A Veuve Clicquot visit is half underground, and the chalk keeps the same temperature all year. So the weather decides the rest of your day: the walk from the station, the vineyard stops and what you wear on the stairs. Match your Veuve Clicquot tour to the month, and to the house's calendar.
The cellars never change. The house keeps its wines at a constant 10 to 12 °C, so in July you step from 25 °C outside to 11 °C on the stairs. You need a layer in every month.
Above ground, the weather matters more than you might think. A day tour spends hours in the vines, at a grower's and at viewpoints such as Hautvillers. In a car or a van, rain costs you only the walk along the rows. If you go on your own, it is the 30-minute walk from the city centre that the weather decides: in a downpour, take a taxi.
The figures below are Météo-France's 1991-2020 normals for Mailly-CIVC, a station at 182 m in the vineyards of the Montagne de Reims, south of Reims. The station publishes no sunshine or wind figures, so we print none.
Highs average 5.8 °C and lows 1.2 °C. About 68 mm of rain falls, on 12 days. Frost comes on about 12 nights. The cellars were shut all of January 2026. For 2027 the house has published dates only to 3 January, so check before you plan.
Highs average 6.9 °C and lows 1.2 °C. About 56 mm of rain falls, on 10 days. Frost comes on about 11 nights. The cellars stayed closed through February 2026. The chalk is no colder than in July; the cold is on the walk to the door.
Highs average 11.2 °C and lows 3.6 °C. About 52 mm of rain falls, on 10 days. Frost comes on about 6 nights. The house stayed closed until 7 April in 2026. The vines are bare after the winter pruning.
Highs average 15.2 °C and lows 6.1 °C. About 46 mm of rain falls, on 9 days. Frost comes on about 2 nights. The driest month. The cellars reopened on 7 April 2026, Tuesday to Sunday, and frost comes on only a night or two.
Highs average 19.0 °C and lows 9.7 °C. About 61 mm of rain falls, on 10 days. About 4 days reach 25 °C. The cellars open Tuesday to Sunday, and close on 1 May. The vines are in leaf, and frost is gone.
Highs average 22.3 °C and lows 12.5 °C. About 65 mm of rain falls, on 10 days. About 8 days reach 25 °C. Tuesday to Sunday until 28 June, then every day. The 2026 picnic at the Manoir de Verzy began on 5 June.
Highs average 24.8 °C and lows 14.4 °C. About 64 mm of rain falls, on 8 days. About 14 days reach 25 °C. The warmest month. The cellars open every day, and you go from summer heat to 10 to 12 °C on the stairs.
Highs average 24.5 °C and lows 14.1 °C. About 63 mm of rain falls, on 8 days. About 13 days reach 25 °C. Every day until 30 August. The 2026 harvest opened in August, from 8 August at Montgueux.
Highs average 20.2 °C and lows 11.1 °C. About 56 mm of rain falls, on 8 days. About 4 days reach 25 °C. The cellars open Tuesday to Sunday from 1 September. The harvest luncheon at Verzy fell on 12 and 19 September.
Highs average 15.2 °C and lows 8.4 °C. About 69 mm of rain falls, on 10 days. The cellars open Tuesday to Sunday, through to 1 November. The slopes turn gold after the picking, and the rain returns, so pack a waterproof.
Highs average 9.5 °C and lows 4.5 °C. About 70 mm of rain falls, on 11 days. Frost comes on about 4 nights. From 4 November the cellars open Wednesday to Sunday. Carry a waterproof for the walk from the station.
Highs average 6.4 °C and lows 2.0 °C. About 86 mm of rain falls, on 13 days. Frost comes on about 10 nights. The wettest month. The cellars open Wednesday to Sunday, and close on 25 December.
| Season | Average high | Rain | Frost nights | The house |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring: March–May | 15.1 °C | 159 mm | 7 | Closed until 7 April in 2026, then Tuesday to Sunday |
| Summer: June–August | 23.9 °C | 192 mm | 0 | Every day from 29 June to 30 August; the picnic at Verzy |
| Autumn: September–November | 15.0 °C | 194 mm | 5 | Tuesday to Sunday, then Wednesday to Sunday from 4 November |
| Winter: December–February | 6.4 °C | 211 mm | 33 | Wednesday to Sunday to 3 January 2027; closed early in 2026 |
Late spring and early autumn are the easy choice. From May to September, highs run from 19 °C to 25 °C, the frost is gone, and the cellars are open at least six days a week. July and August are the warmest, with about 14 and 13 days reaching 25 °C.
Winter is not as wet as you might expect. December is the wettest month, at about 86 mm, but April, the driest, still gets about 46 mm. The real winter cost is the calendar. In 2026 the cellars shut from late December to early April, and frost came on about 12 nights in an average January.
If you are here for the vines, come from June to October. If you are here for the cellars alone, any open month works, and the dates on the visitor guide matter more than the forecast.
The cellars open from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm, and the chalk feels the same at any hour. So plan the outdoor part around the sky. In summer, take the walk or the vineyard stop in the morning, and go underground in the heat of the afternoon.
In winter, reverse it: book a morning cellar slot and keep the vines or the cathedral for the warmest hours after noon. The shared days from Reims leave the station at 9:20 am, so the timing is set for you. Café Clicquot opens from 11 am to 5 pm, a warm table for a cold day.
Infant seats available and a car of your own from Paris: the house's cellar tour with its ticket in the fare, the cathedral and free time for lunch.
From $561 per person
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Both houses in one private day from Paris, Épernay's cellars first and Reims after, with Hautvillers's abbey church between them. Meals are yours.
From $724 per person
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Both houses from your hotel in Reims or Épernay with a local guide: the cathedral by guided tour, Hautvillers and lunch at leisure on the Avenue.
From $712 per person
Check AvailabilityTemperatures, rain and frost come from Météo-France's climate sheet for Mailly-CIVC. The cellar temperature and the calendar come from the house's own pages, and the harvest dates from the Comité Champagne.
Next: see the calendar on the visitor guide, read about the vineyards, or compare every tour on Veuve Clicquot Tours.