The trip begins in Reims, where the great houses open their cellars to you. Veuve Clicquot, Ruinart, Pommery, each with kilometers of chalk caves beneath the city. At Pommery, something unexpected waits in the tunnels: a full art exhibition, running deep beneath the surface alongside the bottles. You taste your way through history, one cellar at a time, with a little bit of art thrown in where you'd least expect it.

From there, it's on to Épernay's Avenue de Champagne, where houses like Boizel line the same stretch of road their founders once did. By late afternoon, you arrive at the château, your home for the next few days, and there's nothing left to do but sink into a lounge chair by the pool.

Dinner is fine dining, unhurried. But first, a trip down to the cellar to choose your own bottle for the evening. Afterwards, the jacuzzi looks out over the château's illuminated ruins, glowing quietly against the night sky.

The next morning starts slowly: a proper breakfast with fresh croissants, a few hours in the newly renovated spa, and an afternoon spent with a book in the vineyard. The trip ends with a few last stops at some small grower's estates, the real local experience.