Taste Champagne Etiquette and FAQs

We have refined Taste Champagne over many years to become the ultimate opportunity to discover the greatest diversity of champagne anywhere on earth outside of the region itself.

There are some simple things that you can do to make the most of this experience for yourself and others. By attending Taste Champagne, you agree to abide by these common-sense guidelines:

Taste don’t drink

This event is called Taste Champagne, not Drink Champagne. We support responsible eating and drinking.
Taste Champagne presents the opportunity to taste hundreds of cuvées. Exhibitors will provide sample size pours, not full or half glasses for drinking.
Taste Champagne offers a huge and ever-rising number of cuvées to taste. Guests are expected to use the spittoons provided throughout the room.
Guests who breach a responsible consumption level and are affecting the health and safety of themselves or the comfort of other guests may be excluded from the event at our discretion. We reserve the right to refuse alcohol service where it is deemed in line with responsible service of alcohol. No re-admittance will be granted to anyone who has been asked to leave the event.

Arrival & departure

Guests are requested to bring their ticket to be signed in on entry. Tickets may be downloaded from the link in the registration email. If you’ve lost your ticket, please contact us as soon as possible prior to the event so we can resend your ticket link.
Taste Champagne Trade & Media events are for professional sommeliers, wine buyers and media only. We reserve the right to refuse entry to any guest who has not been pre-registered and pre-approved.
Event conclusion times are strict and we request that you depart immediately on the announcement of the conclusion.
For licensing reasons, Taste Champagne is not able to accommodate guests under 18 years of age. We reserve the right to ask for proof of age ID.

Eat before/after

Taste Champagne is a tasting event. Light finger food is available during public sessions but is far from a full meal, so we encourage guests to eat before/after the event.
Gluten free crackers are provided. We apologise that the scale of this event does not allow us to accommodate other dietary requirements or preferences.
We are grateful to our water sponsor Antipodes for keeping us hydrated. We encourage guests to drink plenty of water between champagne tastings.
Public guests (for our Australian events only) will receive a food voucher on arrival for redemption for a hot bite-size dish. It is your responsibility not to lose your voucher. There is one dish per person.
Food provided between the trade and public events is for exhibiting agents only. Only those wearing an official agent lanyard will be granted access.

Attire

Taste Champagne is a dignified celebration of this wonderful beverage. Our exhibiting agents dress up for this special occasion, and many of our guests relish the opportunity to do the same. While there is no dress code, we suggest anything from smart casual to ballroom glam!
To maximise the opportunity to appreciate the delicate aromas of champagne, avoid wearing intense perfume.
Taste Champagne is a standing event, so wear comfortable shoes. An adequate level of health and fitness is required to stand for the duration of the event. Our events are wheelchair friendly and most of our venues offer wheelchair access, but please confirm this with us in advance.
Cloakrooms are provided.
Bags larger than A4 may not be brought into the venue and must be left at the cloakroom. We are unable to take responsibility for their security, so we strongly discourage bringing large bags.

Engage

Exhibiting agents volunteer their time to introduce their cuvées and share their stories. Showing them respect and engaging with what they have to say will provide you with the best experience of Taste Champagne.
All details of houses and cuvées present at each event were correct at the time of publication of the tasting book. We have endeavoured to ensure that the information provided is correct to the best of our knowledge.

Purchasing

Taste Champagne is not licensed for wine sales on the night. Consequently, no take-away bottles, gifted or purchased, are legally allowed to be taken from the room. Orders may be placed on the night for delivery.
All samples must be consumed at the event. For the safety of yourself and others, you are not permitted to carry a bottle, full, empty or part full, out of the venue. You may likewise not take champagne in your glass out of the venue.

Glasses

Riedel has kindly supplied hire glasses for our exhibiting agents and trade and media guests across all events, and for our public guests in London. These are provided on a loan basis and thus may not be taken from the venue.
Public guests in Australia and Hong Kong receive a spectacular Riedel Veritas glass with their ticket purchase. You will receive your glass at the beginning of the event. This is your glass to keep and it is your responsibility to care for it during the event accordingly. Replacements are not available if you lose or break it. There is one glass per person and you may not depart with more than one. We reserve the right to search bags. At the conclusion of the event, you will receive a box to carry your glass safely home.

Refund policy

Public event tickets are fully transferrable. Tickets are not refundable. Please contact Sharron Turgeon at sharron@winepress.com.au for all event ticket enquiries.
In the situation that an event is postponed or cancelled by the organisers, ticket holders will be given the option of a full refund or a credit toward a ticket to a future event.

Privacy policy

Taste Champagne acknowledges and respects the privacy of individuals and does not disclose any personal details collected from you to any third party. We limit the collection and use of personal information to the minimum required to provide a high level of service to our customers. We therefore maintain the name, postal and email addresses, telephone number, payment and order processing information of customers when they order from us. We do not retain any credit card or payment details in any format. The information you provide to us is used for billing and delivery purposes. You may provide us with your email address so that we can contact you about your order, upcoming event details, answer a query or send you information on new products. We may also communicate with you again with other information that is complimentary to your original request. If you wish not to receive emails you may unsubscribe by contacting us. Your email address is private and we will never sell it to third parties.

Measures taken to maintain security of cardholders’ account data

Taste Champagne values the privacy and security of your online purchases and only uses the latest encryption software on our site. All information on our website is processed securely and all transactions are encrypted using the best Secure Server Software (SSL) available. No credit card information is stored in any format. You have a right of access to, and alteration of, personal information concerning yourself in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988. Please direct any enquiries regarding this matter to Taste Champagne by email to info@tastechampagne.events.

Read our full Terms & Conditions.

We expect all guests to abide by these guidelines to ensure that Taste Champagne upholds the safe, convivial and sophisticated environment that champagne deserves.