Wine in Beaune

Well, this isn't a tour, but les Caves Patriarche Père & Fils are pretty impressive and can take the better part of an afternoon. It's a self-guided walk through an extensive network of caves containing undoubtedly millions of euros worth of wine underlying a good part of Beaune, ending with a sequence of tasting areas with staff available to discuss the wine. It's unlike some because you pour your wine yourself and taste those that interest you. As part of admission you're given a shallow chromed (or stainless) steel tasting bowl (to keep after the tour) that allows one to assess the clarity and color of wine in small quantities and in low light.

Some visitors have reported that they felt pressured to purchase wine, but I've been twice with different family members and I never felt any pressure at all.

Granted, while I like wine and I live in Bourgogne, touring wineries is not really a hobby of mine, so I'm sure others who are more enthusiastic on the topic can provide more relevant input.

We spent a half day in Beaune and, without car, did the Patriarche tour. It was, as the nice lady where we left our luggage promised, "okay", definitely very interesting to see, and the wines definitely get better and pricier the further along you go, but you are on your own so we didn't actually learn much. I think if there were a half day wineries tour that you could take from Beaune, it may well be more interesting and informative with a better variety of wines.

We were there on a Saturday and there was a fantastic indoor-outdoor market, if you are there on a market day I'd probably advise against a day trip in order to experience the market-that would be a reason to do the Patriarche tour. Have a great trip.

If the weather is good, you could do what a friend and I did when we had one summer day in Beaune, traveling by train. After strolling through the town to appreciate its architecture, we simply bought some bread and cheese and fruit, popped into a wine shop and chose a bottle for our picnic, and hiked out into the nearest vineyard. It was beautiful, relaxing, and memorable.

This was quite a few years ago, so the number of tourists and access to DIY picnicking might not be as low-key as we found it, though.

I would look for some place else besides Patriarche. On my one visit there, I thought the wines were dreadful. Yes, the walk through the old cellars was fascinating, but there was no one there to give us any info. We weren't pressured to buy any wine, but no amount of pressure could have persuaded me to buy anything that I tasted. There are several other negociants headquartered in Beaune, and I would expect that one or more of them would be open for tasting. Or, you can check the Beaune tourist office and see about tours.

I highly recommend http://www.bourgogne-evasion.fr/

They have half day options by bike and by foot. I did a full day bike tour with them a couple years ago, and loved it. Burgundy is beautiful, so it was a great way to see the countryside. I also loved the group; the guide and the other participants were all French people around my age (late 20s), so it was a really fun way to get to know some locals.

Not sure what your definition of break the bank is, but we used Max Erenau of Max's Burgundy Wine Tours 2 years ago and loved it. He is fantastic and very knowledgeable.

We had so much fun renting bikes in Beaune and riding through the vineyards to the wine villages of Pommard, Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet. Drank amazing Chardonnay at Caveau de Puligny-Montrachet! Stopped for lunch along the way. The bike route is in Rick's book and the bike rental is 19 Euros a day per bike.