This Champagne house was our second stop on our Tour of the region. Located in Chouilly with…read morebeautiful surrounding views. It was a bit chilly when we visited. We started with some facts about this house. For sure we can find this one back in the US. 3rd worldwide behind Moet and Vive le Clique but France's favorite. They started in 1986 and grew quickly due to quality and price point Cru means village-you can have the most beautiful grapes and still have vinegar-all about the winemakers, 6000 grower cooperative-This House represents 1/3 of the Champagne region. They can produce 20000 bottles per hour. Pro Tips-When trying a new brand/house try the non Vintage first -to see how you like it before spending more for Vintage variety. When opening don't twist the cap twist the bottle if you don't want it to pop and want a quite open. We had two tastings and got a third (nice touch) as one of our party wanted to try the Rose. Reserve Exclusive Brut, Blanc de Blancs and Rose. Most liked the Blanc de Blancs. Elliot our Tour Guide was exceptional. 2 hour tour and tasting went quickly as he made it fun and interesting. A must stop when in Champagne!

We came here as part of the private tour for champagne houses. It's a good contrast to Moet and…read moreChandon, as they show the whole process. Our tour guide was really nice and informative. They are the biggest cooperative in the region. Took about an hour to finish. We had a better understanding of champagne and what goes into production. We ended the tour at the nice lobby with tasting of 2 different champagnes. Highly recommend! You can buy tickets on site.

We strolled in on a week night and were told since we did not have a reservation, we would not be…read moreoffered a table to have dinner. Though standing at an empty table at roughly 8 pm, we were told we could have a charcuterie plate and some wine, but we were more interested in actually dining, not grazing. The fellow pointed us towards another restaurant, highly recommending it because they served "fresh" food. Though the place he suggested looked dubious, we sat down and figured (eventually) the guy at Aux Crieurs was probably having a good laugh at our expense. (We were told they, Aux Crieurs, purchased only the precise amount of food for the number of diners each evening. Really? What dining establishment doesn't purchase sufficient provisions?? Aux Crieurs, apparently!) He did tell us, though, that they would be open until midnight and suggested we return after dinner. On our stroll back through town, we did see far more promising dining spots near Aux Crieurs. We found the place to be about half full and sat down at the very empty table we had seen earlier in the evening. We ordered a few different white wines...nothing exceptional. My friend poked around the shop and spoke (French) with the owner/manager who seemed disinterested in conversing with a wine industry veteran from overseas. Recommending a bottle, we gave the okay and this was opened and poured...this was another one of those wines that's fashionable in some wine circles, more for its novelty than for its quality. The owner and his counter help engaged in a bit of chit chat while leaning on the wine bar and waiting for a couple of groups which had been dining there to wrap up their evening. As we sipped the bottle of red over the course of next next half hour, no effort was made to sell the remaining tables a glass or bottle of wine or, perhaps, a mineral water. The Aux Crieurs crew wanted to go home. It was perhaps 11:15 or 11:30 when those stragglers stood up and made their way out the door. At this point the owner began turning out the lights and we were asked to leave, despite having half a bottle of wine remaining. Perhaps our experience is abnormal, but should we find ourselves in Troyes again, this is the last place we would consider as a dining or wining option!

From the owner: Un bar à vins original Ce restaurant, bar à vin est un concept à lui tout seul puisque son activité…read moreet celle de la boutique de vente au détail de vins sont intimement liées. Les conseillers de l'un sont aussi les cuisiniers de l'autre. Pas de faux pas pour ce qui est d'allier mets et vins. La cuisine est frappée par le sceau de la simplicité et de la tradition (menu conconcté au retour du marché quotidien), et permet de s'installer chaque jour à une "table d'hôte" conviviale dans une décoration originale qui n'est pas sans rappeller les bistrots d'antan.

From the owner: Un bar à vin haut en couleurs Bougnat des Pouilles est un bar à vin convivial et chaleureux où les…read moreclients aiment se retrouver entre amis ou collègues pour boire un verre après une journée de travail, manger un morceau et danser jusqu'à l'aube sur des tempos rock on ne peut plus dynamiques.