Whether you’re in the cellar of a Beaune merchant or a family winery in the Côte de Beaune, you are required, before you taste, to submit to a local ritual, that of the descent to the cellar ... "Mind your head!"
Burgundy wineries: the great wine houses of Beaune
In Beaune, the wine trading houses welcome you into their cellars, a network that’s sometimes several kilometres long, with striking architecture and an amazing journey through time from the 4th to the 21st century. After the revolution, traders settled all over town: convents, churches and even the walls were taken over by the great wine houses. Guided tours, tastings with commentary, a sensory and interactive journey, each house takes you back into its history, its culture, and its wines.
Burgundy wineries: taste wines at a winemaker’s house
In the Saint Nicolas quarter, home to Beaune’s winemakers, or in the family wineries in the villages of the region, it’s the owner who welcomes you. The winemaker explains how he works, prepares his harvest, raises his wines. Sometimes, he’ll take you slightly out of the village to show you his vineyard and explain the delicate patchwork of Burgundy’s landscape. Back in the cellar, the tour ends with a regulatory tasting: in bottles or casks, sharing friendly times, sometimes accompanied by a “mâchon” (cheese assortment, marbled ham).
Burgundy wineries: châteaux and vineyards, Burgundy-style
Côte de Beaune also contains a collection of fine wine châteaux: Aloxe Corton, Pommard, Meursault, Chassagne-Montrachet, Santenay. Often surrounded by their vineyards, they offer a different face of the wine world, historic heritage, a visit to the winery and cellars, sometimes a restaurant, a guest table and rooms in the château mean you can prolong these special moments.
De Vignes en Caves, a charter for conviviality!
Whether merchant-growers, winemakers or wine cooperatives, more than 300 Burgundy wineries adhere to the quality charter "De Vignes en Caves" (from vine to cellar). These wine professionals open their doors to you and commit to offer you a warm welcome and a free tasting of at least one wine.
