Regions
Épernay
Commercial heart of Champagne, home to the Avenue de Champagne and a cluster of major houses at the threshold of the Côte des Blancs.
Geography
Épernay sits at the southern edge of the Marne valley, where the Montagne de Reims to the north, the Vallée de la Marne to the west, and the Côte des Blancs to the south meet. The town is about 25 km south of Reims.
Avenue de Champagne
Épernay's main artery, the Avenue de Champagne, concentrates an extraordinary number of historic maisons along a single kilometre: Moët & Chandon, Pol Roger, Perrier-Jouët, Boizel, de Venoge and others. Beneath the avenue lie more than 100 km of cellar galleries, carved into the same Campanian chalk that defines the region's terroir.
Why it matters
Épernay is the operational centre of several of the largest champagne houses by volume, and its cellars hold the bulk of the region's long-aged reserve wines. The Avenue de Champagne is part of the UNESCO inscription "hillsides, houses and cellars of Champagne" (2015).
Notable villages nearby
Hautvillers, the village where Dom Pérignon was cellarer, sits on the hillside immediately north-west of Épernay. Aÿ, across the Marne, is home to Bollinger and Deutz; Le Mesnil-sur-Oger and the grand cru villages of the Côte des Blancs stretch due south.
Recent
2026
- Note
Champagne Pol Roger is headquartered in Épernay.
Read article The Drinks Business 2 June 2026
- Note
Epernay is regarded as the spiritual home of Champagne and sits at the centre of the Champagne appellation in north-eastern France.
Read article Google News — champagne (FR) 19 May 2026
- Note
Lieux-dits designation represents one of Champagne's more precise tools for expressing place, narrowing focus to single named plots with distinct soil composition, exposition, and microclimate.
Read article Terre de Vins 21 May 2026
- Note
Épernay is home to Perrier-Jouët , a leading Champagne maison.
Read article Google News — champagne wine (EN) 28 April 2026
- Note
Épernay is one of the twin capitals of champagne production, with the Avenue de Champagne representing a significant expression of champagne heritage above ground.
- Business
Perrier-Jouët is an Épernay house that has established a formal partnership with the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
Read article Google News — champagne wine (EN) 28 April 2026
- Note
Perrier-Jouët is a champagne house with roots in Épernay, in the heart of the Champagne region of France.
Read article Google News — champagne wine (EN) 28 April 2026
- Note
Épernay is home to Perrier-Jouët , a prestige Champagne house.
Read article Google News — champagne wine (EN) 28 April 2026
2024
- Note
Épernay sits at the geographical and symbolic heart of the Champagne appellation, home to some of the region's most recognised addresses on Avenue de Champagne.
Read article Google News — maisons de champagne (FR) 9 November 2024
Related reading
- Business
PACE Architectes marks three decades of reshaping Champagne's built landscape
- Tourism
The Wine Museum of Epernay marks five years during the Night of Museums
- Business
Perrier-Jouët commits to new vat room and cellar facilities in Épernay
- Tasting
Maison Lombard elevates the cellar visit with parcel-by-parcel tastings in Épernay
- Tourism
Beneath Reims and Épernay, a World Heritage carved in chalk
- Tasting
Pol Roger: the quiet discipline behind one of Champagne's most consistent houses