Top Champagne Chocolate Tours

This was exactly what we wanted. A small, intimate champagne tasting, with excellent weather. The champagne was also remarkable! We liked it so much, we may have bought three bottles after!

We had a wonderful morning with Champagne Marc (Arthur Marc). We were made to feel very special and it was a unique experience. We highly recommend this to anyone touring the Champagne region.

The day started with a brief drive up the slopes of the vineyard in a farm 4x4. It was a beautiful late June morning, clear sky, high 20's and the view in the vineyard was amazing. The area is a Grand Cru, one of 17 in the 319 cru's that produce grapes for champagne. Table and chairs were laid out, pate on baguette and our first tasting of the morning. Patrice goes through the history of champagne and of his descendants. After a second glass, more admiring the view and Patrice explaining why the vineyards are where they are, the table and chairs are packed up. We move to the village, Patrice pointing out the cellars of yesteryear where the champagne would have been stored. Heavy door after heavy door, and this was one small area. We pull up outside a large door which hides a beautiful 1800c press. It was a back breaking job getting the grapes in and out of the press. Patrice talks the the next stages of the champagne process, opening an internal door to reveal a cave into the chalk. The temperature is much lower inside and the humidity is much higher - perfect champagne conditions. Time for the second tasting, this time with cheese and bread. This bottle is a clear liquid in a clear bottle - it has a life of one hour after being exposed to natural light. We move back to the starting point where we are taken into the cellars under the house. Here we get to see the metal vats which allow greater constancy to produce modern day champagne. On returning back upstairs, we are shown the disgorging and packing area. Patrice talks us through the disgorging process and hands over a bottle to try myself. A few practice run throughs, some words of encouragement and I'm ready to go. Yep, certainly need more practice....... Thankfully no champagne was harmed in this as Patrice had made some with plain water. After all the excitement it was time for the final tasting - a cheeky little rose number paired with some dark chocolates and the most amazing of office views. We're surprised to find out Patrice has only been doing the tours for a month. His English was far better than our French, there was the odd word we couldn't figure out between us. Patrice is returning to the UK next year for more English lessons and I'll certainly be visiting for the evening to return his hospitality if that's ok with him. A few months to learn more than French food and cooking words.

This was an authentic champagne tour experience that we really enjoyed. We booked this tour the day before and did have a slight issue with Cool Destinations not contacting the host. We showed up for our 10AM tour and he didn’t have record of us. He was very apologetic and was not able to take us at 10AM but we were able to wait until his tour at 1PM but this was frustrating as we had a set plan for the day. Once on the tour it was very cool. Would only recommend if you speak French or have a translator the host did his best at English but we were not able to fully follow everything. The champagne was AMAZING and being on such a private vineyard and cellar was a very cool experience. Would recommend if you can speak or translate French and make sure to confirm your booking.