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Reims Champagne Tours › Reims Champagne Harvest Season: What to Expect in SeptemberUpdated 2026-09-18

Reims Champagne Harvest Season: What to Expect in September

Hours, prices and access verified by the Reims Champagne Tours team — last checked 2026-09-18.

Bunches of black grapes hanging among the leaves before the harvest

The champagne harvest usually falls in September, and it changes what you see on a visit. The vines are heavy with grapes, pickers work the slopes by hand, and the presses run. This guide explains when the harvest starts and how the dates are set, what you will see, how the houses and tours run in September, and why booking your Reims Champagne tour early matters in harvest season.

When does the harvest start in Champagne?

About 90 days after the vines are in full flower, so typically in September, according to the Comité Champagne. The date depends heavily on the weather, and it moves from year to year.

It also moves from village to village. The start dates are set for each commune and each grape variety, so one slope may be picked a few days before its neighbour. For 2026 the dates were published on 12 August.

How are the harvest dates set?

By measuring the grapes. A ripeness network, set up in 1956, samples clusters twice a week from 600 control plots across the region, starting as the grapes change colour. It measures the rate of colour change, cluster weight, estimated sugar and acidity.

From that data, the Comité Champagne sets the day picking may start in each village and for each variety. The aim is to pick every grape at its peak. The Comité also sets the year's maximum yield per hectare, within the European limit of 15,500 kg.

Why is every grape picked by hand?

Because the law requires the clusters to reach the press whole. Harvesting machines shake the vines, so the grapes fall off the bunch. The only way to pick whole, undamaged clusters is by hand.

So Champagne is one of the few wine regions still harvested entirely by hand. Nearly 120,000 seasonal pickers work the 34,200 hectares of the appellation, in teams of about four per hectare.

The champagne year, from vine to bottle

The harvest is one step in a year of work. Here is the order, as the Comité Champagne describes it.

StageWhenWhat happens
Winter pruningWinterThe step the quality of the harvest depends on
Spring and summer workSpring to summerDebudding, lifting, trellising, then trimming until the harvest
FloweringAbout 90 days before the harvestThe date the harvest is counted from
Ripeness samplingFrom véraison, as the grapes colourClusters sampled twice a week from 600 plots
The harvestTypically SeptemberWhole clusters picked by hand, village by village
PressingDuring the harvestWhole clusters pressed; 1.2 kg of grapes per bottle
First fermentationAfter pressingIn tanks, turning the must into still wine
Second fermentationAfter bottlingIn the bottle: the prise de mousse, when the wine becomes sparkling
AgeingAt least 15 monthsThree years or more for a vintage

Do tours run during the harvest?

Yes. No listing we sell says it stops for the harvest, and the houses keep their autumn calendars. The difference is at the growers, who pick their own vines: the family may be busy in the vines or at the press.

Two travellers found that worked in their favour. A party of two on ABC Champagne Tour's afternoon, at the end of August 2025, found both winemakers busy with the harvest and watched the grapes being pressed instead. A traveller on the Coutant visit in October 2025 walked vineyards that were partly picked and saw the processing plant.

What will you see in the vines in September?

Rows planted at about 8,000 vines per hectare, and teams of pickers working along them. You will see black grapes and white. Pinot Noir makes up 38 percent of the vineyard, Meunier 30 and Chardonnay 32.

The ABC Champagne Tour afternoon stops in the vines to explain pruning and hand picking. The e-bike afternoon rides about 15 km through the slopes above Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, and the jeep from Épernay drives the vines of Chouilly, Aÿ and Mareuil-sur-Aÿ. Around Hautvillers, the historic vineyards are part of the UNESCO listing.

Which tours put you in the vines at harvest time?

Any day that stops in the vineyards shows you the harvest if your date falls in it. Some spend more time out there than others:

  • À La Française's private growers day gives two hours in the vineyards, with lunch at a family winery and a stop at Hautvillers abbey.
  • The e-bike afternoon spends two hours riding the slopes, with a 20-minute stop at a viewpoint.
  • The jeep from Épernay drives the vines for two hours and a quarter, half an hour in each of four places.
  • ABC Champagne Tour's afternoon ends on a vineyard stop where the guide explains the pruning and the hand picking.
  • Sparkling Tour's private day stops in the vineyards between its three growers.

The e-bike and the jeep run in the open, so check each listing's weather rule before you book. The Reims Champagne day tours compare every full day that reaches the villages.

What happens at the press?

The whole clusters go straight in, and it takes about 1.2 kg of grapes to make one bottle. The juice, or must, then ferments in tanks to become still wine. Only later, in the bottle, does the second fermentation make it sparkle.

One tour visits a pressing centre whatever the month: BackTrip's day from Paris spends two hours at Pressoria in Aÿ.

Are the houses open during the harvest?

Yes. In September, Veuve Clicquot opens Tuesday to Sunday, from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm. Mumm opens every day until 31 October. Mercier opens every day until 15 November, and Nicolas Feuillatte every day, by booking. Taittinger opens for tastings all year.

Reims Cathedral is free and open every day from 8:00. From 9 September its towers run guided climbs Tuesday to Saturday at 10, 11, 14, 15 and 16 h, and on Sunday afternoons. The Palais du Tau stays closed until 2027.

What should you wear and bring in September?

Dress for two climates in one day. In the vines, a September afternoon is mild; wear shoes with grip for the slopes and the cellar stairs. In the chalk cellars the air stays at 10 to 12 °C all year, so bring a warm layer even on a warm day.

Bring cash or a card if you plan to buy bottles at the end of a tasting. Nobody under 18 is served alcohol, and some tours pour grape juice or soft drinks for children instead.

How early should you book a September tour?

Early, and earlier for weekends. The shared vans take eight people at most, and Ruinart's cellar visit takes 12, so the small groups fill first in harvest season.

Keep the refund rules in mind. Most tours refund in full up to 24 hours ahead, so an early booking costs you nothing if your plans change. À La Française's private growers day is the exception: it cannot be refunded once booked.

What else is on in Reims in September?

  • Regalia on the cathedral. A free show of about ten minutes retells a coronation on the west front, at 22:45 on 18 and 19 September and 10 October 2026.
  • Veuve Clicquot's harvest lunch. On 19 September 2026, at Verzy: EUR 132, or EUR 72 for ages 3 to 17.
  • Mild weather. The average high is 21.1 °C and the low 9.1 °C, with 53.3 mm of rain over about 8 days, at the Comité Champagne's vineyard station near Reims.

The family post covers the age rules if you bring children, and the when-to-visit page sets the whole year out month by month.

What comes after the harvest?

Patience. After the first fermentation, the wines are blended and bottled for the second. A non-vintage champagne then ages at least 15 months in the cellar, and a vintage at least three years. A producer makes a vintage only when the harvest has been outstanding.

So the grapes you watch picked this September will not be poured for well over a year. What you taste instead is the work of earlier harvests, which is part of the story the growers tell.

Frequently asked questions

When is the champagne harvest?
Usually in September, about 90 days after the vines flower; the start dates are set each year for each village and grape. Nearly 120,000 seasonal pickers work by hand, because the law requires whole bunches at the press.
When are the 2026 harvest dates published?
The Comité Champagne published the 2026 start dates on 12 August 2026. They are set for each village and each grape variety, so neighbouring villages may start on different days.
Can visitors pick grapes during the harvest?
No tour we list offers picking. The harvest is seasonal work, done by nearly 120,000 employed pickers in teams of about four per hectare. What you can see is the vines, and sometimes the press.
What is the weather like in September?
Mild. The average high is 21.1 °C and the low 9.1 °C at the Comité Champagne's vineyard station near Reims, with 53.3 mm of rain over about 8 days.
How far ahead should I book?
Early, for summer weekends and for the harvest in September. Shared vans take eight people at most, and Ruinart's own cellar visit takes 12, so the small slots fill first.
When is the best time for a Reims Champagne tour?
Late spring to early autumn, when the houses keep their longest hours: Mumm opens every day from 1 May to 31 October, and Veuve Clicquot every day from 29 June to 30 August. The harvest usually falls in September. Veuve Clicquot's visits were closed from 28 December 2025 until April.
Is Champagne a UNESCO World Heritage site?
Yes. Champagne Hillsides, Houses and Cellars was inscribed on 4 July 2015: the historic vineyards of Hautvillers, Aÿ and Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, Saint-Nicaise hill in Reims, and the Avenue de Champagne and Fort Chabrol in Épernay.

Tours out in the vines at harvest time

Next: pick a September date, then compare every fare side by side on Reims Champagne Tours.