The Champagne
Connection
2018
Tour de Champagne.
24 June – 3 July 2018
Join winemaker, Ian Leamon on a nine day tour of
Champagne where you will visit some of the region’s most prestigious champagne
houses, as well as some of its most exciting grower producers.
Wine
and dine your way through nine fabulous days in Reims, Aÿ and Epernay where you
will visit Billecart-Salmon , Charles Heidsieck,
Deutz, H. Goutorbe,
Joseph Loriot-Pagel, Veuve Clicquot, Ruinart
and Taittinger.
The Champagne Connection, Tour de
Champagne,
takes you behind the scenes of some of the major champagne houses as well as
some of the fabulous family operated boutique producers. You will taste a dazzling
array of champagnes as well as dine at wonderful restaurants and wineries. You
will also have the opportunity to visit houses such as Deutz and Charles
Heidsieck which are normally closed to the public, simply by enrolling in the
2018 Tour de Champagne.
Day 1 Sunday 24 June 2018, Reims
Tour
members will make their way to the Champagne city of Reims and proceed to our
centrally located four star tour hotel, Hotel
de la Paix or equivalent. This will be our home for two nights. Tour members arriving early on Sunday morning
will have the opportunity to leave their luggage with the concierge until their
rooms become available at 2.00pm. The remainder of the day is free to explore Reims.
The tour group will come together
later in the day for welcome drinks in the hotel bar. After our welcome drinks
we will proceed to a nearby restaurant where we will enjoy our first tour
dinner together. Dinner plus
accompanying wines are included in the price of the tour.
Day 2 Monday 25 June, Reims. Veuve Clicquot.
After
breakfast we will board the tour bus and go directly to Veuve Clicquot where we
will enjoy a tour of the historic cellars before we receive a supervised
tasting from Chief Winemaker, Philippe Thieffry.
We
will then enjoy a fabulous lunch where each dish will be matched with a wine
from the Veuve Clicquot range. It is anticipated that our lunch will take place
at Veuve Clicquot’s Manoir de Verzy. Lunch
plus accompanying wines are included in the price of the tour.
The evening is free.
Day 3 Tuesday 26, Aÿ: Billecart-Salmon and Henri
Goutorbe.
After breakfast we will take the bus
to the village of Mareuil-Sur-Aÿ where we will visit the beautiful gardens and
cellars of Billecart-Salmon. After our tour and tasting at Billecart we will check
into our new hotel, Hotel Castel Jeanson. We will then have lunch with the
Goutorbe family followed by a tour of their winery. Our family lunches with the
Goutorbe’s are irresistible as both the food and the champagne flow. Lunch plus accompanying wines are included
in the price of the tour.
Day 4 Wednesday 27, Aÿ, Deutz and Taittinger.
We
will have a leisurely start to the day as our first visit is at 10.00 am at
Champagne Deutz. Deutz is located a mere 100 metre walk from our hotel.
Deutz
make excellent champagne and they are a proud house with a long history dating
back to 1853. After the cellar tour we will receive a tasting of their
champagnes in the stunning Deutz mansion.
The
afternoon is free to relax or to explore Epernay.
In the evening we will take the
bus into Epernay where we will have dinner at the Taittinger mansion, known as Chateau
La Marquetterie. The dinner will be accompanied by Taittinger champagnes
including the fabulous Comte de Champagne.
Dinner plus
accompanying wines are included in the price of the tour
Day 5 Thursday 28, Aÿ: Joseph Loriot-Pagel.
After
breakfast we will take the bus along the Vallée de la Marne to the quaint
village of Festigny. Here we will visit the Joseph Loriot-Pagel winery. Joseph
and his son Jean-Philippe Loriot will take us on a tour of their vineyard and
winery and we will learn about the significance of the Pinot Meunier grape in
the Vallée de la Marne region.
After
the tour we will enjoy a wonderful lunch with Jean-Philippe, Joseph and his
wife Odile. The range of Loriot wines will be matched with lunch and possibly a
Jeroboam of vintage champagne.
Both the lunch and
accompanying wines are included in the price of the tour.
Day 6 Friday 29, Reims: Charles Heidsieck
After
breakfast we will board the bus and drive to the village of Verzy where we will
visit Les Faux Foret de Verzy. Here you will have the opportunity to see some
highly unusual trees found only in three locations in Europe.
From
the Faux Foret we will take the scenic route to Reims where we will return to
the Hotel de la Paix, located in the very heart of Reims, this will be our
Hotel for the next four nights.
After
lunch we will meet at the Hotel and then take the bus to the Charles Heidsieck
cellars. Charles Heidsieck does not conduct public tours and so this is a very
rare opportunity.
In
the evening we will have a group dinner at a nearby Restaurant Dinner plus accompanying wines are included
in the price of the tour.
Day 7 Saturday 1 July,
Reims.
This
is a free day to relax and explore the city of Reims. There is a wonderful
market located near the centre of Reims where you will see a stunning array of
fresh produce as well as charcuterie and cheeses. You will also have the
opportunity to visit a number of the tourist attractions as well as the many
wine shops. This is also the traditional ‘Sale’ time in France and you will
find some tremendous shopping bargains wherever you see the sign ‘Soldes’.
Discounts up to 75% are not unusual.
In
the evening we will be dining at the fabulous Le Millénaire restaurant. Le
Millenaire is a One Michelin star restaurant. Dinner plus accompanying wines are included in the cost of the tour.
Day 8 Sunday 2 July: Reims.
With
your shopping done you have Sunday free to discover the history and beauty of
Reims. There are many museums which cater for all types of interests such as
the Musée de la Reddition where the treaty was signed to end the Second World
War, the Automobile Museum and the art deco mansion, Villa Demoiselle. Of
course there is the Notre Dame Cathedral where the Kings of France were crowned
and it’s adjoining museum the Palais Tau plus the Saint Remi Basilca to name
but a few attractions. And when all of that is done you could relax in the
courtyard of our hotel with a glass of champagne from their champagne bar.
Day 9 Monday 3 July, Reims: Ruinart.
Monday is the last day
of winery visits and we will certainly be finishing on a high. In the morning we
will visit the oldest champagne house, Ruinart which is located in the centre
of Reims. Ruinart is best known for their Blanc de Blancs but this is only one
of the beautiful champagnes they make.
In
the evening we will have a wonderful farewell dinner at Le Jardin Brasserie to
round out our Grand Tour de Champagne. Our
dinner at Le Jardin Brasserie will conclude the tour. Dinner plus accompanying wines are included in the price of the tour.
Tuesday 4 July
With
regards to your movements post tour you will find the Reims railway station and
hire car companies are located within walking distance of our hotel. TGV trains
leave from both the Reims railway station and the Champagne-Ardenne railway
station (located on the outskirts of Reims). These TGV trains can take you to
Paris, Strasbourg, Lille or Charles de Gaulle airport. Chauffeured vehicles can
also be arranged to take you to Charles de Gaulle.
**If
you are flying out of Charles de Gaulle or catching the Eurostar to London from
Gare de Nord, I strongly recommend that you book your departure time after
13.00 so as to leave enough time to travel from Reims to Paris and allowing for
check in time.
Tour Guide.
Ian Leamon is your tour guide.
Ian is a winemaker and founding partner of Champagne Connection. His experience with champagne precedes the
founding of Champagne Connection in 2002. Ian can still remember tasting his
first champagne which was a bottle of Laurent Perrier NV, consumed in December
1978. This was like no other sparkling wine Ian had tasted before and so it
wasn’t long before he was embarking on a never ending journey to discover more
and more about champagne.
Ian
has twice worked the vintage in Champagne; once in 1985 for Veuve Clicquot in
the village of Bouzy and secondly in 2007 with the Loriot family at Champagne
Joseph Loriot-Pagel in the village of Festigny.
Ian
has visited Champagne on an annual basis since 2000 and has built up an
excellent understanding of the region and its people.
Tour Accommodation
We
have selected centrally located, three and four star hotels. All hotels have
clean and modern facilities and breakfast is provided each day at each hotel on
the tour.
Tour Costs
The
tour is a land only package and costs A$5,600
per person twin share or A$6,600 for
a single traveller. Please
note; all prices are in Australian Dollars
We
understand that many tour members will be extending their time in Europe beyond
the length of the Champagne tour. For example some tour members may wish to
travel in Europe prior to the commencement of the Champagne tour in Reims or
they may wish to continue their holiday after the Champagne tour
concludes. Either way we feel that it
will be easier for tour members to make their own flight arrangements with
their preferred carrier.
Included in the tour
price;
- Tour leadership.
- Accommodation in three and four
star hotels including breakfast each day.
- Three lunches including lunch
at Veuve Clicquot and five dinners including Taittinger.
- Entrance and tasting fees at
all wineries visited.
- All bus transport, Reims to
Reims.
- Gratuities
Not included in the
tour price.
- Airfares
- Passport and visa fees.
- Travel insurance.
- International airport and
general travel taxes.
- Sightseeing and general
expenses not specified in the itinerary.
- Lunches and dinners unless
where specified.
- Laundry
- Items of a personal nature
including drinks and snacks consumed from the mini bar in your hotel room.
- Additional travel
arrangements including to and from Reims.
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