It might be the oldest Champagne house in existence, but Ruinart has never lost its taste for innovation. Step inside Ruinart’s transformed maison, situated in the heart of the Champagne region.

Maison Ruinart's New Champagne Home Features an All-New Bar and Lounge, Bespoke Dinners, and a Secret Cellar

Courtyard at Ruinart. Image: Raul Cabrera via Ruinart.

Traveling to the Champagne region of France is a bucket-list item for wine lovers around the world. Producers often open their workshops, caves, and vineyards for enthusiasts to encounter Champagne first-hand. For many winemakers, its an opportunity to show the values of their maison and what makes their wine unique.

In the case of Ruinart, the oldest Champagne house, progressive winemaking and deep ties to the art world have has set the tone for their completely reimagined maison experience, designed by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto, landscape architect Christophe Gautrand, and interior decorator Gwenaël Nicola.

Known as 4 Rue Des Crayères, the result of the collaboration is a bright, organic, and inspiring home in the heart of Reims. Allow us to explore together.

The new Chemin des Crayères

Chemin des Crayères. Image: Chloé Le Reste via Ruinart.

As the new entry point to the Ruinart’s address, the Chemin des Crayères is an experience in itself— an opportunity to literally dive into the essences of Ruinart. Designed by landscape artist Christophe Gautrand, the labyrinthine path gently slopes for nearly 400 feet, framed by unique chalk walls and foliage before arriving at the all-new Nicolas Ruinart Pavilion.

Chemin des Crayères detail. Image: Chloé Le Reste via Ruinart.

Those white walls replicate the exact surface of the crayères or cellars below— scanned and then hand-replicated by craftsmen. At each turn, glimpses of the sky, tree foliage, and shadows gradually lead visitors into the open air, like the bubbles rising in a fresh pour of Champagne.

Nicolas Ruinart Pavilion emerging from the *Chemin des Crayères*. Image: Mathieu Bonnevie via Ruinart.

Despite being positioned in the middle of a bustling town, this choreographed experience brings you to a very new place.

The new Nicolas Ruinart Pavilion

Pavilion Nicolas Ruinart. Image: Chloé Le Reste via Ruinart.

The boldest and perhaps most challenging addition is the Nicolas Ruinart Pavilion: an all-new, hyper-modern glass structure by Sou Fujimoto that embodies the sensations of effervescence and reflectivity. While engaging in conversation with the early architecture that surrounds it, this building is exercise in transparency and rhythm, and light defines the building’s volumes. A curving roofline feels slightly adventurous. A gradient of transparency turns into a glossy white plane. Entirely, there is a feeling of open-ended potential within a container.

Natural light is maximized to provide a unique sensory experience for visitors, diametrically opposing the atmosphere of the dark cellars below. Thanks to the large glass façade and screen-printing effects, a soft, enveloping light continuously fills the pavilion’s central space.

Interior of the Nicolas Ruinart Pavilion. Image: Raul Cabrera via Ruinart.

Inside, the pavilion is a chameleon of a space, intentionally designed to be dynamic yet tranquil. Designer Gwenaël Nicolas organized the space to be at once structured and completely flowing by liberally leveraging a series curved rods made from linen and carbon fibers.

The format gently guides visitors through the space but does not bound them. Guests can stop by the reception desk before being led to shared terraces, sitting rooms, or the boutique. Views lie before you framed by these interior elements, and the curving rods and gradual shadows activate the gentle silhouette of the 1800s structure that envelops the courtyard.

Inside the secret cellar of vintages
Accessible by invitation only to collectors, the Cellar of Vintages is a space reserved for true connoisseurs of Ruinart. A small space, it can accommodate up to six people yet holds countless oenological treasures, including a full collection of Dom Ruinart vintages, as well as two exclusives cuvées, the Dom Ruinart La Réserve and the new Ruinart Brut Millésimé Dégorgement Tardif. A special treat for history lovers is a preserved Ruinart vintage from 1926.

The pavilion also plays host to the Carousel—a self-service cellar with a wall of Ruinart Blanc de Blancs bottles chilled and ready for enjoyment. A monumental stone bar counter is framed by a a sculpture of glass bubbles.

The Cellars

Bottles on the lees in the Ruinart Crayères. Image: Mathieu Bonnevie via Ruinart.

The heart of the Maison’s expertise in aging cuvées, the monumental, underground crayères (chalk pits) play a central role in the visitor experience. Dating back to the middle ages, the crayères aren’t just storage spaces for bottles but, in fact, they are sites of history and discovery.

Recognized as a UNESCO heritage site, the pavilion’s beige stone architecture provides a smooth transition to these underground galleries carved into the chalk, while the foyer’s light well evokes the skylights of the crayères.

Crayères at Ruinart. Image: Mathieu Bonnevie via Ruinart.

Guided Tours at Ruinart

The cellars are an essential part of understanding the expertise and craftsmanship that goes into every bottle of Ruinart. Fortuantely, the maison hosts comprehensive tours, in both English and French, almost every day. Intentionally confined to only twelve participants, a tour lasts two hours and is followed by an intimate tasting of two cuvées. Reserve your tour here.

Art Collection and Gardens

Artwork at 4 Rue Des Crayères. Image: Mathieu Bonnevie via Ruinart.

At 4 Rue Des Crayères, visitors encounter nearly fifty art installations from over thirty artists, with works displayed in all mediums and in all contexts. This collection reflects both longstanding connections with established artists, particularly through the Carte Blanche program, and new encounters with younger artists.

Featured

Food and Drink

Ruinart Celebrates Eva Jospin Collaboration with a Custom $3,800, Three-Liter Champagne Bottle

Food and Drink

Events and Happenings, Art and Culture

With Ruinart, Eva Jospin's Theatrical Cardboard Works Come to the United States for the First Time

Events and Happenings, Art and Culture

Ruinart is the only Champagne house with an Art and Culture Director, Fabien Vallerian, who is responsible for building relationships with artists and proposing collaborations.

The main gallery is no gallery at all, but a dramatic sculpture garden featuring nineteen original works by renowned artists such as Andrea Bowers, Eva Jospin, Pascale Martine Thayou, and Jeppe Hein.

The works are situated amid seating and shade trees, chalk-white planes and the naked sky, all enabling inspiration and reflection. Landscape designer Gautrand carefully incorporated a number of large-format works— from humanistic to deeply abstract—into the very essence of the landscape.

.4 Rue Des Crayères. Image: Raul Cabrera via Ruinart.

The subtle poetry offers visitors countless opportunities to be surprised, amused, and inspired, and guests are sure to find a favorite work lurking. Many of these works are in clear conversation with each other, as well as the philosophy of the maison.

Dining at the Ruinart’s 4 Rue Des Crayères

Dining at Maison Ruinart. Image: Pierre Monetta via Ruinart.

Perhaps Ruinart’s most progressive change is the introduction of a dinner and lunch series at its maison. Ruinart is challenging the long-held misconception that Champagne should not be drunk with food and has created a re-occurring series of multi-course dining events, presenting the potential of Champagne at the hand of the world’s greatest chefs.

Featuring the skills of the Ruinart resident chef and Michelin-starred chefs such as Armand Arnal, and Éric Guérin, the menus are bespoke and seasonal and feature intentional pairings served in an intimate setting.

Weekend Lunch at Ruinart
A time-honored tradition, Maison Ruinart opens its doors every weekend from May to December for an exceptional lunch, presenting an opportunity to discover its most emblematic cuvées with seasonal pairings. Lunch served exclusively in the Maison Ruinart dining room upon reservation. Make reservations here.

Of course, light bites, a cocktail, or fresh pour of an exclusive cuvée is possible without reservation in the Bar by Ruinart.

Now Open to the Public

An alcove in the Pavilion. Image: Chloé Le Reste via Ruinart.

Beyond the significant experiential and physical updates, there is one critical philosophical change at Ruinart, borne out of the strong spirit of inclusivness and modernity: the brand is, for the first time ever, opening the estate’s grounds to the general public— allowing for the enjoyment of spaces without prior appointments or reservations. Perhaps insignificant on paper, this liberated choice marks a major shift away from traditions of exclusivity that have long-defined the Champagne experience.

With all of these enhancements and improvements, Ruinart is once again ushering in a new era in the world of Champagne— an era likely best enjoyed in the unforgettable context that is 4 Rue Des Crayères.

Maison Ruinart is located at 4 Rue des Crayères, Reims, France. Learn more about Maison Ruinart here. Please drink responsibility.