Reims

Common questions

What wine is Reims known for?

Reims sits in Champagne, close to the Montagne de Reims and its Pinot Noir villages, with easy access to major houses, chalk cellars, wine bars, and serious shops. Expect Champagne in every useful form: brut, extra brut, blanc de blancs, blanc de noirs, rosé, vintage, grower bottles, Coteaux Champenois, and Ratafia Champenois.

What grapes are grown around Reims?

Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Meunier, Arbane, Petit Meslier, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris.

Why is Reims a notable wine stop?

For sparkling-wine lovers, this is the source. Every other sparkling wine in the world is measured against Champagne, and standing in Reims you start to understand why. This is a cool, marginal place where the grapes barely ripen, transformed into something precise and celebratory by a method that takes years of patience. The bubbles are the final step, not the first; they come from a second fermentation inside the bottle, followed by long aging in chalk cellars that gives Champagne its signature toast and brioche. Reims puts the whole story in one place, from the great cathedral above ground to miles of bottles resting in the chalk below.

Is Reims a wine destination?

Champagne is the main event, but Reims has a few good side pours. Ratafia Champenois gives you grape sweetness, citrus peel, and warmth. Marc de Champagne and Fine de Champagne are after-dinner sips. Local beer and coffee fit the bakery-and-brasserie parts of the day.