Bourgogne means a land of wine
Vineyards, wine roads, fine old wine villages, visits to cellars, wine events... Everything is wine!
Vineyards
The foundation of the soils of the Côte de Beaune consists of marly limestone and marls from the middle and Upper Jurassic era. The Hautes-Côtes de Beaune vineyard extends over the slopes of valleys carved out to the West of Côte de Beaune in the Burgundian plateau.
Burgundy’s wine-capital, Beaune, lends its name to 6,000 hectares of majestic vineyards which cover only about twenty kilometres, and extend from the village of Ladoix-Serrigny to the magnificent hillslopes of the Maranges (very close to Le Vigneron : 5 km away). On this often narrow slope (barely a few hundred metres wide), magnificently exposed to the rising sun, the greatest dry white wines in the world grow alongside renowned red wines. Variations in terroir hereabouts make the wines of the Côte de Beaune as diverse in character as they are high in quality – a spectrum which ranges from full, harmonious thoroughbred reds to great rich whites, complex and subtle whose names – Meursault, Montrachet and Corton Charlemagne – are a byword among lovers of great dry white wines the world over.
Above the Côte de Beaune there is a plateau 400 metres in altitude, crossed by valleys that create a hilly landscape. These are the Hautes Côtes de Beaune. And as you make your way along the «Route des vins», don’t miss these 650 hectares of the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune, whose handsome vineyards on the sunniest slopes have earned a high reputation for both red and white burgundies through about twenty wine-growing villages (of which Change).
Wine roads
The “Route des Grands Crus” Burgundy lays on a red carpet welcome for you ! From Dijon all the way to Santenay (10 mn away), the Route des Grand Crus takes you through villages whose names are known and revered throughout the world: Chambolle-Musigny, Vougeot, Vosne-Romanée and so many others. The Route fully lives up to its title of the “Champs-Elysées of the Côte-d’Or”! The "Route touristique des Grands Vins de Bourgogne” is an extension of the “Route des Grands rus” towards south. It snakes from Santenay to Saint-Gengoux-le-National through the famous vineyards of the Maranges (5 mn away Le Vigneron), the neighbouring Couchois and the Côte Chalonnaise.
Visits to old wine villages
We would like to recommend to you some fine old wine villages. To name just a few in Côte de Beaune, and besides Saint-Romain
, Dezize and Santenay already named in Surroundings section, we suggest to you these nice villages: - Volnay. The village is quite small and dedicated to wine and only wine. There are some charming small streets and we advise you to leave your car on the village square and walk around. You'll notice that even in the middle of the village between some houses there are grapes. Try to walk on the path that leads up into the woods above the village and enjoy the view.
- Pommard. The square bell tower of its 18th century church characterise the village and on the hills that surround Pommard the vineyards dominate the landscape.
- Ladoix. This wine village is very picturesque.
Visits to cellars
Tasting local wine is, of course, one of the main attractions in Burgundy. What is good for visitors to Burgundy is that many of these "vignerons" encourage you to stop a while, taste and, of course, hopefully buy. But, more importantly to learn and to enhance your knowledge of the wonderful range and quality to enjoy.
It is characteristic of unhurried Burgundian thoroughness that the masters of the wine-growing art are just as attentive to visitor’s questions as they are to the contents of their cellars. Some 280 wine-growers have opened their cellars to visitors and published an extremely informative brochure, “From Vineyards to Cellars”, available from all Burgundy tourist offices.
We can arrange visits to local cellars in Change (Hautes-côte de Beaune and Santenay wines mainly) and in Dezize-les-Maranges.
Events
The Saint-Vincent Tournante, a procession through the streets of famous wine villages followed by a feast, celebrates the patron saint of winegrowers on the first weekend before or after January 22nd. In 2008, the Saint Vincent hold in Saint-Romain and it actually was a great success; and in 2009, in Mâcon region. In 2010, it was celebrated in the famous Chassagne-Montrachet wine village. Corgoloin, a wine village in Côte de Nuits, will host the event. High point of the annual wine cycle comes after the vendanges, or grape harvest, with the Trois Glorieuses, three gloriously hedonistic days of wine-tasting, auctions, feasting and fête. Festivities begin at Clos de Vougeot on the third Saturday of November with the Confrérie du Tastevin’s annual disnée, or grand dinner, the sort legends are made of.
Sunday, from dawn to dusk, is taken up with the important business of tasting, pricing and selling the year’s harvest at the Beaune Hospice auction. At Meursault, La Paulée is celebrated on the Monday. Local winegrowers and their guests treat themselves to a generous banquet with some of their best vintages, each grower bringing his own bottles to compare, rival and consume with those of his neighbours.
Other wine events are sprinkled throughout the calendar and include the auction at Nuits-Saint-Georges and the national wine fair at Mâcon.
There are also a lot of less known yet very pleasant events throughout the year:
Vineyard, Volnay in background
Note the above texts are mainly coming from brochure "Rich Burgundy", published by Burgundy Tourist Board (2006), and from the Official Burgundy Wines Website
