always include a visit to one of the prestigious houses based in the centre of Reims or Epernay. The sight of millions of bottles of Champagne maturing in the underground cellars is truly breath-taking. Some of the cellars are within chalk Crayères which were excavated by the Romans and others were purpose built over the last 150 years. The visit to the prestigious house will include a tour of the cellars and conclude with tastings of their Champagnes.
Whilst the large houses show the majesty and grandeur that can be found in Champagne making, there is nothing better than meeting the maker and seeing the passion which he or she puts into their art. We therefore focus our tours on visiting the smaller houses where you can do just this. Your Champange Break will include a visit to a house that concentrates on the vineyards, where you will see the vines in their varying states during the year and learn about the soil and climatic influences on Champagne making. There will be another small house where you will concentrates on the work in the winery – looking at the presses, fermentation and disgorgement process. One of these smaller houses will be a Grand Cru house where the Champagne is produced using grapes from the very best vineyard plots in the region.
As seasoned Grape Escapes clients will know, in addition to the Champagne, we also consider fine dining to be a prerequisite. Therefore each tour also includes a lunch, either at a local restaurant, Champagne house or in the case of the deluxe tour, a Michelin starred restaurant. If eating as the guest of a Champagne House, the meal will be accompanied by a range of their Champagnes (and still wines where these are sold separately). For the restaurant meals, Champagnes and premium wines are selected to accompany the meal and to demonstrate the breadth of wine making styles that France offers.
For those who want to learn about Champagne but like something more active, we are again running our adventure tours where you will abseil 100ft into the Champagne cellars at a medium house. You will then visit a smaller house where you will start your visit by learning Sabrage (the art of opening the Champagne bottle with a sword) before enjoying lunch accompanied by all of the Champagnes that the group has opened. The visit will conclude with a tour of the full Champagne making process at the house.
As well as learning about the champagne making process, all our tours include a local English speaking tour guide who will give you information on the region, its specialities and history.
For full details of what is included in each package, please see the descriptions below
The flexibility offered by Grape Escapes isn’t limited to the tour dates, but also includes the type of accommodation and travel method you prefer. Our standard tours are based on self drive to the Champagne region so you are able to select a channel crossing time to suit yourself, however alternative transport options are detailed elsewhere on this leaflet. We can also create a broader wine tour into Chablis and onwards to the heart of Burgundy if you would like a longer break.
The Grape Escapes way
For each Grape Escapes tour, we carefully select a number of Champagne Houses of different sizes who create wines in a variety of styles. We exercise the same care in choosing the restaurants that we visit. The Champagne Houses and restaurants we visit are dotted around Reims and Epernay.
To ensure the quality of your Grape Escape, we strictly limit the number of guests on each tour. Unlike other operators who usually take in excess of 35 people in a coach (and some upwards of 50), we limit all Grape Escape tours to 24 people. This has a number of benefits including access to the broadest range of Champagne Houses and restaurants, better service and less wasted time and a more social and intimate atmosphere on the tour. Our aim is always for you to enjoy your holiday in Champagne.
