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Champagne Mercier, Épernay, France | |
| Although not well known outside France, Mercier is a big name in Épernay. | ||
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On one trip, we arrived in Épernay without a reserved visit. Our choices were limited, and we chose Champagne Mercier. Although not well known outside of France because they export very little, Mercier is one of the largest champagne producers. It is located at the far end of the Avenue de Champagne, just after the Place de Champagne (map). The lobby is dominated by a huge wooden barrel called a foudre (tun) that was transported to Paris in 1889. It held the equivalent of over 200,000 bottles of champagne! We first viewed a short video on the colorful history of the company and its founder, Eugène Mercier. The visit starts with a slow elevator descent to the caves, which is made interesting by various scenes of champagne history and production that come to life before your eyes.Then we rode through the champagne storage tunnels in the small train.
Mercier's tour is a self-guided audio tour, with commentary available in French, English, Spanish, Italian, German, Dutch, Portuguese and Russian with audio guides. As you ride through, you pass thousands of bottles of champagne in various stages of the aging process. The TastingFollowing the tour, participants 16 years or older have the opportunity to taste the product. Since it was early in the day, we opted to taste just one champagne, but you can choose to taste up to three champagnes. Tours range in length from the Founder's Tour (One hour, one glass) to the Golden Bubbles Tour (An hour and a half, 3 glasses). Prices reflect the length and number of tastings. And of course there is a gift shop selling champagne and various other souvenirs: cooler bags, glasses, etc., to enhance your champagne enjoyment. For an idea of some other champagne tours, check our pages on visits to Canard-Duchêne, Möet et Chandon, Pannier, and Taittinger. And for more information on champagne and what makes it unique, check out our page All About Champagne Wines. Champagne Mercier
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Above, You are greeted in the lobby by this large and ornate foudre, which originally held a lot of champagne!
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