Vinay offers several clearly distinct ways to explore during a stay: guided insights into winemaking and tasting, a walking route to a garden overlooking the vineyards, views across the Cubry Valley, and local natural and cultural sites. You can choose a focus based on the kind of experience you’re looking for: explanations of grape varieties and vineyard work, a specific walking route, or landscapes and local history.
Winemaking and Tasting
Champagne Lecomte Père et Fils offers a guided tour of the vineyards. It explains the different grape varieties and the work carried out in the vineyard. The visit continues in the cellar and ends with a guided tasting. If you’re looking for explanations of grape varieties and vineyard work as well as vineyard scenery, this is a clear choice. The sequence combines explanations in the vineyard with a cellar visit and tasting.
Vineyards and Views
Le Jardin de Vinay is located in the heart of the Champagne wine-growing region and offers panoramic views over the vineyards. From the area in front of the church, the garden can be reached on foot via a 1.5-kilometre walking route. The distance and starting point at the church square give the garden visit a clear framework. Unlike the guided tour, which explains grape varieties and vineyard work, the garden combines a walk with views over the vineyards.
Montgérard rises above Vinay and offers beautiful panoramic views across the Cubry Valley. When choosing between viewpoints, it’s not just the word “panorama” that matters, but what you’ll see: the vineyards from the Jardin, and the Cubry Valley from Montgérard. This makes it easy to choose the landscape based on the view you prefer.
The Hermitage of Saint-Mamert lies north of Vinay, on the edge of the Bois de l’Abbaye d’Épernay. A naturally hollowed-out rock forms the walls and roof of a small house. Unlike Montgérard, whose defining feature is its view across the valley, here the rock formation itself takes centre stage. The site offers a different way to experience the landscape: it is the natural structure of the rock, rather than the panorama, that shapes the visit.
Legend and Culture in Vinay
The legend of the Belle du Cubry is associated with the River Cubry, which flows through Vinay. This connects a cultural theme with a tangible feature of the local landscape: the story surrounding the Cubry.
The paintings “La Protection” can also be discovered in Vinay. The village is also home to a 12th-century Romanesque church.
The Church of Saint-Gervais-et-Saint-Protais houses a carved, polychrome-painted wooden statue entitled “Christ en croix”. On 22 June 2022, it was listed as a protected object. Two different dates provide context: the 12th century dates the Romanesque church, while 22 June 2022 is the date the statue was listed as a protected object.
Discover more destinations: Chavot-Courcourt, Courtisols, Bouzy, Verzenay, Cuis, Saint-Thierry, Broyes, Ĺ’uilly
For the broader travel overview: Marne.
