Burgundy from Paris —
Beaune & the Grand Crus

Burgundy is the wine region that serious wine people tend to discuss the most and visit the least. The geography is compact — the Côte d'Or, the golden slope that produces the most celebrated red and white wines in the world, is barely 50 kilometres long — but the complexity is infinite. Every village produces a different wine. Every slope has a different name. Every producer makes choices that result in wines that taste like no one else's. Understanding Burgundy is a lifetime project. A day from Paris is a beginning, and it is a very good beginning.

The Côte d'Or: Understanding the Golden Slope

The Côte d'Or — the golden slope — is a long, east-facing escarpment that runs from Dijon in the north to Santenay in the south. The geology is Jurassic limestone, laid down when this part of France was beneath a warm sea, and the particular combination of soils, slopes and exposures produces wines of extraordinary variety within a very small area.

The slope is divided into two sections: the Côte de Nuits in the north, which produces primarily red wines from Pinot Noir (including the most famous names in red Burgundy — Gevrey-Chambertin, Chambolle-Musigny, Vosne-Romanée), and the Côte de Beaune in the south, which produces both reds and the great white Burgundies — Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet.

Beaune: The Capital of Burgundy Wine

Beaune is the commercial and cultural capital of the Côte d'Or — a beautifully preserved medieval city that has been at the centre of the Burgundy wine trade for centuries. The old city centre, enclosed within its 15th-century ramparts, is compact enough to walk across in 20 minutes and interesting enough to occupy a full morning.

The Hôtel-Dieu — the medieval hospital founded in 1443 by Nicolas Rolin, chancellor to the Duke of Burgundy — is the most visited monument in Beaune and one of the most extraordinary Gothic buildings in France. The polychrome tile roof of the courtyard, the original painted altarpiece by Rogier van der Weyden, and the intimacy of the medieval ward where patients were treated until 1971 make it genuinely worth an hour of anyone's time.

The Hôtel-Dieu still owns vineyards — its annual auction in November, the Vente aux Enchères des Hospices de Beaune, sets benchmark prices for Burgundy wines each year and draws buyers from around the world.

The Route des Grands Crus: The Most Prestigious Wine Road in the World

The Route des Grands Crus runs north from Beaune through Pommard and Volnay, then into the Côte de Nuits — through Nuits-Saint-Georges, Vosne-Romanée, Vougeot, Chambolle-Musigny, Morey-Saint-Denis and Gevrey-Chambertin — before reaching Dijon. It is approximately 35 kilometres of road that passes through parcels of land producing some of the most expensive wine in the world.

I drive this route slowly. The point is not to cover distance but to read the landscape — to see how the slope changes, how the exposure shifts, how the villages transition into each other, how the density of the planting varies between appellations. With context, this drive is one of the most instructive experiences available to anyone interested in wine. Without context, it is a pleasant road through the French countryside.

Visiting a Domaine in Burgundy

Burgundy domaine visits are different from Champagne cellar tours. There are no tram rides, no theatrical productions — the best visits are conversations with the winemaker or their representative about the specific parcels, the choices made in the cellar, and the character of the vintage. The finest domaines do not advertise; they receive visitors by appointment only.

I have relationships with several Burgundy producers and can arrange introductions that would not be accessible through standard booking channels. Let me know your budget and your interests — in terms of appellations, producers and price range — when you book, and I will design the visit accordingly.