A house of champagne is a producer that buys grapes from growers across the Champagne wine region, blends them with reserve wine and signs one house style. The major champagne houses in Reims and on the Avenue de Champagne in Epernay also welcome visitors: a cellar tour, a champagne tasting, and an experience to book once you view availability.
- What defines a champagne house
- Négociant status (NM on the label), wine from grapes bought across many villages, a house style kept stable by the cellar master, often a family history of two centuries.
- Where the major champagne houses are
- Mostly in Reims and on the Avenue de Champagne in Epernay, with a few in Aÿ and the villages around.
- How to visit a champagne house
- Book the champagne experience online, check availability for your date and time, contact the house for private tours, and expect a cellar tour followed by a champagne tasting.
What is a champagne house, and how does it differ from a grower?
A champagne house, or maison, is a négociant-manipulant: the label carries the letters NM. The house buys grapes, or sometimes base wine, from hundreds of growers spread across the appellation, then vinifies, blends and ages the wine in its own cellars. Some houses also own large vineyards, but very few are self-sufficient. The point of the model is scale and consistency: by drawing on dozens of villages and on reserve wines from earlier harvests, a house can make its non-vintage Brut taste the same, year after year, whatever the weather did to one particular vintage.
That consistency is the whole craft of the cellar master. Each spring he or she tastes hundreds of still wines and assembles the blend that matches the house style, a job explained in more detail in our piece on how reserve wines work. A grower, by contrast, makes wine from his own vines in one or a few villages and labels it RM (récoltant-manipulant). The two approaches produce different pleasures: the house gives you a reliable signature, the grower gives you a place. If you want the second, read why grower champagne tastes of one village.
The houses dominate the market. They sell roughly two thirds of all champagne bottles and almost all of the exports, while growers and cooperatives share the rest. In practice, when people talk about champagne in a restaurant or a wine shop abroad, they are usually talking about a house of champagne.
A short history of the champagne houses
The history of champagne houses begins in the 18th century, when a royal decree of 1728 finally allowed wine to travel in bottles rather than in casks. The following year, in 1729, Nicolas Ruinart founded the first house devoted to sparkling wine in Reims; Ruinart is still regarded as the oldest champagne house in activity. Moët followed in Epernay in 1743, then a wave of merchants in Reims and Epernay through the century: Veuve Clicquot in 1772, the future Louis Roederer in 1776.
The 19th century built the industry we know. Madame Clicquot and her cellar master perfected riddling, the technique that clears the sediment from the bottle, and widows ran several great houses at a time when few women could run a business. Houses such as Laurent-Perrier, Perrier-Jouët, Bollinger, Krug, Pol Roger and Pommery were founded, and Pommery launched one of the first dry, or brut, champagnes in 1874, a style that changed taste around the world. Many of these names were founded by families from Germany, which explains why so many houses carry German surnames. For the long view, from the monks to the global brand, see our history of champagne.
Today some houses remain family businesses, such as Bollinger, Pol Roger or Louis Roederer, while others belong to large groups: Moët, Veuve Clicquot, Ruinart and Krug are part of LVMH. Ownership changes little for the visitor, but family houses often speak more readily about the history of their founders.
Major champagne houses and their styles
Every house claims a style, and the style comes from three decisions: which grape varieties dominate the blend, how much reserve wine goes in, and how long the bottles age on the lees before release. Pinot noir brings body and red-fruit depth, chardonnay brings finesse and citrus, pinot meunier brings roundness and early charm. The choice of grape varieties used in champagne is detailed on our champagne grape varieties page.
| House | Founded, town | Style in the glass | Prestige cuvée |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ruinart | 1729, Reims | Chardonnay-led, delicate, fresh | Dom Ruinart |
| Moët & Chandon | 1743, Epernay | Fruity, approachable, the largest volume | Dom Pérignon |
| Veuve Clicquot | 1772, Reims | Pinot noir structure, generous (the Yellow Label) | La Grande Dame |
| Louis Roederer | 1776, Reims | Precise, vineyard-driven, family owned | Cristal |
| Bollinger | 1829, Aÿ | Powerful, pinot noir, oak-fermented | La Grande Année |
| Krug | 1843, Reims | Rich, layered, very long ageing | Grande Cuvée, Clos du Mesnil |
| Pol Roger | 1849, Epernay | Finesse and balance, family owned | Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill |
| Pommery | 1858, Reims | Light, crisp, the pioneer of brut | Cuvée Louise |
Krug is synonymous with richness: its Grande Cuvée blends well over a hundred wines from more than ten different years, and the bottles rest for years in the cellar. Bollinger favours pinot noir and ferments part of its wine in old oak, which gives a distinctive toasty character once the wine has aged. Laurent-Perrier made its name for rosé champagne made by maceration, and Taittinger is known for chardonnay, with its Comtes de Champagne blanc de blancs among the most elegant prestige wines of the region.
Prestige cuvées: each house at its best
Every major house makes a prestige cuvée that represents their finest work: Dom Pérignon for Moët, Cristal for Louis Roederer, La Grande Dame for Veuve Clicquot, Belle Époque for Perrier-Jouët. These wines usually come from the best grand cru and premier cru vineyards, are made only in declared vintage years, and age far longer than the standard cuvées before release. They are the wines that build a house's reputation with critics, even though the non-vintage Brut pays the bills.
If you want to explore the houses seriously, start with each one's non-vintage Brut, which is the truest expression of the house style, then compare a vintage and, on a special occasion, the prestige level. Tasting the same house at three levels teaches more than tasting ten houses at one.
Where are the major champagne houses located?
The major champagne houses are concentrated in two towns about 25 kilometres apart. Reims, the cathedral city in the north of the region, is home to Ruinart, Veuve Clicquot, Pommery, Taittinger, Louis Roederer, Krug, Mumm, Lanson, Charles Heidsieck and Piper-Heidsieck. Many of them sit on the Saint-Nicaise hill, above Gallo-Roman chalk quarries, the crayères, that were turned into cellars. Epernay, to the south on the Marne, is the town of Moët & Chandon, Perrier-Jouët, Pol Roger, Mercier, de Castellane and Leclerc Briant, most of them located along the Avenue de Champagne or a few streets away. A few celebrated houses sit in the villages: Bollinger, Gosset, Ayala and Deutz in Aÿ, Billecart-Salmon in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, Laurent-Perrier in Tours-sur-Marne. Leclerc Briant, in Epernay, is known for its biodynamic and sustainable vineyard work.
The vineyards themselves stretch across the Montagne de Reims, the Vallée de la Marne and the Côte des Blancs, then further south to the Côte des Bar. Each area feeds the blends with a different character, as our guide to the champagne regions explains.
What is the significance of the Avenue de Champagne?
The Avenue de Champagne in Epernay is often called the most expensive street in the world, not because of its houses but because of what lies beneath: more than 100 kilometres of cellars and millions of bottles resting in the chalk. Along its one kilometre stand the 19th century mansions of the great champagne houses, with Moët & Chandon's headquarters facing the Hôtel de Ville. In 2015, UNESCO listed the "Champagne Hillsides, Houses and Cellars" as a World Heritage site, and the listing covers three areas: the historic hillsides around Hautvillers, Aÿ and Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, the Saint-Nicaise hill in Reims, and the Avenue de Champagne. The avenue is free to walk at any time, and several houses and the town's tourist office organise tours from it.
Best champagne houses to visit
The best champagne houses to visit depend on what you want from the day. Some visitors want the spectacle of vast chalk galleries, others a small family house where the person pouring the wine knows the vineyards, and others a champagne experience with food. Here is how the two towns compare for a first trip.
| Criterion | Champagne houses in Reims | Champagne houses in Epernay |
|---|---|---|
| Cellars | Gallo-Roman crayères, spectacular chalk pits (Ruinart, Pommery, Taittinger) | Long galleries dug in the chalk, Moët's run for about 28 km |
| Walking between houses | Spread across the city, a short drive or tram ride | Most on one avenue, all on foot |
| Beyond champagne | Cathedral, Palace of Tau, restaurants | Easy access to the vineyards and Hautvillers |
| Best for | A first weekend, heritage lovers | A compact day of tastings |
In Reims, the crayères of Ruinart and Pommery are among the most striking places in the whole champagne wine region, and Veuve Clicquot offers several tour formats. In Epernay, Moët & Chandon is the classic first visit, and a walk along the avenue lets you add a smaller house in the afternoon. Some prestigious names, such as Krug, Bollinger or Salon, receive visitors only rarely or by invitation, so do not build a trip around them without checking first.
What experiences are offered at champagne houses?
Most houses offer the same basic experience: a guided cellar tour that explains the méthode champenoise, from pressing to riddling and disgorgement, followed by a champagne tasting of one to three wines. The tour usually lasts an hour to an hour and a half. You will find the full production chain explained step by step in our article on the méthode champenoise.
Beyond the standard tour, the range of champagne house experiences has grown a lot in recent years:
- Comparative tastings of vintages or of blanc de blancs against blanc de noirs, often led by a member of the cellar master's team.
- Food and champagne pairing sessions, from cheese to full lunches in the house's reception rooms.
- Vineyard walks at harvest time or in spring, sometimes with a grower who supplies the house.
- Blending workshops, where you taste still base wines and try to build your own cuvée.
- Private tours for small groups, with older bottles opened at the end.
Unique champagne experiences sell out first, especially on weekends and during the harvest in September. The more exclusive the format, the earlier you need to plan.
How to book a champagne house visit
Almost every house now takes reservations online, and booking in advance is the rule rather than the exception. On each house's website, look for the visits page, choose the experience, then view availability for your date and add it to your booking. Visits run in English and French, and some houses also offer German, Spanish or Japanese; check the language of the time slot before you confirm. Private and trade visits are arranged by contact form or email, and a few houses only answer requests from wine professionals.
A few practical points save a disappointing day:
- Plan no more than two or three house visits a day, with time for lunch between them.
- Check opening days: many houses close on certain weekdays in winter and during January.
- Bring a layer, because cellars stay around 10 to 12 degrees all year.
- Do not drive after several tastings; Reims and Epernay are linked by a direct train, and local operators run tours from both towns.
Booking platforms also resell tastings and tours, and they are useful when you want to compare several houses on the same page, but the house's own site usually shows the full availability first.
How to read reviews of champagne houses
Reviews of champagne houses on travel and booking sites tend to cluster between 4.5 and 5 stars, so the average score tells you little. Read the text instead. Useful reviews mention the size of the group, the quality of the guide, how many wines were poured and whether the tasting included a vintage or only the Brut. A house with a 4.7 rating and comments on crowded tours may suit you less than a smaller one at 4.8 praised for its conversations with the cellar staff. Recent feedback matters most, because formats and guides change from one season to the next.
Once you are home, the best souvenir is knowing how to keep and serve the bottles you bought: see our advice on cellar ageing and on the difference between champagne and other sparkling wine.
Questions about champagne houses
What is the oldest champagne house?
Ruinart, founded in Reims in 1729, is the oldest house devoted to champagne that is still active. Gosset traces its family wine business back to 1584, but it made still wine for most of that time.
Do you need to book to visit a champagne house?
In most cases, yes. The large houses in Reims and Epernay run tours by reservation, and weekend slots fill weeks ahead in high season. Walk-in visits are rare and never guaranteed.
How many champagne houses are there?
The Comité Champagne counts about 370 houses, alongside some 16,000 growers and around 130 cooperatives. Only a few dozen houses are well known abroad.
Reims or Epernay for a first visit?
Reims suits a weekend with heritage and the famous crayères; Epernay suits a compact day, since most houses stand on the Avenue de Champagne within walking distance.
