October 2025: Our trip to France this year was 10 days long. We spent a few days in Paris and then came 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. -- 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. read more

See all

Just finished a champagne tour with this company. Our guide was named Anna and I was blown away by all her knowledge and professionalism. You get picked up from your hotel and taken to champagne houses (you can request the ones you want - we went for the smaller independent houses and we're so glad we did). We did a half day tour and visited 2 independent houses. Both were amazing and even got to meet the owner of one! This company has a great relationship with many houses in Reims so you really get an outstanding tour. Will definitely be using them again! read more

See all

We had a full day, semi-private tour with Andy and it was a great experience. Andy was very friendly, professional, and clearly has a passion for what he does. He answered all of our questions during the tour and even after the tour. He helped get our purchases shipped and surprisingly, they arrived just 2weeks after purchase (we expected a much longer time to receive them). All of the houses we visited were terrific and friendly. As it was harvest season, we got to experience the process almost end to end from picking grapes from the vine, seeing the pressing, tasting the raw juice and the final product! And the lunch at Why Not was fantastic. Wholeheartedly recommend doing this tour. read more

See all

After doing a lot of research online to find a tour company to explore the Reims / Champagne valley area we decided to reach out and speak with Sparkling-Tour / Valentin. Working with him through e-mail we were able to setup what turned out to be the perfect experience for our group of 6. Valentin met us at our hotel in Reims in a pristine sprinter van and we went over our day to come. During our drive to the first stop we got to know him and his experience in the champagne industry as he gave us a full history of the region. He was able to answer all of our questions as they popped up and was a joy to talk to. After touring our first Champagne house we stopped for a photo at a scenic overlook where he again gave us an impromptu lesson into champagne making as we looked at a row of grape vineyards. From there we moved onto the lunch portion and enjoyed a 3 course meal that every member of the party agreed on as being one of it not the best meal of the trip. All of this was picked and out booked by Valentin / Sparkling Tour. From lunch we moved onto a smaller producer house where Valentin walked us through the entire production process of champagne from the smashing of the grapes through the final bottling process where we were able to get a full understanding of just how much work goes into a glass of the bubbles we enjoy so much. The tasting at this smaller producing house was fantastic. The nice thing about booking with a smaller company / tour is their knowledge of these hidden gems. This was a brand/ house that none of us had heard of and would likely never had tasted without Sparkling- Tour and because of today we know have a desire to explore more of these smaller brands. All in all the entire group agreed that our day with Valentin and Sparkling-Tour was one of the best experiences we have had in a tour group setting and we look forward to booking again in the fire to do a more catered tour to the smaller houses. Thank you Valentin! read more

Great tour guid! Great time! Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and friendly. He was able to teach and show us a lot around the Champaign process. I would recommend this tour to any friends visiting the area. read more

Sparkling Tour - Wine Tours Near Me - Bezannes, 51

We had a great day with Christophe as our guide! We stopped at 3 smaller boutique wineries, as well as the Abby where Dom Perignon resided, and a restaurant in Epernay for lunch. We signed up for the day tour, which lasted from about 9:30am to 5:30pm, but the pacing was very relaxed and we had adequate time in between tastings, so we never felt like we were overindulging. The van for transportation was modern and very comfortable. We had a group of 3 and there were 2 other couples with us on the tour, so it was a fairly small group, as advertised. Christophe was extremely knowledgable on both the making of Champagne, as well as the local history and geographical context for growing champagne-worthy grapes. At each of the wineries, we started off with a small tour of their cellars and finished with 3 tastings and then had an opportunity to purchase any bottles. Most wineries offered shipping options, but Sparkling tours also has an option to package and ship your bottles to the US for you for a single fee, which is the option we went with. It was very easy to organize and submit payment. I can't say how long shipping will take, as we just had our tour a few days ago, but the process so far has been easy (they just take your bottles and send you a link for payment). Overall, I would highly recommend this tour. read more

This tour was the highlight of our trip to France. Valentin was friendly and knowledgable. We learned so much about the champagne making process (much more than any crowded overpriced Napa valley tour) and enjoyed fabulous champagnes. The only disappointment was that we didn't have enough room in our suitcases to bring more champagne home! We enjoyed the local producers we visited so much that we didn't even bother with the bigger producers we had planned to visit in the afternoon after our half day tour. I would highly recommend this tour and Valentin. This was a memorable experience. read more