Small-Group Wine-Tasting Trip to the Champagne Region from Paris

We had a wonderful time! Our favorite part was a delicious lunch prepared by Martine, Alexandre Penet's wife. The tasty French food paired perfectly with the superb Penet champagnes and the company was delightful. Our driver was friendly and informative and we thoroughly enjoyed each of our stops. Truly a special experience!

We visited Moet and Chandon and two independent wineries. It was interesting to see the contrast between a behemoth like Moet and the smaller wineries where the owners literally live about the cellars and production facilities. The wife of one of the owners of an independent winery prepared and served lunch for us in her dining room, with lots of champagne tasting to complement the delicious meal.

Our guide Gee was a self-professed wine geek who has worked in several aspects of the champagne business and seemed very passionate about his work. He was a delight. We traveled in a very nice Merdedes van (8 people total) and were very comfortable.

Our guide was late picking up my party (we were the first on his route) as well as being late picking up our fellow passengers -- so we had a late start. Gee was also difficult in get in touch with by phone because his voicemail was always full and I couldn't leave a message.

Except for the late start, the tour was a delight and I would do it again -- hoping to visit some different wineries.

A most enjoyable day out.

This was a great tour and our guide was very knowledgeable. It was interesting seeing the different champagne houses and especially tasting the different champagnes. Our favorite was the small champagne house we visited last, Monmarthe. Our guide there was very personable and showed us the entire process and their champagne was fantastic! The tour there only included the 8 people on our tour. Would highly recommend.

We had a wonderful time on this tour. It was our first trip to the Champagne region and we learned so much from our tour guide as well as from the different vineyards we visited. Lunch was excellent and our tour guide was very helpful and knowledgeable. We wouldn't change a thing!

Our guide was a viticulture educated wonder. So knowledgeable about the region, the history and the process of making champagne. The tour was a good mix of large wineries (Moet and Chandon) and two smaller ones. The lunch our guide provided was one of the best meals we had in France. My wife and I liked the fact that there was just one other family besides ourselves on the tour. We felt we could always ask any question we had. I would highly recommend this tour. – Greg Finn, Sacramento, CA USA

Fantastic day out. It was one of our highlights. Our guide/driver was sensational.

It was the highlight of my stay, even though it was freezing out. Small group of fun people. The private winerys were fun to visit, and had a lovely meal in a grand country home.. Very gracious owners. I learned alot about Champagne.. Great tour for a day out of Paris..

This is the trip we enjoyed most in our entire Europe trip. The tour guide was very good. He was very passionate about wine making. The medium and small size winery were truly beautiful. We had great time and also the champagne was great!

Fantabulous tour! Our driver Remy picked up our diverse 6 pack of peeps and we were off-Moët and Chandon with all of its pomp and grandeur, lunched after tour-n-tasting @ the boutique bubbly house of Nicolaus Maillart and completed the tantalizing of our taste buds @ the house of Lancelot-Pienne.

YOU MUST DO THIS TOUR. Honestly, the amount of champagne you drink is not an issue - there's heaps!!! It's the professional approach and learning experience you receive from the tour guide (in my case 'Guilame') that makes the difference. This guy was superb. It wasn't his mastors degree in 'champagne making/tasting' that increased my faith in the tour, it was his rapport with the small group that did it for me. He was only ever too happy to impart his knowledge and in a way that showed his aptness as an instructor. The lunch was perfect in terms of its size and its 'match' for the several champagnes that we 'felt obliged' to consume. If you've got 12 hours to kill, this is a perfect way to do it. Although, if you're like me, as soon as you hit the Champagne region, you'll wish you hadn't stayed in Paris for as long as you did!

Definitely enjoyed tasting several champagnes at 3 wineries. Generous. Also was great to picked up at apartment rather than have to connect at a central location (especially since it was pouring rain!) Guide , Guillaume, was very knowledgeable.

Fantastic! Small group, very knowledgeable guide, variety of wineries and plenty of champagne tasting - highly recommended!

The trip, led by Remy, was fantastic. Knowledgeable guide and some smaller houses made for an interesting day.
Viator, however, was quite difficult to deal with. They did not respond in a timely manner to requests for confirmation and refused to pass my contact information on to the guide so he was unable to reach me to confirm pickup. By the time Viator acknowledged which company was running the tour on Monday it was already Sunday and their offices were closed. Not impressed with Viator as a booking agent but would go with the actual company again.

We really enjoyed our day in the three wineries. Moet and Chandon was very slick and professional and the family owned winery, Alexandre Penet was exceptional. Lunch was cooked by his wife and we all sat down with his family for a beautiful meal after the wine tasting. His champagne was beautiful and most of the group purchased some before reluctantly leaving the winery. Unfortunately, the worst winery came last, Pommery, where we went through a production line tour. There were many groups on the go at once and it was almost impossible to hear the guide, as several of them were speaking at once. The wine tasting was a free for all and not a good finish to a wonderful day.