Going to Champagne
 

We'll be driving from Disney Paris (thank goodness we're not going to Disney) :D and driving to the Champagne/Reims area.

First stop Tattinger for the tour.
Can you suggest a second stop. I'd prefer to do a small producer, rather than one of the large houses; unless you feel that a large house would be preferable to a small producer.

Related question... In the States, everyone knows not to make a purchase at a winery. You're paying the regular street price or above. Does this logic hold true in France? Should I buy at a local store, or will I get ripped off buying champagne at Tattinger?

I would recommend a stop at one of the small producers in Le Mesnil sur Oger, such as Bardy-Chauffert. This is one of the few towns that offers pure blanc de blanc (100% chardonnay). With a bit of courtesy, you'll receive a warm welcome and full tour of their "champagne production facility", i.e. their basement and backyard, and may even be invited to stay for lunch...

Champagne Pierre Moncuit, also in le Mesnil sur Oger, is one of my favorite brands :)

you should not get ripped off (i really hate that term) if you buy from one of the small producers.

Depends on where you live. If you live in the US you will probably find Champagne much cheaper at home--due to, among other things, exchange rates. This is true of the big brands.

However, you will also find many varieties which you would never find in the US--some great, some not so great--locally. Try the vintage Champagnes from smaller producers for a very local experience. And don't worry too much about getting ripped-off. Just about anything in Euros is a ripoff for Americans these days. Thank you, Mr. Bush. :)

Yes, but I have been told by a couple of people that the big Champagne houses sell the good stuff in France and export the not-so-good stuff to the US. Is that true? If so, it might be worth it to to some people to buy a big-name bottle in France.

Kate_Canuck, I believe, wrote a nice description of her visit to Bardy-Chauffert last summer which made me want to go there too.

Thanks everyone. I've been taking good notes. ^

This will, no doubt, be news to the fancy French restaurants in NY and L.A. that serve expensive Champagne. :) In other words, baloney. However, a lot of folks claim that the best stuff comes from the smaller houses which you cannot always find in the US (or even France).

Champagne, especially the costlier stuff, is an export oriented business. If you are worried about this "problem" run your own taste tests and report back. :D

I've only been to Reims and Epernay (getting there by train.) Each of these have tourist offices which can give you maps of the region and hours of the tastings and tours. Many of these close for lunch from 12:00 to 14:00. Since you have a car you can cover more ground than on foot. Even though Piper Heidsick (sp?) is a "big name", they have a nice tour--they use a mini-train to go through their underground caves--worth taking.
In any event, don't miss going to the Cathedral in Reims (the tourist office is a block away.)
PS: During the summer "tourist" season, most of the champagne houses are open 7 days a week.

Definitely see the cathedral Notre Dame de Reims, where the French kings were crowned. There is an interesting stained glass window inside devoted to champagne. Also, a modern window by Marc Chagall.

We travelled by TGV from Paris for the afternoon and toured Taittinger and Pommery. Neither is a small house, but both have interesting tours. The advantage of Taittinger is that you don't need reservations. Pommery features revolving displays of art in the caves.

We did this, also, and found it an enjoyable day. As wsflyer points out, you don't need formal reservations with Taittinger, but the tour you join may very well be conducted in French - some knowledge of the language will be necessary.

The tour I took of Taittinger was in English--and Chinese. The tour guide did not particularly appreciate that the leader of a Chinese tour group translated everything she said into Chinese: it slowed down her tour a bit, but she gamely adjusted. I believe that English tours are frequent; perhaps you may have to wait a little bit for an English tour (we didn't).

For Pommery, I made reservations online, but they were lost. After politely insisting that we would not wait 90 minutes for the next tour, we received a personal tour. It was very enjoyable. I am just glad I brought the e-mail confirming our reservation. Otherwise, we would have been out of luck.

Tattinger tour cost 10 euros.

Tasted the Brut at the end. I thought they would taste multiple types of champagne. Champagne cost is cheapr here than in town. I've never seen so many different producers in my life. :eek: :D

Interesting tour. Worth the 10 euros... you'll have to decide.

Reims is not some cute little town. It's hugh!!
Epernay is more like what I thought Reims would be. Much smaller and very European.

Both are train accessible.

de Castellane
 

It is one of the larger Champagne Maisons in Epernay, but I really enjoyed the tour. It's only 5 euros (I think) and although the museum seems a bit old and cheesy, once the tour gets going its very informative. Instead of just showing you the caves, the tour includes all stages of bottling and production right up to being put in boxes to ship out.

It is amazing how everything touristic has been turned into a profit center.

When I did the Champagne tours (admittedly years ago) they were all free. And more than worth it! :)

It is certainly worth it to rent a car and go out to the smaller producers. A much more authentic experience, rather than a touristic profit center.