Reims

Champagne Houses have occupied Saint-Nicaise Hill, at the south-east gateway to Reims, since the late 18th century, and Houses such as Veuve Clicquot, Ruinart and Krug keep their headquarters in the city. Reims also has a working vineyard within its own commune: 54.90 hectares farmed by 37 operators, planted mostly to Chardonnay (20.40 ha), Meunier (18.70 ha) and Pinot Noir (15.80 ha), with some of those vines forming part of the holdings of the Houses Lanson and Thienot. Reims is also the seat of the Union des Maisons de Champagne, a trade union founded in 1882 and based at 1 rue Marie Stuart in the city.

• 54.90 hectares under vine within the commune of Reims
• 37 agricultural operators farm those vines
• Grape mix: 20.40 ha Chardonnay, 18.70 ha Meunier, 15.80 ha Pinot Noir
• Union des Maisons de Champagne, founded 1882, is headquartered in Reims

Reims Cathedral, Notre-Dame de Reims, dates to 1211 and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in its own right. From the late 18th century the Champagne Houses settled on Saint-Nicaise Hill, drawn by the space it offered to develop their businesses and by the crayeres beneath it, which provided ideal storage conditions for their wines. Ruinart made that move first, in 1768, followed over time by Veuve Clicquot, Pommery, Charles Heidsieck, Taittinger and Martel. Reims lay in ruins after the First World War. In 1919 Joseph Krug proposed the Cite-jardin du Chemin-Vert garden-city project, and in 1926 the House of Louis Roederer gifted the Hotel de la Mutualite to the town. The American benefactor Andrew Carnegie gave the city an Art Deco library, the Carnegie Library, formally opened in 1928. The chalk walls of the Champagne cellars also carry drawings, inscriptions and graffiti from 1914-1918, a historical record at the heart of the UNESCO-listed heritage.

• Notre-Dame de Reims Cathedral (1211) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in its own right
• Ruinart was first to move to Saint-Nicaise Hill, in 1768
• Joseph Krug proposed the Cite-jardin du Chemin-Vert garden city in 1919, with Reims in ruins after the First World War
• Louis Roederer gifted the Hotel de la Mutualite to the city of Reims in 1926

On 4 July 2015, the 39th session of the World Heritage Committee, meeting in Bonn, added the "Champagne Hillsides, Houses and Cellars" to the UNESCO World Heritage List under the "organically evolved living cultural landscapes" category. The listing is built from three component ensembles: the historic hillside vineyards around Mareuil-sur-Ay, the Avenue de Champagne in Epernay, and Saint-Nicaise Hill in Reims. Champagne's 370 crayeres cover a distance of 25km beneath Saint-Nicaise Hill, holding a year-round temperature of 10-12 degrees Celsius and humidity of 90-100 percent. The crayeres are former underground quarries, where chalk for building Reims was extracted from the 10th century onward. Ventilation shafts resembling inverted funnels, up to 35 metres high, punctuate them, and a network of 57km of subterranean galleries connects them. The central zone of the World Heritage site on the Hill also contains the Parc de Champagne, created by the House of Pommery as a leisure facility for its workers, and the Cite-jardin du Chemin Vert, a garden city and an example of Champagne's social philanthropy.

• Inscribed 4 July 2015 under UNESCO's "organically evolved living cultural landscapes" category
• Champagne's 370 crayeres cover 25km beneath Saint-Nicaise Hill
• A 57km gallery network connects the crayeres, with ventilation shafts up to 35m high
• Cellar temperature holds at 10-12 degrees Celsius with 90-100 percent humidity

These Houses are headquartered in Reims: Veuve Clicquot, 12 rue du Temple, founded 1772; Pommery, 5 Place du General Gouraud, founded 1836; Taittinger, 9 place Saint Nicaise, founded 1932; Ruinart, 4 rue des Crayeres, founded 1729; Vranken, Villa Demoiselle, 56 boulevard Henry Vasnier, founded 1976; Louis Roederer, 21 boulevard Lundy, founded 1776; Charles Heidsieck, 12 allee du Vignoble, founded 1851; Lanson, 66 rue de Courlancy, founded 1760; Thienot, 14 rue des Moissons, founded 1985; and Krug, 5 rue Coquebert, founded 1843. G.H. Martel & Co is another Reims Champagne House. In 1898 the House of Mumm built cellars and offices close by the Reims town hall, a building that served as the headquarters of the Union des Maisons de Champagne from 1907 to 1914.

• Veuve Clicquot (1772), Ruinart (1729) and Pommery (1836) all have Reims addresses
• Louis Roederer (1776), Charles Heidsieck (1851) and Krug (1843) are also headquartered in Reims
• Lanson (1760), Thienot (1985), Vranken (1976) and G.H. Martel & Co are additional Reims-based Houses
• Mumm's 1898 cellars and offices in Reims served as the Union des Maisons de Champagne's headquarters from 1907 to 1914

The INAO-homologated cahier des charges for the Champagne appellation names a defined list of Marne communes that may append the complementary mentions "grand cru" and "premier cru" to the appellation name, by virtue of local, loyal and constant usage. The commune of Reims does not appear on either list. Communes named in the cahier des charges close to Reims, such as Jouy-les-Reims and Pargny-les-Reims, are separate communes from Reims itself and carry the "premier cru" mention; Reims proper carries neither mention under the current specification.

• Reims is not among the communes eligible for the "grand cru" complementary mention under the Champagne cahier des charges
• Reims is not among the communes eligible for the "premier cru" complementary mention under the Champagne cahier des charges
• Jouy-les-Reims and Pargny-les-Reims are distinct, separately classified communes

Comite Champagne (champagne.fr), "Champagne, a UNESCO World Heritage site": https://www.champagne.fr/en/visit-champagne/life-in-champagne/champagne-world-heritage. Mission Coteaux, Maisons et Caves de Champagne, "Saint-Nicaise Hill in Reims": https://www.champagne-patrimoinemondial.org/en/decouvrir/saint-nicaise-hill-reims. Union des Maisons de Champagne, "Reims" village page: https://maisons-champagne.com/en/village/reims. Union des Maisons de Champagne, "UMC": https://maisons-champagne.com/en/professional/umc/. Union des Maisons de Champagne, House pages for Veuve Clicquot, Pommery, Taittinger, Ruinart, Vranken, Louis Roederer, Charles Heidsieck, Lanson, Thienot and Krug: https://maisons-champagne.com/en/house/. Comite Champagne, cahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine controlee "Champagne" (homologated 25 January 2024): https://www.champagne.fr/system/files/2024-03/Cahier_des_charges_appellation.pdf. Last verified 2026-10-05.