Private Champagne Experience in a vintage car from Epernay

About this tour

Explore the Champagne region in a restored 1989 Renault 4L, learning how centuries of winemaking shaped these rolling vineyards. Over three hours, you'll visit a producer's cellar to see fermentation tanks and ageing bottles, taste three distinct cuvées, then finish with glasses poured among the vines whilst mastering sabrage—the dramatic technique of sword-opening a bottle. Stops along country roads offer viewpoints for photos of the landscape that makes this corner of France legendary.

Highlights

• Ride in a lovingly restored 1989 Renault 4L through vine rows
• Tour a working cellar with hands-on production explanations
• Three guided tastings of current releases
• Learn sabrage technique under expert instruction
• Final tasting seated in the middle of the vineyard
• Seasonal insights into viticulture and soil management
• Multiple stops for photography of the landscape

What to expect

Your driver will collect you from Epernay and navigate narrow roads flanking the slopes, pausing where views open across planted hillsides. At the cellar, a grower walks you through pressing, fermentation and the chalk caves where bottles rest for years. You'll taste three wines—likely a non-vintage, a vintage reserve, and perhaps a rosé—learning what distinguishes each. The final leg heads into the vines themselves, where you'll be shown how to angle a sabre against the bottle neck and slice cleanly. Glasses are poured on the spot, the chalk soil beneath your feet and the scent of pruned canes completing the picture.

Good to know

Bring layers—cellar temperatures stay cool year-round. Wear flat shoes suitable for gravel paths. The experience suits all fitness levels. Alcoholic tastings are 18+ only; under-18s can still join. Prams and infant seats are available. No champagne purchase is compulsory.