Where in Champagne?

Epernay is where you’ll find more than 20 houses of champagne including Moët & Chandon, where it all began with Dom Perignon. Reims, a much larger city, is where you’ll find more than 16 houses of champagne. There are more than 350 registered houses of champagne in the region.

George,
If you get to Reims while in the Champagne district (which you should), be sure to visit the cathedral. Nearly every king of France was crowned there, and the stained glass windows are beautiful. It is walkable from there to the Musee de Rendition, where the Germans surrendered, ending World War One. Also, if you have a car or are doing a tour of the area, try to stop at the Benedictene Monestary in Hautvilliers, where Dom Pergnon (he who discovered/developed champagne) is buried. It is a pretty little place with a nice garden...very peaceful.
Amusez-vous bien!

Oops! Typo ! Benedictine Dom Perignon. Desole, Pere Perignon!

Late October can be rather grim, the weather isn't very nice, the fields are bare, and a lot of the smaller towns have shuttered for the season. You will want to stay in Epernay or Riems. That's okay, both cities have their attractions, but it's going to depend on what you want to do. I'd take a look at both and see which houses you'd be interested in, and what other things catch your interest in the area.

I think we would like to stay at one of the wineries in the area - I am assuming this is common. Recommendations?

And, yes, not the best time to visit, but we just happen to have a couple of extra days.

Some quiet time might be fun!

Epernay is my favorite location. Big operations and also loads of small family run ambience. Plenty of places to stay and eat. I took family there in early October. Not great weather but was a perfect weekend jaunt.

Thanks for great comments!

Been reviewing map, train schedules, etc ... not sure makes sense to be too far out of Reims or Epernay given our short stay opportunity. We typically pop in, roll bags to hotel/BB and arrange tours?

We will be training from Dijon and then training to CDG ... any thoughts re which town would better work for such a short stay? Seems too hard to add in transposition out of town?

I visited both Reims and Epernay while there years back— they’re only a thirty-minute train ride from one another.
I wanted to see the house of champagne in Epernay where Dom Perignon pioneered bubbly.
In Reims, I wanted to visit the Pommery House of Champagne ( now called Vranken Pommery) which is in a beautiful mansion and had tours and— notably—a champagne bar where you could sample various vintages. There also was an antique car exhibit outside that added to the adventure.
As mentioned by others, Reims Cathedral is awesome for both the building itself and the Marc Chagall windows. There also are Roman ruins in the city.
Epernay, with 22,000 residents, is much smaller than Reims which has 180K residents and is the center for the metropolitan region.

France is not Napa Valley. Staying at the local wineries is not common. And in Oct. you'll find many of those that are open for tourists in season have closed.