Burgundy wine tours from Paris

The Côte de Beaune is a key wine-producing district of Burgundy. It is named after the historic town of Beaune, the epicenter of wine production and commerce locally, a city therefore living from wine since many centuries.

A narrow strip of land less than 5km wide, running for 25 km in a north-easterly direction, the Côte de Beaune's main vineyard is almost the same size as its northern counterpart, the famous Côte de Nuits. Together these two make up the most prestigious Burgundy vineyard and grow nearly all the most expensive red and white burgundy wines.

The Côte de Beaune is famous for its production of the world's most expensive white wines. Many of them bear a variation of the name Montrachet. The Côte de Beaune is also growing a handful of Burgundy's top red wines. Those from the premier cru vineyards of Pommard and the grand cru Corton are specially famous. As is the case for most of Burgundy wines, white wines are made from Chardonnay, the reds from Pinot Noir.

Côte de Nuit in Burgundy

Named after its principal village, Nuits St Georges, the Côte de Nuits forms the northern half of Burgundy’s vineyard. Côte de Nuit is a 20km strip running south from Dijon to Nuits-Saint-Georges with the best vineyards, called Premiers Crus and Grands Crus, situated halfway up its slopes where the drainage, exposure and soils are at their best.

With 22 of the region’s 23 red Grand Crus, this is Pinot Noir country; most of Burgundy’s (and indeed the world’s) great Pinot Noirs are made here, along with a small number of high quality Chardonnays, including one tiny Grand Cru (Musigny). Quantities are minute, certainly compared with Bordeaux, and prices for the very best wines are thus high. The most famous wines in Côte de Nuits are called Chambolle-Musigny, Côte de Nuits-Villages, Fixin, Gevrey-Chambertin, Marsannay, Morey-Saint-Denis, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Vosne-Romanée and Vougeot.

Locate these vineyards on Côte de Nuit Burgundy map.

Burgundy vineyard

With its unique terroir, Burgundy excels in both white and red wines. The soils of Burgundy are extremely varied, in their richness, depth, and mineral content. The soils vary from one end of the region to the other, and also within a single area. The soil may vary, for example, from the top of a hill to the bottom, from one vineyard plot to the next.

The climate in Burgundy is continental for the most part: fairly warm summers, with the constant threat of hail, and cold winters. The region is northerly and cool enough that the grapes just about ripen in most years. Not all years are good vintages; some have too much rain, or are too cool. The grapes grown in Burgundy are suited to cool climates.

Nearly all red wines of Burgundy derive from a single red grape variety, Pinot Noir. Similarly, white wines derive from Chardonnay. Both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are thought to be native to the Burgundy region:

Burgundy

Burgundy wine history

In 910, monks already owned vineyards in Burgundy. Two hundred years later, many monks dedicated their monasteries to winemaking. In 1336, they created Clos de Vougeot, a property still producing great wines today. In 1395, Duke Philip the Bold of Burgundy issued a decree that the only red grape allowed to be planted was Pinot Noir. Overtime, as the power of the Church lessened, many vineyards were sold. Finally, after the French Revolution, all vineyards owned by the Church were taken away and sold. Until the 18th century most Burgundy wines were consumed locally. As roads improved travel, trading houses sprung up and sold the wine farther away. Burgundy’s reputation grew during the next one hundred years. In 1855 Dr. Jules Lavalle published a book on Burgundy rating the vineyards. In 1861, a three tier system for rating the vineyards was created. In 1936, when the French AOC system was adopted, most of the top tier vineyards from the 1861 classification were awarded Grand Cru status.