When to visit Champagne: harvest, en primeur and the calendar that shapes a cellar visit.

Spring

  • Budburst and spring frost watch, April (April): Budburst in April is Champagne's most anxious moment, as tender green shoots are exposed to late frosts that can wipe out a crop. Growers light candles, run wind machines and spray water to protect the buds on cold clear nights. What to taste: ['Brut non-vintage', 'Premier Cru blends']
  • Flowering of the vines, June (June): The vines flower in June, and growers count roughly one hundred days from flowering to the start of harvest. A clean, even flowering in warm dry weather is the first strong signal of a generous, healthy vintage to come. What to taste: ['Rose Champagne', 'Blanc de Blancs']

Summer

  • Veraison and ripening, August (August): In August the grapes change colour and soften at veraison as sugar climbs and acidity falls. The Comite Champagne monitoring network samples 450 parcels weekly to track maturity and acidity, the data that will fix the harvest start dates. What to taste: ['Brut non-vintage', 'Coteaux Champenois']

Autumn

  • Ban des vendanges, the harvest, September (September): Harvest in Champagne is by hand to keep the grapes whole, with more than 120,000 pickers in the vineyards each year. The Comite Champagne proclaims the ban des vendanges, a village-by-village start date, usually in September, though recent warm years have opened in late August. What to taste: ['fresh pressed juice', 'Brut non-vintage', 'Blanc de Noirs']
  • Pressing and vins clairs, autumn (October): Pressed gently in whole bunches, the juice ferments into still base wines, the vins clairs, through autumn. Each parcel and variety is kept separate so the cellar master has the widest palette of components for the spring blend. What to taste: ['vins clairs samples', 'Brut Nature', 'single-village base wines']
  • Champagne Day, late October (October): On the fourth Friday of October, the global Champagne Day sees bars, shops and houses pour bubbles and share the hashtag worldwide. The Comite Champagne hosts the official event directory, with tastings across Reims and Epernay. What to taste: ['Brut non-vintage', 'Rose', 'prestige cuvees']

Winter

  • Saint-Vincent winegrowers feast, late January (January): On and around 22 January, growers across Champagne villages honour Saint Vincent, patron of winemakers, with costumed parades, a mass and a glass shared while the vines rest. What to taste: ['Brut non-vintage', 'village grower cuvees', 'Coteaux Champenois still red']
  • Winter pruning, January to March (February): Through the cold months growers prune the dormant vines by hand under the four authorised systems, Chablis, Cordon de Royat, Guyot and Vallee de la Marne. What to taste: ['Blanc de Blancs', 'Brut Reserve', 'library disgorgements']
  • Blending and assemblage, winter (January): Over winter the cellar master assembles the blend from dozens of vins clairs and reserve wines held back from earlier years. This assemblage is the art at the heart of non-vintage Champagne, designed to taste consistent year after year. What to taste: ['Brut Reserve', 'multi-vintage blends', 'solera-style cuvees']
  • Riddling and disgorgement, year round (February): After the legal minimum of 15 months on lees for non-vintage and 36 months for vintage, bottles are riddled to gather the sediment in the neck, then disgorged to expel it before the final dosage. What to taste: ['recently disgorged Brut', 'Extra Brut', 'late-disgorged vintage']
  • Habits de Lumiere, December (December): In December the Avenue de Champagne in Epernay lights up for Habits de Lumiere, with illuminations, video mapping, fireworks, champagne bars and a vintage-car parade. What to taste: ['house Brut', 'vintage Champagne', 'magnum pours']
  • Festive season, December (December): December is when the world drinks the most Champagne, and the houses release their festive allocations and prestige cuvees for the holidays. Demand peaks for vintage and rose bottlings as the year closes. What to taste: ['vintage Champagne', 'prestige cuvee', 'Rose']

Book wine experiences in Champagne

Wine tastings and winery visits in Champagne (62) · Wine tours and day trips in Champagne (132) · Wine tours by bike in Champagne (8)

See all 339 bookable experiences in Champagne

Seasonal in Champagne, FAQ

When is the best time to visit Champagne for wine?

Peak wine-travel season in Champagne is spring through autumn, with harvest the standout window.

Do I need an appointment to taste at Champagne estates?

classified-growth and grand-cru estates require booking days to weeks ahead; smaller family domaines often take walk-ins midweek.

What hours do Champagne cellars and tasting rooms keep?

most estates open 10:00 to 17:00 by appointment, often closed Sunday and Monday.

How does tipping work at Champagne tastings?

tipping is not expected at tastings; buying a bottle from the cellar door is the customary thank-you.

What is the one wine to try in Champagne?

Ask the next local you meet what they would order. Champagne rewards trust.

← Back to Champagne wine guide