Hautvillers

Hautvillers is the quiet village above the Marne valley, about five kilometres from Épernay, where the monk Dom Pierre Pérignon worked in the seventeenth century. The abbey, founded in the seventh century, dominates the hillside, and the Saint-Sindulphe church is open to visitors and holds his simple stone tomb. The village is a pleasure to wander, with dozens of mostly family-run champagne producers, forty or so wrought-iron signs depicting old trades such as cooper and cellar master, and a viewpoint across the valley and the vineyards. The linked tour is a day from Reims that includes cellars and the vineyards associated with Dom Pérignon, a good way to see the heart of the story.

The story is the draw. Dom Pérignon was a cellar master at the abbey who spent decades refining the wines of the region, improving the blending of grapes from different plots and the care of the vines. He is often credited with inventing champagne, but a more accurate view is that he helped improve it, and the tomb in the church is a place to reflect on that.

The abbey buildings themselves are private, but the church can be visited, and guided walks explain how the monks farmed and made wine here. The village's position, high on the hillside facing south, shows why vines flourished.

Wandering is half the pleasure. The wrought-iron signs, installed from the 1960s onward, hang from the facades and show the trades that served the village, and a map available at the reception point helps you follow them. Many producers welcome visitors directly, while others require an appointment, so combine a stroll with a booked tasting.

The viewpoint over the valley is the place to take photographs, and the nearby cliffs of Cumières offer another panorama. Hautvillers is small and quiet, so it works well as a stop on a longer day or as a relaxed half day from Épernay.

Getting there is simplest with a tour or a taxi from Épernay, around ten minutes by car. Public transport is limited, so a guided day removes the logistics. The itinerary and the houses included vary by departure, so check what your booking covers before you travel. Wear walking shoes for the sloping lanes, bring a layer for the cooler hillside, and allow at least two hours in the village itself. A car park is available near the abbey for those driving.

Hautvillers pairs naturally with a visit to a large house in Épernay, giving you both the grand and the humble sides of champagne. The contrast between the avenue's mansions and the village's farmhouses is instructive: one shows the commercial success of the trade, the other the farming roots that made it possible. If you have time for only one vineyard village, this is the one with the most story and the best views, and it makes a good morning before an afternoon in town.

Hautvillers also repays an early start. In the first hours of the day the village is quiet, the light is soft over the vines and you will have the lanes mostly to yourself, while later in the day tour groups arrive. If you stay until late afternoon, the golden light on the valley is the best of the day. Bring a small bag for any bottles you buy from the family producers, as a few of them sell wines that are rarely stocked elsewhere, and ask whether they can ship if you are travelling far.