With so many tour options to choose from I appreciated the explanations provided on the website and ease of booking. We anticipated a nice day of wine tasting but were blown away by how incredible Angélique is. Angélique is knowledgeable, witty, and genuine. We met at the Épernay tourism office and she began our day with a walking tour of Avenue de Champagne. She provided regional history, her experience working in the industry, and daily life in the region. “We drink champagne like beer here” has become a mantra for us! She added advice for places to check out for the rest of our weekend, and made the whole day feel like we were visiting a dear friend.

We visited Champagne Mercier where we experienced a large, modern-style reception area and tour. During our champagne tasting post tour, Angélique chatted with us, gave advice for off menu wines to seek out to take home, and shared her career as a guide. Very fun, very approachable.

Lunch was at Chez Max a short drive from Épernay. The staff was so kind, so jovial. We enjoyed a three course lunch accompanied by a glass of champagne and a glass of still wine. Angélique reunited with us after lunch to take us to the abbey where Dom Perignon is buried. A pro-tip from Angélique: stone churches/cathedrals are a cool oasis during hot summer days! Following more history, Angélique showed us a park overlooking vineyards and the valley.

Our last tasting spot was at Champagne Michel Fagot. It was great to see a smaller operation with excellent wines and a staff who interacted like we were a group of Angélique’s friends.

She drove us back to our pick up point. We spent the rest of our weekend in Épernay better informed and having a greater appreciation for our surroundings and the spirit of the city. We are so glad we booked with her!

Angelique organized a great day for the three of us and was the perfect way to start our visit to Épernay! Mixing a visit to a big house with a visit to a smaller, family owned producer really highlighted the variety of the region. She was able to arrange for a wonderful lunch at Chez Max, one restaurant that we’d been looking at to go to but is hard to get a reservation, and made sure that my dietary restrictions were able to be accommodated. Angelique was a fantastic, knowledgeable guide who brightened our rainy day and whose advice we used for the rest of our stay. Would highly recommend!

This tour by Angelique from ABC was really a great tour and a great time. The nice thing is that she visits small boutique family growers off the beaten track. And it makes the tour more unique and interesting. Far less touristy and more exhilarating with her knowledge of the local family winemakers and growers. Some of the wineries only sell their wine at the winery or the local area only, so you can’t acquire them anywhere else. We just had to buy a couple bottles or so.
The lunch was also very nice and we also had a choice of dishes to eat at a nice small bistro.
Angelique seems to know everyone and if you want a personable tour this is it! I have a walking handicap and was able to do the tour very well with no major difficulty. There were steps but they were not too cumbersome. It would have been difficult in a wheelchair.
I only had one little constructive criticism. She needs to slow her speech a little bit. When you are older with foreign accents and very rapid speech, it is very difficult to take it all in. Excellent knowledge but just a little hard to get it all. Still 5 stars but would have been 5 stars plus with a more deliberate and disciplined style.