Winter in Champagne: our must-visits
Our winter guide to Champagne: the restaurants we book, the hotels we send our guests to and the houses we visit on our days off, plus Valentine's weekend, Habits de Lumière and the Christmas markets.
From November to February, the vines rest, and Champagne slows down with them. It’s a special time to experience the region beyond the usual visits and see a calmer side of Champagne.
Where do the winemakers go to eat and drink? How are the vines cared for throughout the winter months? And what traditions shape local life during this season?
Our guide to Champagne in winter brings together the places we return to ourselves: the restaurants we book, the hotels we recommend, and the houses we visit on our days off.
Malva, who looks after our guests here in Champagne, has put this guide together and would be happy to help you plan your stay.
In this guide
The winter calendar · Where to eat · Where to stay · Houses to visit · Practical
01
The winter calendar
Late November – late December
Christmas markets
Reims holds the largest market in the region, from 25 November to 27 December 2026. Around 150 wooden chalets line the Hautes Promenades, selling local food, decorations and handmade gifts. With the cathedral and the city lit up for Christmas, it is the best reason to spend a December day in Reims.
Épernay celebrates with light installations across the town, an ice rink in the centre and Christmas entertainment for the whole family. It is Christmas with a glass of champagne in hand.
Troyes, an hour and a quarter south, is the most traditional of the three. Small stalls, half-timbered houses and cobbled streets make it the market for a slow winter walk.
11–13 December 2026
Habits de Lumière
For three days, the Avenue de Champagne in Épernay becomes the region's biggest winter celebration. Light shows play across the façades of the great houses, and there is music, street performance and fireworks. The houses open their courtyards and pour champagne alongside local food.
It is elegant and festive at the same time. Locals, collectors and visitors from far away walk the avenue at their own pace and stop wherever something catches their eye.
Malva’s tipHotels on and near the avenue fill early, so book now.
February
Valentine's weekend and Épernay Mon Amour
Épernay spends a week in February celebrating love. In 2026, Épernay Mon Amour ran from 9 to 15 February with champagne tastings, dinners, concerts, evenings for singles and private experiences at the houses. The 2027 dates are not yet announced, and it is the first event we will be watching for.
We are planning a Valentine's weekend at our house in Bergères-lès-Vertus, and will share the details soon. In the meantime, Malva can plan the rest of your stay: dinners, visits to other houses, and Épernay Mon Amour.
02
Where to eat
In the Côte des Blancs, near our house
Avize · Restaurant
Le Recommandé
A warm, small room in the heart of the Côte des Blancs, and a second home for many of us. Our staff house is in Avize, and so is our sister house, Agrapart. Elise, who runs Le Recommandé, will look after you, and the wine list is built around the growers of the Côte des Blancs.
Avize · Restaurant
Les Avisés
Anselme Selosse's hotel and restaurant, in a 19th-century house. The food and the setting are worth the trip, but the champagne is the reason to come.
Malva’s tipIf you pass through Avize and can get a table, take it.
Étoges · Restaurant
Château d'Étoges
White tablecloths in a château, eight minutes from our house. It never fails.
Malva’s tipIn the evening, finish with the cheese trolley.
In Épernay
Épernay · Bistro
Sacré Bistro
A classic bistro on Place Auban Moët. Good food, a lively room and a strong wine and champagne list. Authentic, high quality and fairly priced.
Épernay · Restaurant
CRAIÉ
Opened in the summer of 2026 by 23-year-old chef Camille Métayer. The restaurant's website says it best: “CRAIÉ was born from a simple desire: to offer Épernay unpretentious gastronomic cuisine.” It is exactly what the town needed — style and young energy.
Épernay · Restaurant
L'Eurasienne
A family-run restaurant that pairs Italian pizza with Vietnamese cooking, and makes it work. The wine and champagne list is excellent. We recommend it to everyone.
Vinay, near Épernay · Restaurant
La Briqueterie
Two restaurants in one. At lunch, you sit in a bright room around a central serving table, close to the staff and the kitchen. At dinner, the Michelin-starred L'Alcôve opens onto the garden through tall windows, in a room of natural materials and calm colours. It is a favourite of everyone at HATT et SÖNER.
Between Épernay and Reims
Champillon · Restaurant & bar
Royal Champagne
The hotel sits high on the slope with a view over the whole valley. Le Royal serves gastronomic dinners and Le Bellevue is the bistro. Expect one of the region's great champagne lists, guests from all over the world and faultless service.
Malva’s tipThe bartenders are excellent too: order a dry martini, or their Runaway.
In Reims
Reims · Domaine Les Crayères
Le Parc and Le Jardin
Two restaurants on one estate. Le Jardin is the relaxed brasserie, with a long champagne and wine list. Le Parc holds two Michelin stars and looks out over the gardens, with beautiful details in every corner of the room.
Reims · Two Michelin stars
Arbane
Two Michelin stars, with a personal touch. Chef Philippe Mille brings together creative cooking and French tradition, with seasonal produce and a carefully chosen champagne list. Sophisticated, yet warm and relaxed.
Those of us who have eaten at Arbane have one verdict: hats off.
Reims · Bar & bistro
The Glue Pot
Reims' best-kept secret. Winemakers meet here over classic French food and one of the best champagne and wine lists in the city. Go if you want to eat where the locals eat.
03
Where to stay
Close to our house
Bergères-lès-Vertus · Hotel
Hostellerie du Mont Aimé
A quiet hotel a few streets from our house, close to the Côte des Blancs vineyards. It has its own restaurant. Choose it for a relaxed stay built around wine, walks and short trips.
Étoges · Hotel · Spa
Château d'Étoges
A fairy-tale château with historic charm, beautiful gardens and a romantic, timeless feel. It is France as you imagine it, eight minutes from our house.
Avize · Hotel
Les Avisés
A small, personal hotel with character, striking interiors and a gastronomic restaurant. It puts authenticity and wine ahead of traditional hotel luxury, which makes it the stay for champagne lovers.
In and around Épernay
Vinay · Hotel · Spa
La Briqueterie
A charming, elegant country hotel surrounded by gardens and vineyards, with excellent food and a spa. A calm, slightly more luxurious stay. It is the hotel we recommend most often to guests visiting us.
Épernay · Avenue de Champagne · Hotel
La Villa Eugène
An elegant villa with a classic French feel, on the famous Avenue de Champagne. Intimate and romantic, with historic character and the great houses on its doorstep. Many of our clients stay here, and they always come back happy.
Épernay · Hotel
Hôtel Margaux
A hotel in the centre of Épernay, a few minutes' walk from the station and close to the Avenue de Champagne. It has a garden, a terrace and a bar. The easy choice if you arrive by train.
Épernay · Avenue de Champagne · Guest house
Le 25bis by Leclerc Briant
A small boutique guest house in an 18th-century house on the Avenue. It is personal and beautiful, and it puts you within walking distance of the great houses. You can also taste Leclerc Briant's own champagnes, including Abyss, which ages at the bottom of the sea.
In the vineyards above Épernay
Champillon · Five-star hotel · Spa
Royal Champagne
A five-star hotel with an outstanding view over the vineyards. Modern, elegant and exclusive, with a large spa. The choice for a romantic weekend or a special occasion.
Mutigny · Hotel · Spa
Loisium
Modern and clean-lined, with the feeling of sleeping among the vines. Choose it for design, views, the pool and the spa. Loisium serves HATT et SÖNER, and we have hosted client dinners in its restaurant.
Malva’s tipFor a spa weekend, four hotels on this list have spas worth planning around: Royal Champagne, Loisium, La Briqueterie and Château d'Étoges.
04
Champagne houses to visit
Visits are by appointment. Malva can arrange them for you.
Avize · Champagne house
Agrapart
The new star of Avize, and one to watch for all of Champagne. Johanna, Fabrice and Manu are building something unique for the region, and the first part opens at the end of 2026 or early 2027. Alongside the winery, there will be an entrance through an old church, a slide designed by the artist Carsten Höller, a rooftop terrace looking over the Côte des Blancs, and an art gallery. The champagnes are outstanding. Visits Monday to Friday, Saturdays on request.
Malva’s tipDo not miss it.
Avize · Champagne house
De Sousa
A family house in the heart of Avize, now in its third generation. They still work some of their vines with horses, which few houses do today.
Malva’s tipDo not leave without tasting the Cuvée des Caudalies.
Avize · Champagne house
Petit & Bajan
The only house we know with its wine cellar upstairs. Richard and Véronique are generous hosts, and their champagnes are excellent for the price.
Malva’s tipTaste Obsidienne and Ambrosie.
Le Mesnil-sur-Oger · Champagne house
Paul Launois
A young house with high standards, run by Julien and Sarah and named after their son, Paul. Sarah, an artist and graphic designer, painted the winery walls by hand and designed every label and case. They experiment with ideas close to our own Personal Vintage.
Malva’s tipThey also have a guest house, if you want to stay in the village.
Le Mesnil-sur-Oger · Champagne house
Les Cinq Filles
Yvonne Seier Christensen brings together French winemaking and Danish family life. The house is named after her five daughters and sits among the Chardonnay vines of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. Organic and biodynamic farming, and champagnes made to go with Nordic food.
Chigny-les-Roses · Champagne house
Gounel-Lassalle
You come for the champagne and leave understanding the soil. Sophie and Arnaud explain terroir from the ground up — why a champagne tastes the way it does, and a few things most of us get wrong about Champagne. They follow the lunar calendar, and a salt stone sits in the middle of the winery. Nothing is left to chance.
Épernay · Champagne house
Leclerc Briant
A favourite on the Avenue de Champagne. Better known than the other houses here, but still personal.
Malva’s tipTaste their two rosés side by side: the Rosé and the Rosé de Saignée.
05
Practical
The villages
The Côte des Blancs. Our home is in Bergères-lès-Vertus, at the southern end of the Côte des Blancs. Driving north, you pass Vertus, Oger, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Avize and Cramant — the Chardonnay villages behind most of the champagnes in this guide.
Around Épernay. Hautvillers, where Dom Pérignon is buried, is ten minutes north. Aÿ is ten minutes east.
Further afield. Reims is half an hour from Épernay. Troyes is an hour and a quarter south, best for a Christmas market day trip.
Getting around
Plan on not driving. The distances are short, but every visit includes a tasting. Malva works with local drivers and taxis in Épernay and Reims, and can book them for your whole stay.
Visit us
Our house in Bergères-lès-Vertus is open all winter for private visits, by appointment. In winter, we show you the cellars and the winery, and you taste the cuvées with us. Vineyard tours run from March to October.
Plan your stay
Let Malva plan your winter in Champagne
Malva plans trips to Champagne for our guests: hotels, restaurants, visits to other houses, and drivers to take you between them. Tell her when you want to come and what you enjoy, and she will plan the weekend.
Email Malva to plan your trip →
malva.norrbelius@hatt-soner.com
