Cave Thomas, Winemaking cooperative in Hautvillers, France

Cave Thomas is a winemaking cooperative's underground cellar in Hautvillers, in the Marne department of France, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site listed for the Champagne hillsides, houses and cellars. The cellar is cut into the hillside beneath the village, where chalk keeps a steady cool temperature for storing and aging wine.

The wine cellars of Hautvillers were used by monks from the 17th century onward, as they worked to develop local winemaking techniques. Over time, these spaces passed from one generation to the next and became a fixed part of the village's winemaking tradition.

Hautvillers is where Dom Pierre Pérignon served as cellarer of the Benedictine abbey from 1668 until his death in 1715. The village's name comes from the Latin Altum Villare, meaning high village, and its hillside site above the Marne sheltered the cellars. Cave Thomas continues this winemaking use as a cooperative cellar.

Cave Thomas lies within Hautvillers, whose streets climb the hillside above the Marne. The cellar itself is an active winemaking site rather than a museum, so access depends on the cooperative's opening to visitors; confirm before setting out. Walking the village lanes between the church and the vineyard slopes takes little time.

Hautvillers lies within the Champagne hillsides, houses and cellars listed by UNESCO, and its cellars connect to a network of around 350 ventilation shafts across the region. Look for the low openings in the ground among the vines; they keep air moving through the underground galleries.