October 2025: Our trip to France this year was 10 days long. We spent a few days in Paris and then…read morecame to Reims to finish our tour. While the whole trip was amazing, Merci France !, our two day tour with Alex of Sparkling Tours was my absolute highlight.
Houses
Sparkling Tours (ST) has cultivated true relationships with the local and family owned growers in the region. Yes, they can take you to the big names, but the small houses welcome you into their homes and show you their facilities that they use to make the excellent products. It was so sweet to see our guide, Alex, walk in and be welcomed everywhere we went. They invited him to engage with their tours and show us their spaces. It was delightful to hear about all of the generations of families that have been involved in making champagne, and how they continue their legacies.
Language
Our guide spoke English and made us feel so welcome. As well, all of the growers we visited helped us feel at home. It can be hard to want to speak more French but need English for understanding- everyone was kind and helpful. We never felt lost or confused. We were able to learn and respect everyone throughout the tour. If you're considering a trip like this, but you're unsure of the language barrier, don't be scared. It will be great. In fact, our guide, Alex, is an English teacher!
Champagne
The six houses we visited all had wonderful champagnes to share with us. In the States, we're used to some subpar bubbles: that is not the case here. It didn't matter the price of the bottle or the age of the grape, every glass was delicious. We learned among us who liked Chardonnay or Meunier more, but all three of us walked away from each glass with respect and admiration. And, the houses were regularly willing to entertain us asking about a specific type or bottle for more information.
Driving
Alex was a phenomenal driver. I've personally traveled through many countries with many styles of drivers. Alex was careful, attentive, and focused. I never felt unsafe, and he always knew the right route or place to park. The car was so comfortable, too! The trips never felt too long or tiresome between houses.
Food
ST arranged for our lunches. You can see the menu from day one in my pictures: a scrumptious lunch in Epernay. Everything was included, so it was easy to sit down and pick our options, but we were also and to purchase more wine with our lunch if we desired. Day 2, we ate in the cellar of the Julien Chopin champagne house. They had orchestrated a pairing for us where each course went with one of their champagnes. This experience was exquisite.
History
Alex was so informed about champagne, the geography, the techniques, the people, and all of the history that goes into making each bottle we enjoy. It never felt like "school", and I was always interested for more. I won't share all I've learned because you need to come and experience it for the first time yourself. Wow, wow! I'll never look at a bottle of champagne the same way.
Cost
I hope that if you're reading this review that you're considering a trip to Reims like us. I hope you're doing your research and comparing options. So I suspect that when I say this was the most cost effective option we considered, you understand that it was not "cheap" but it was also not expensive. Several other tour companies were more expensive or comparable, but a big part of the expense is how much the Big Houses charge you to visit their locations. If you add them to your tour, your costs will naturally rise. Valentin at ST suggested we do smaller, family owned houses and that saved us quite a few dollars. More importantly, though, it offered us so much value we did not expect. That value is seen in the rest of my review, above and below this category. We were guests in people's homes, not tourists. We were friends with our guide, not customers. We were exploring the tastes of champagne, not just quick sips. After our tour, the three of us agreed that we would readily pay the cost again for all that we experienced and enjoyed.
Driver
I've been so excited for this part: Alex, our driver and guide, was perfect. I've been taking guided tours with locals and professionals since 2009. I've never had a bad guide, but Alex is the first one whom I will truly miss. While we only spent two days together, his personality and approach were top notch. He was engaging, interesting, helpful, and considerate. We wish we could have had more time with him- we especially would have loved to share lunch with him. I've mentioned little specifics above about how he delivered an excellent tour for us, but just know that if he is the standard for how all of the ST tour team works, then you're in the best care. Alex, if you read this, know that you made a lasting impact on us! Thank you so much.
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Yes, I wrote all of this. No, AI was not involved. I care deeply about sharing good recommendations when they're deserved. I was not paid for this review.
