Hello
WE are 5 adults staying 4 nights in Beaune the first week of October. WE will be cycling south of Beaune on La Vois des Vignes one day and will rent a car for 2 days to tour some wineries (perhaps 2-3 tastings), visit some lovely rural villages, perhaps picnic somewhere lovely. We feel the wine tours are pricey for 5 adults (800 Euros for the day for the 5 of us) so car rental and doing our own thing seems more economical plus we like to do our own touring.
My question is this...Have you personally done some driving/touring/meandering in the Bourgogne area and if so would you share where you went, what wineries/villages/areas were most memorable for you? OR Are you aware of a good resource for us to follow. I am aware that we probably have to book some tastings in advance and that's ok, although we also like to just happen into lovely places and enjoy. In our travels in other parts of the world, we typically prefer wineries on the smaller side, with friendly staff and beautiful surroundings and views. WE love to just sit on their lovely patio and enjoy a glass of wine and charcuterie without the tasting as well.
Any information you can share would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Posted by
Long Beach, Ca, usa
2240 posts
I don't have any winery recommendations, but for a pleasant morning or afternoon I would visit Fontenay Abbey. It is about 1 1/2 hours from Beaune. It is beautiful, and would be a lovely place to have a picnic lunch. Leave Beaune about 8:30, self-tour the Abbey for an hour or hour and a half, enjoy a picnic lunch on the grounds, and drive back to Beaune, possibly stopping at a winery on the way. (You should be able to find something along the general route.) The drive is lovely as well.
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
11172 posts
My in-laws lived in Burgundy. What you are describing sounds like the States. Small wineries in France and Burgundy, often family run with few employees, are less accessible and don’t cater to other activities. Someone in the family stops what they are doing to give you tastes. People we know who live in Beaune go to their personal favorite viticulteurs. In addition, this is close to harvest, their busiest time.
Hopefully others here will be able to describe where they went, but 800€ for a full day for five people is not outrageous especially if the guide has personal connections with the vintners in the area and you want small domains.
Posted by
Long Beach, Ca, usa
2240 posts
Elizabeth is spot on about visiting wineries. It is nothing like the US/California wine tastings. Before a trip to the Dordogne, I did a search of wineries along our driving route back to Bordeaux, checked the websites of those that did some tastings, and found that they all required reservations and had limited days (e.g. Saturday only and only certain months). In Burgundy there may be more, but producing the wine takes precedence over entertaining drop-in visitors. A few do accept guests for overnight stays as well, but the ones I see online are quite expensive. Due to the stricter blood alcohol limits in France, I would possibly splurge for a guided tour. Or else, go to one of the wine shops in Beaune, etc. to taste a variety of wines. They are more like a "co-op" type of tasting room where you can try a variety of the local producers.
Burgundy is so world-famous for its wines that they have no need to cultivate drop-in visitors to sell their wines. I live in Calif and take frequent road trips throughout the state, so am familiar with the many, many wine areas (Napa is only one), and Burgundy is considerably different.
A votre sante! Amusez-vous bien!
Posted by
Normandie
499 posts
To provide a bit of background, wineries in Bourgogne generally are small, often family-owned, and not well situated for tastings. That said, you can find those that provide tastings. I used to live in Bourgogne, and the only time we bothered with doing tastings at a winery was when we rented bikes from Bourgogne Evasions in Beaune. They arranged the visits to the wineries. You might consider working through them
Bordeaux and Bourgogne are fundamentally different. Bordeaux specializes in large, industrial-scale wineries operating historically under the influence of Dutch and then English traders. Wineries in Bourgogne tend to be smaller and (for the reds) focus on pinot noir rather than Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon, as are common in Bordeaux (along with others such as Cabernet Franc and Malbec).
In a very general sense, look at Bordeaux wineries as roughly equivalent to the large California wineries, which rely on similar grape varieties. On the other hand Bourgogne wineries are roughly equivalent to Oregon wineries. Smaller, colder, and relying on the difficult to grow pinot noir grape.
Posted by
52 posts
Hi AlbertaMax,
The rick Steve’s guide covers Burgundy quite well. You can rent a car or do it on a bicycle, there are great bike trails.
Some of my favourite visits were Louis Jadot, Comte Senard, Henri De Villamont, and Chateau Pommard.
Safe Travels
Stefan