Sipping Champagne, Épernay France
September 20, 2023 - by Muriel Dassen
The wine regions in France can be divided into 11 major wine regions that span a wide variety of climates and territories. The most influential (and famous) regions are Bourgogne, Bordeaux and Champagne. And there is a saying on these 3 world famous wines: Bourgogne makes you think of silly things, Bordeaux makes you talk about them, and Champagne makes you do them. So we had to come and explore the Champagne area in a Quazy Rides tour!
The Champagne region is divided into two parts and we are in the Northern region, roughly covering the area between Reims, Châlons-sur-Champagne and Épernay, also called the Golden Triangle. Épernay is often referred to as the capital of the Champagne as it houses numerous champagne houses, including many of the famous ones, especially on the Avenue de Champagne. So we chose Épernay as the central point of our Sipping Champagne tour!
Of course you can download the GPX / ITN files and full e-books of the 2 rides we have in this tour via our roadtrip planner but you can already find the info in this blogpost.
Imagine: under the Avenue de Champagne there is almost a separate city under the city with 110 kilometres / almost 70 miles of wine cellars where more than 200 million champagne bottles are stored. Still wines from this region were already known before medieval times; the Romans were the first to plant vineyards in this area. The Champenois were envious of the reputation of the neighbouring Bourgogne wines and its northerly climate of this region gave the Champenois a unique set of challenges in making red wine. The wines were lighter bodied and thinner than the wines they were seeking to outdo.
Although it is popular belief that Dom Pérignon did invent sparkling wine, he did not. The oldest recorded sparkling wine dates back to 1531 near Carcassonne. But Dom Pérignon did develop and refine the method of producing champagne, perfecting the technique of vinification, pressing and blending the grapes and producing clear sparkling white wine from red grapes. He also introduced the cork on the bottle, greatly improving the shelf life ánd developed the champagne bottle with thicker glass to prevent the bottles from exploding. And the rest is history as they say. We will bring you to Hautviller especially in Ride 2 where you can find his grave in the Abbey.
Museum of Champagne wine and regional archaeology
If you are interested you can get to know everything about the creation and history of wine in the Champagne in the Museum of Champagne wine and regional archaeology. Find more info on the museum on this website.
We prefer to get to know Champagne mainly by tasting it. You can choose many different tours, but probably the most famous is the one at Moét et Chandon.
The company, Moët et Cie, Moët & Co., established by Épernay wine trader Claude Moët, in 1743 began shipping wine from Champagne to Paris. Toward the end of the 18th century, Jean-Remy Moët, grandson of founder Claude Moët, became famous as the man who introduced champagne to the world. The important figures of the era, from the Marquise de Pompadour to Napoleon, quickly fell in love with the House’s wine, making Moët & Chandon the icon of success and elegance. You can book a tour at Moet et Chandon here if you're interested.
Mercier Champagne
In 2018 we visited Mercier Champagne at the far end of the Avenue de Champagne: also very nice, especially if you don’t like taking stairs and walking to much as a little train takes you through the cellars. You can book a tour for Mercier here.
But you can also look for a smaller, les famous Champagne house, such as Le Gallais, some 9 kilometres / 6 miles outside of Épernay. It is a 4 acres domain fully enclosed with walls and a chateau! We absolutely loved this experience in the middle of the vineyards: a tour and tasting at Le Gallais is highly recommended! For more information visit the website of Le Gallais.
There is another cool attraction in the centre of Épernay: Le Ballon d’Épernay. With a capacity of 29 passengers this gigantic helium balloon, strapped to the ground, will take you 150 metres / almost 500 ft up in the air for 15 minutes giving you a 360 degree view on the Reims mountain, the Marne Valley and the Western hillside vineyards surrounding Épernay. The Balloon does heavily depend on the weather, so if you have booked a ticket in advance you have to call in on the day to check if the Balloon will go up……or not. Unfortunately we were not lucky enough. For more info go to the website of the Ballon d'Épernay.
Recommended hotels:
Rating on Booking.com: Very Good 8.3
With free private on site parking - not covered
5 minute walk to city centre Épernay
Rating on Booking.com: Superb 9.0
With free private on site – not covered - parking
With bar and restaurant
In to city centre Épernay
Rating on Booking.com: Exceptional 9.5
With free private on site parking – not covered
In city centre Épernay
Rating on Booking.com: Very good 8.2
With free on site private parking - not covered
15 minute walk to city centre Épernay
Rating on Booking.com: Good 7.6
With free on site parking - not covered
With bar
25 minute walk to city centre Épernay
Rating on Booking.com: Very good 8.2
With free private on site parking – not covered
4 km / 2.5 miles from city centre Épernay
Rating on Booking.com: Good 7.6
With free on site parking - not covered
With bar
25 minute walk to city centre Épernay
Rating on Booking.com: Very good 8.0
With free private on site parking - not covered
With bar and restaurant
4 km / 2.5 miles outside of Épernay
Ride 1
With ride 1 of the Sipping Champagne tour we’re gonna go North of Épernay doing a lot of riding in the beautiful Parc Naturel regional de la Montagne de Reims, the heart of the champagne region. You will get amazing views on the vineyards, be able to take a real cool photo and enjoy Reims for lunch. With only 185 km / 115 miles you will have plenty of time for this all!
Verzenay is a village situated on a hill and surrounded by Champagne vineyards, except in the south, where it is crowned by the forests of the Montagne de Reims, which we cross to get to Verzenay. And on Mount Rizan you can find a lighthouse. For more info have a look on its website.
The Lighthouse was built in 1909 as a publicity stunt by Joseph Goulet. In the evenings, the lamp turned and shone on the Verzenay hills for far enough to be visible from Reims. It was one of the first buildings in the region to be made from reinforced concrete. During the roaring 20s the annex buildings at the foot of the Lighthouse held a restaurant and theatre. During the Second World War, the Lighthouse was used as an observation post. Only the reinforced concrete tower had withstood the war.
For many years, the Lighthouse lay abandoned until in 1994 the project of creating an ecomuseum about vineyards was taken on. The Vine Museum opened on 3 October 1999. You can choose to visit the museum or the Belvedere and Garden… or combine them all of course. After climbing the 101 steps, the lighthouse will offer you a 360° view over the vineyards, which is well worth the climb!
Before we will get to the centre of Reims we have a quick fun foto stop. Just West of Reims you will find the pits and grandstands of the former Reims-Gueux street circuit. Just at the side of the public road we're on. Reims-Gueux was the street circuit where the Grand Prix de la Marne was held 14 times between 1926 and 1966 and of course other race events. It was known for its high-speed triangular route, going straight through the village of Gueux. The circuit closed in 1972 and in 2002 the main part of the circuit was permanently demolished, but volunteer organisations tried to preserve as much of the circuit as possible. It's not allowed to park, but does make a cool quick KODAK moment!
The medieval city of Reims is somewhat larger than Épernay and is primarily known for its historical and architectural heritage. But the town has also an impressive network of Champagne cellars under the city: 250 km/ over 150 miles of cellars and tunnels exclusively dedicated to Champagne from famous houses such as Pommery or Taittinger. But as the city is bigger they are more spread out here in Reims. The Cathédrale Notre Dame is one of the most famous attractions of Reims. It dates back to the 13th century. After the destruction of Reims during the First World War, the cathedral had to be completely restored. The cathedral's showpiece is the impressive rose window with a diameter of 12.5 metres and has gigantic dimensions.
But if you want you, can also find some other impressive sites in Reims, besides a lot of nice cafés and restaurant to have some lunch in Reims. Before we truly head back to Épernay you can end your visit in Reims with a visit to the Capitulation Museum. We have added it to your GPX file. The museum has only one room, the Salle de la Reddition, but that one room has had immense historical importance for the world as this was the room where the Germans formally signed their surrender, signalling the end of the Second World War, on Monday 7 May 1945 at 2.41 am.
If you don't want to do the last stretch of the ride in 1 go, we have another stop added this stop in the village of Fismes at the Bar de L’Hotel de ville opposite of the - not surprising - Hotel de ville and a parking. And to end this ride in style there is a stop in Hautvillers with a view over the vineyards surrounding Épernay, just 6 km / less than 4 miles before the end of your ride in Épernay.
Ride 2
This ride 2 of the Sipping Champagne tour is the longer route with 225 km / 140 miles, taking you South of Épernay and leaving the Parc de la Montagne de Reims at first going into the French rolling farmlands. But of course the ride will bring you back to the parc and Épernay partly following the river Marne and bringing you to maybe the most impressive champagne vineyards.
After we passed the castle of Étoges, an ancient fortress that was completely rebuilt during the 17th century and hosted no less than two kings of France, Louis XIII and Louis XIV, we added a stop for coffee in Montmirail. It is a town of 4000 inhabitants, dominating the valley of the Petit Morin. Or, like us, you have a really late breakfast!
At the banks of the river Marne you will get to Chateau Thierry where we have added a parking in the GPX file. We are sure that you will find a nice place for lunch here in the heart of the Marne Valley, at the foot of Champagne vineyards.
If you would want, we did add another quick stop in the village of Oeuiily before crossing the the river Marne to go into the parc de la Montagne de Reims again.
But we really recommend you to stop in Hautvillers, although it is only 6 km / 4 miles back to Épernay. The Abbey of Hautvillers is the former Benedictine abbey often called the 'birthplace of Champagne', because the monk Dom Pierre Pérignon (1639-1715) was the cellar master there from 1668 until his death. Dom Pérignon however did not truly invent sparkling wine, but he did experiment with particularly strong bottles that could withstand a second fermentation in the bottle and using cork and a muselet: the construction of iron wire that holds the cork firmly to the bottle. So he did make a huge contribution to the development of Champagne.
You can find the grave of Dom Perignon in the abbey, founded around 650 and nationalised after the French Revolution expelling the monks who lived here. This is how the property fell into the hands of the wine merchant, also owning the surrounding vineyards, Jean-Remy Moët in 1794 and how the property came into the hands of the Moët & Chandon wine house. A perfect ending of our ride 2 of this Sipping Champagne tour!
Go on your own QUAZY RIDE
You can download the GPX / ITN files of the rides and the full e-books via our roadtrip planner and then we hope you will enjoy the rides you will be doing in this Quazy Rides Sipping Champagne tour and your stay in Épernay.
If you are posting on social media, don't forget to tag Quazy Rides or use the #QuazyRides, because we LOVE to see you having fun with our rides.
