Épernay: suggestions for champagne houses and breakfast spots
Hi everyone!
We're visiting the Champagne region / Épernay in July with a group of eight women (around 30 years old).
We're currently trying to decide which champagne houses to visit, both for guided tours with tastings and for tastings only. We'd also love places where you actually get to see the vineyards and the surrounding landscape, rather than just the inside of a cellar or building. We're also hoping to avoid only visiting the typical touristy or Instagram-famous spots and would love to discover some more authentic places. Finally, it shouldn't be extremely expensive.
We're also looking for a nice place to have breakfast or brunch on Sunday. Ideally, we'd like something more unique than a standard café you could find anywhere. So far, we haven't found a champagne estate, hotel, or restaurant in the vineyards that serves breakfast (or an early lunch). I found one or two places offering vineyard picnics, which sounded perfect, but unfortunately they don't offer them on Sundays. It does not have to be in Épernay, we can drive to another place.
Does anyone have any recommendations?
Thanks so much for your help!