Hautvillers to open to the public

The abbey of Hautvillers, once home to the fabled Dom Pérignon, is to open to the public later this year for a series of guided tours and tastings.

The public will be able to buy tickets to a series of tours and wine tastings in June, July and October although they will not be cheap at €600 apiece.

The ticket price includes a tour detailing the history of the abbey and its most famous inhabitant as well as a tasting of six wines including a taste of the 2005, 1998 and 1982 “Plénitude” – formerly “Oenothèque”.

Although the doors of the abbey church of Saint-Sindulphe have been open to visitors for years, the grounds beyond where the Benedictine abbey of Saint-Pierre once stood have been closed to all save VIP guests and visitors of the owners Moët & Chandon.

The abbey and its grounds have been in the possession of the Moët & Chandon family and, more recently, company, since the 19^th century.

Although the church of Saint-Sindulphe is still the village church, the abbey was destroyed by French revolutionaries in the 1790s, the seventh and last time the abbey had been attacked in its long history standing in Europe’s “fatal avenue” since 650AD.

Dom Pérignon lived there for 47 years from 1668 until his death in 1715. Despite all the myths surrounding him, there is no doubt that he helped develop viticultural techniques and lay some of the groundwork for the harnessing of the bubbles that have made the region so famous today.

For more on the growing tourism industry in Champagne see the latest “Champagne Report” from the drinks business.