26 November 2008 - The Times - Tony Dawe

Britons continue to drink as much - if not more - champagne than any other nationality in the world, with the festive season the favourite time to indulge. If you are a lover of bubbly, why not head to the region itself to stock up on the best supplies.

If you are worried that the fall of the pound against the euro will reduce the price advantage of buying in France, the Chancellor has balanced that by further increasing the duty on wine, with effect from Monday.

Rheims, with its splendid cathedral, pedestrianised shopping streets and numerous champagne houses, is the centre of the region but Épernay, at the heart of the Marne Valley, likes to call itself the capital of Champagne.

At the start of the town's Avenue de Champagne is the house of Moët, which is open for tours costing €13 (£10) with a glass of champagne from Mondays to Fridays; its shop is open every day. Farther along is Mercier, which is open every day except Tuesdays and Wednesdays until December 15 and where a tour costs €8.

Real enthusiasts must pay a visit to C.comme, a wine bar and shop that recently opened in the Rue Gambetta and where the champagnes of 45 independent producers from 45 different villages are available. A map guides visitors through the villages in the Marne Valley, the Mountain of Rheims, Côte des Blancs and Côte des Bar and, in the cellar, photographs of the producers sit above their wares.

The bar offers a tasting menu of five champagnes, which changes every week, and costs €17. Groups of visitors might prefer to choose their own bottles or half-bottles to taste.

A couple of miles outside the town is the pretty hillside village of Hautvillers, where every other house is involved in the champagne industry. Hanging baskets and shrubs bring colour to the streets and iron signs, attached to 140 houses, represent the specific jobs of the homeowners or their family history.

The village is famous for its abbey, where Dom Pérignon, the father of oenology, was cellar master for 47 years. The abbey is now the private property of Moët, so visit instead the family-run Champagne Tribaut, on a beautiful site overlooking the valley at the edge of the village - but telephone in advance.

The place to stay in Épernay is the Villa Eugène, a splendid 19th-century house backed by parkland and close to Mercier. The fifteen rooms, including seven suites, are individual in style and the delicious smell of warm croissants in the morning is enough to make you forget any champagneinduced hangover. Rooms for two cost from €100 a night. The Épernay tourist office will advise on other hotels and B&Bs in the region.

Epernay is a three-hour drive by motorway from Calais, which is served by 20 P&O Ferry crossings a day from Dover with prices for a car and passengers from £27 each way for any length of stay.

Those who prefer to make their base in Rheims can take advantage of an excellent champagne break that costs from £120 for three nights with Great Escapes until Christmas. It starts with a P&O crossing with car from Dover and is based at the Hôtel de la Paix, a contemporary hotel with an indoor pool, hammam and Jacuzzi, in the very centre of Rheims.

Also included is a tour and tastings at the G.H.Martel champagne house, a bottle of champagne in the room and a guide book.

www.moet.com - 00 333 26512020

www.champagnemercier.fr - 00 333 2651 2222

www. champagne.g.tribaut.com - 00 333 26594057

villa-eugene.com - 00 333 26324476

ot-epernay.fr - 00 333 26533300

www.POFerries.com - 0871 6645645

greatescapes.co.uk - 0845 3302089