Private Wine Tour in Champagne
With more than 20 years’ experience organizing private food and wine tours, Cellar Tours has designed this four-day Champagne journey to combine the region’s great houses, smaller growers, exceptional dining, and characterful hotels with the ease of a privately chauffeured Mercedes. From Reims and Épernay to Hautvillers and Troyes, we arrange everything in advance so you can focus on the Champagne rather than the logistics.
No other wine is like Champagne; it truly is charm, glamour, and sophistication in a bottle. Champagne lifts the spirits, lends a celebratory air, and pampers the soul. “Come quickly! I’m tasting stars!” Dom Pierre Pérignon, the 17th-century French Benedictine monk and cellar master at Hautvillers Abbey, is said to have exclaimed. Although this quote is steeped in legend, it’s succinct: Champagne has a magical, ethereal quality, and experiencing it in its birthplace is a once-in-a-lifetime vacation for wine lovers.
The journey takes in the main hubs of Reims and Épernay along with medieval gems such as Troyes and, of course, Hautvillers, so closely associated with the story of Champagne. Visit some of the region’s great Champagne houses on privately arranged tours, with engaging explanations of Champagne production and classifications, then contrast these with intimate visits to smaller growers and convivial tastings.
Food is an important part of the experience too, with gastronomic lunches and dinners at some of the region’s most exciting restaurants, balanced by relaxed local dining along the way. Stay in characterful, luxurious country-house-style hotels.
Above all, relax. Everything is taken care of, with your private driver and comfortable Mercedes at your disposal throughout the journey, leaving you free to travel, taste, and enjoy Champagne in style.
As featured in
Signature journey
Highlights include Luxury Transportation, VIP tour and tastings, Gourmet Experience, Luxurious Accommodation, and Fabulous Excursions.
Day 1Reims
Two Michelin-starred dining at Les Crayeres
Upon your arrival at Reims this morning or by private transfer from Paris, our driver will take you to your first appointment of the day: a beautiful private tour and tasting at the friendly Taittinger estate. On a private tour of their Roman chalk caves and Maison, be entertained while learning about the art of champagne making, and finish with a tasting of various champagne styles.
Then, proceed to the prestigious Veuve Clicquot house.
Philippe Clicquot founded the wine business in 1772, but the most remarkable figure in its history is his daughter-in-law, Madame Clicquot. Widowed at just 27 in 1805, she took control of the family business and became a pioneering businesswoman of the modern era.
Her influence on Champagne was enormous. In 1816, she developed the first riddling table, an innovation that helped clarify Champagne and whose principle is still used today. You will learn more about this extraordinary history while touring the house’s chalk cellars, before concluding with a tasting of La Grande Dame.
Enjoy a casual à la carte lunch at L’ExtrA, opposite the Boulingrin market, in an elegant 1920s Art Deco building. This inclusive and eco-responsible restaurant combines a strong social mission with fresh, seasonal cooking based on local produce. Some members of the kitchen and front-of-house team have intellectual disabilities and receive professional training in the restaurant trade.
Chef Philippe Joly leads the kitchen, serving modern French cuisine in a relaxed contemporary setting, with a good selection of Champagne.
After lunch, take a digestive walk around historic Reims, including a visit to the magnificent Gothic Notre-Dame Cathedral, where generations of French kings were crowned. Most famously, Joan of Arc led Charles VII to Reims for his coronation here in 1429. Before heading to your plush hotel this evening, you will tour one last house, the beautiful Pommery property. Their caves are among the most extensive and fascinating in Champagne, and you will enjoy a private tour with a tasting of three styles.
Next, check into your lodgings for the next couple of nights. Le Domaine Les Crayères, splendidly located in the heart of the Reims countryside, is nestled within a seven-hectare park teeming with lush greenery. Once the residence of the De Polignac family, this estate has been modernized while preserving the classic “Chateau” style, exuding elegance and sophistication. Guests are greeted warmly and can expect impeccable service.
Take some time to freshen up and unwind at the hotel for a few hours before dinner. The evening’s highlight is a gastronomic feast at the estate’s two-Michelin-starred restaurant, Le Parc Les Crayères. With its exceptional wine list and elegant setting, this is a fitting introduction to Champagne’s serious gastronomic side. For those seeking a luxurious end to the evening, the bar offers Krug Champagne by the glass.
Day 2Aÿ - Épernay - Hautvillers
Champagne house, Maison Gosset
A later start today: sleep in, enjoy a leisurely breakfast, and in the late morning, your driver will collect you and take you to Maison Gosset in Épernay, a relaxed half-hour drive. This historic wine house traces its origins to 1584 in Aÿ and is considered the oldest wine house in Champagne. Today, its estate is in Épernay, where you will enjoy your privately arranged visit and tasting.
During a private tour, you will visit the property and taste their best champagnes, including the Grande Réserve, Grand Millésime, Grand Rosé, and Grand Blanc de Blancs. Before enjoying lunch in medieval Hautvillers, pop into the super-friendly Champagne Tribaut-Schloesser, a fourth-generation family Champagne house based in nearby Romery. Relax over an informal tasting of their Champagnes, contrasting this smaller family producer with the grand houses visited elsewhere on the tour, while admiring the vineyards and the Montagne de Reims.
Next, lunch is at Hostellerie Briqueterie & Spa, where the gastronomic restaurant Alcôve is led by Michelin-starred chef Nawal Rezagui. Her seasonal cuisine draws on French produce, aromatic herbs and the surrounding Champagne region, with a carefully chosen selection of wines and Champagnes to accompany the meal.
After lunch, stretch your legs and enjoy a walk around picturesque Hautvillers. This darling hamlet lies within the Montagne de Reims Regional Natural Park, surrounded by vineyards and wooded hills. Wander its narrow streets, lined with colorful façades and distinctive wrought-iron signs, before stopping at Au 36 on rue Dom Pérignon for a glass of Champagne. If the weather is pleasant, sit on the terrace, enjoy “une coupe,” and count your blessings.
Tonight’s dinner is at the two-Michelin-starred Le Parc Les Crayères in Reims, where chef Christophe Moret creates refined modern French cuisine accompanied by an exceptional Champagne list, so tonight, you can get dressed up. Enjoy the chef’s taster with wine pairings, and your driver will take you back to your country house after a fabulous meal; this is the trip’s gourmet highlight.
Day 3Épernay - Troyes
Dom Perignon
Today, you’ll switch gears, focusing mainly on sightseeing and enjoying the countryside and quaint villages. But first, one last wine experience awaits at the iconic Moët & Chandon house, founded in 1743, where you will taste Dom Pérignon on a private tour.
Their extraordinary chalk cellars stretch for some 28 kilometers beneath Épernay, forming one of the largest underground networks in Champagne. Moët & Chandon’s vineyards extend across the region’s principal growing areas, with around half classified as grands crus and a quarter as premiers crus.
The private visit here is corporate and slick, but no less fascinating; you really can’t leave Champagne without a tour here, as the cellars are extraordinary. Enjoy the Dom and bid farewell to the glamorous Avenue de Champagne, admiring other big names like Winston Churchill’s adored Pol Roger and fashion favorite Perrier-Jouët.
Next is medieval Troyes, just over an hour’s journey through a patchwork of vineyards planted with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. Its historic center is famously shaped like a Champagne cork, with colorful half-timbered houses, narrow streets, hidden courtyards and a remarkable collection of Gothic churches and stained glass.
Troyes is also known for its andouillette sausage and has several interesting museums and galleries. The afternoon is yours to explore at your own pace, browsing the old streets, gardens and shops before returning to your hotel.
Tonight, you’ll stay at the five-star boutique hotel La Maison de Rhodes, set in a beautiful historic building in the heart of old Troyes. Its intimate rooms, courtyard, and seasonal outdoor pool make it a charming base for your final night.
Dinner tonight is laid-back and charming at Le Valentino, a long-established Troyes restaurant serving refined French cuisine in the historic center.
Day 4Troyes
See you again soon, Au Revoir!
Enjoy a leisurely breakfast in Troyes this morning and, at your preferred time, your private driver will collect you for your onward journey. We hope you leave Champagne with wonderful memories — and perhaps a few favorite bottles to seek out again at home.
Genevieve has spent more than 20 years creating private food and wine journeys across Spain, Portugal and France. She regularly visits the regions featured in these collections, meeting with winery, hotel, guide, and restaurant partners and exploring new experiences. She also reviews feedback from Cellar Tours guests. Her role is to help travelers choose the wine region, itinerary style, and pace that best match their interests—not simply the destination with the most famous name.
Yes. The tour is arranged exclusively for your party and includes chauffeur services and Champagne visits.
Yes. We can arrange a private chauffeur transfer from Paris, or the tour can begin in Reims or Épernay.
The sample itinerary features leading houses and smaller growers. We select and confirm your final visits in advance based on your dates and interests.
Unless stated in your proposal, international flights, travel insurance, personal expenses, gratuities, and any meals, drinks, or tastings outside the confirmed itinerary are not included.
No. The four-day itinerary shown is a sample. We tailor the final journey around your dates, interests, preferred hotels, dining and onward travel plans.
Yes. Tell us about dietary needs, allergies or mobility considerations when planning your tour so we can adapt arrangements wherever possible.
