ON THE TRAIL
Tradition meets innovation in this verdant winemaking region, where hallowed tasting rooms pair well with treehouse bars
1 H. BLIN
Pick your designated driver and start the day with a trip through the Marne Valley, famed for its vine-clad slopes. At Vincelles, the fields part to reveal a Roman road and this revered Champagne house, which has been producing a range of organic wines since 2013. In good weather, the Blin family welcomes visitors for tastings in a hilltop setting, gazing out over the landscape with a glass from the 10,000-bottle cellar.
Follow the river to Damery where you’ll find the modernist Champagne Telmont compound, run according to sustainable principles by its president Ludovic du Plessis. You can book tours of the cellars here, enjoy drinks at the bar or sample a food and wine pairing menu at the communal table. Look out for the photographs of Ludovic with Leonardo DiCaprio, who’s invested in Telmont’s green initiatives.
3 LA TABLE KOBUS
Onward to tiny Épernay, where grand Champagne houses like Perrier-Jouët and Moët et Chandon lord it over the Avenue de Champagne. Stop for lunch at this smart bistro, where you’ll find a menu of terrines and fricassées. Corkage is free on weekdays (or €12/£10 from Friday evening to Sunday), so you can take a bottle of Champagne picked up on your travels. Alternatively, order a €25 (£22) half bottle from the wine list.
4 PRESSORIA
Stop at the sleepy town of Aÿ, with half-timbered cottages on its cobbled main street. In 2021, the old pressing centre here was transformed into a sensory Ch
