Champagne cellar tours: does the driver wait during the tasting?
Short answer
Yes. During each tour and each tasting, your chauffeur waits for you outside the Champagne house, then drives you to the next one. The Champagne day includes 5 hours on site, waiting included: €1,080 in an E-Class from Paris. You are not driving: you take your bottles home in the boot and may even taste on board, as long as the car is kept clean.
In detail
A cellar tour with tasting often lasts around an hour and a half; allow two or three houses in a day, with lunch in between. The major houses in Reims and Épernay are usually visited by appointment: book your slots, include them in your quote request, and your chauffeur plans the day around your times.
Beyond the 5 hours on site, each hour started is charged at the hourly chauffeur-at-disposal rate: €95/h in an E-Class, €135/h in a V-Class. Cases of wine travel in the boot; if you plan to buy a lot, tell us, because a saloon takes 2 suitcases in the boot and a V-Class far more.
Your chauffeur does not drink. A glass on the way back is fine, provided the cabin stays clean. The day is booked through a quote, confirmed in writing before you pay.
Find out more: Long-distance chauffeur
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