Food & Champagne Experience from Epernay (Private tour)

The workshop, experiences, tastings and visits are planned in famous vineyards and villages typical of Champagne around Epernay the Capital of Champagne : Aÿ-Champagne, famous for its Pinot Noir Grand Cru and its prestigious Houses such as Bollinger and Deutz, Mareuil-sur-Aÿ where Billecart-Salmon, Philipponnat are located, Oger in the Côte des Blancs and Monthelon. In order to better understand all the gourmet pairings selected for you during this day, you'll start at a producer with a playful workshop to discover the aromas of Champagne and then rediscover them during the tasting of different Champagnes. If you successfully pass the olfactory and taste test, we'll give you a Champagne knowledge certificate! You will taste during the day 9 Grand Cru/Premier Cru Champagnes blended or single varietals Champagne as Blanc de blancs, Blanc de noirs and discover non-dosed natural Champagnes, extra brut, brut, dry, rosé, from very old vines, vintages, single plots or aged in oak barrels.

During the tour, in addition to Champagnes, you'll discover the 3 famous Champagne alcohols : several Ratafias will be tasted but also Fine de la Marne and Marc de Champagne from the Goyard Distillery. Ratafia is a sweet wine made from the same grape varieties as Champagne. A treasure that is still relatively unknown outside of the Champagne region because it is not widely exported, it offers an unrivalled range of flavours and aromas that you will discover with us. You'll be a fan for sure! Fine and Marc are Champagne brandies that are very popular as digestives. All the tastings will be commented and have been selected in harmony with typical dishes. In Ay, you'll also discover in a Champagne bar and food the Coteaux-Champenois, famous Champagne wine with a Controlled Designation of Origin (CDO) which can be red, white or rosé. The Coteaux-Champenois will accompany foie gras and snails for the more adventurous, otherwise sea bass rillettes with truffle, scallops or white pudding.

In the famous village and vineyard Grand Cru of Aÿ-Champagne,, a stop is also planned in the heart of the vineyard to understand the work of the vine, the grape varieties, this exceptional terroir and sustainable viticulture. The village of Aÿ was the main center of the Champagne industry in the 16th century. The kings of France had their own wine presses here and the wines of Champagne used to be called “Wines of Aÿ”. The vineyard predominantly planted with Pinot Noir is classified as Grand Cru at the highest level of the Champagne Appellation.

Lunch is then planned at a winemaker's where you will taste his Grand Cru and Premier Cru Champagnes, as well as different Ratafias (including a unique one in the world produced from one of the forgotten grape varieties of Champagne) paired with a mixed platter of charcuterie and cheeses with specialties of the region such as Jambon de Reims, the exceptional local cheeses such as Chaource and Langres but also cured ham, duck rillettes with Ratafia, duck breast, accompanied of course by the unmissable traditional French baguette. The sweet touch will be brought by a chocolate filled with ratafia and a dessert based on a famous sweet culinary specialty of the region: the Biscuit Rose of Reims.

In the morning during this gourmet tour, you will discover the Marne Valley and its historic hillsides listed as World Heritage Site by UNESCO where Champagne was born. In the afternoon, on the road to the third winegrower, we will drive through the famous Côte des Blancs, kingdom of the Chardonnay Grand Cru of Champagne ant its famous villages Cramant and Avize.

During the visit to this third family of Champagne independent producers for several generations in one of the villages most renowned for its Chardonnay Grand Cru, we will talk again about the Champagne making process during a visit to the press, winery and cellar. Here, at snack time, you will taste other Grand Cru Champagnes accompanied by Biscuits roses of Reims from the Biscuiterie Fossier in the original recipe dating from 1756 and in the form of a crunchy macaroon. The day will end with a typical French surprise discovery, trust us, you will love it !

A commented passage is also planned in the very famous "Avenue de Champagne" in Epernay, the capital of the Champagne vineyards, where the superb properties and production buildings of the Champagne Houses Moët & Chandon, Perrier Jouët, Pol Roger, etc. are located.