I recently had the opportunity to visit Burgundy. So of course Burgundy wine tours were an important part of my planning. I was therefore thrilled to be invited on a Burgundy wine trip by Rue des Vignerons to experience a Burgundy wine tour of the Côte de Nuit. I spent a truly magical afternoon wine tasting in Burgundy and learning more about this famous wine growing region of France.
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Burgundy wine tours: joining my Burgundy wine trip
I was given very clear instructions to join my afternoon Côte de Nuit wine tour from Beaune. Arriving at the appointed time I was pleased to see our vehicle waiting and our guide Alex standing by ready to greet us. The Côte de Nuit tour is a small group tour by SUV, so it is limited to a tiny group. In my case, we were a group of just three guests – myself and an Italian couple. The husband of the couple turned out to be a wine producer from the north of Italy, so I knew we were definitely in for an education about wine.
Once in the very spacious, spotlessly clean and comfortable car we were off a little ahead of schedule – just one of the advantages of choosing such a small group tour of the Burgundy wine region. Alex explained how the afternoon would unfold and told us a little about himself. Not “just” a guide, Alex had a university degree in wine production and had worked in the Burgundy vineyards and in management roles for various producers for a number of years before becoming a guide.
Wine tours in Burgundy France: learning about Burgundy wines
As we drove along Alex started to explain the somewhat complicated appellation (classification) system for wines in Burgundy. The appellation system in France is a set of rules and standards that apply to wines, but also other things such as cheeses and even chicken and spice mixtures. It defines what is required for a product to be labelled in a certain way to provide guidance and advice to a potential purchaser, so they know what quality they are purchasing.
Of course, being France, every appellation has its own different nomenclature and standards. And of course, Burgundy was no exception to that. We first learned about the grapes that must be used to produce Burgundy wines – these are generally the only grape varieties grown in Burgundy. We also learned about the geographical boundaries, and how there are four different standards of Burgundy wine as well as the geographical labelling permitted. This results in a bewildering number of different appellations in Burgundy (around 100) that define the region, the villages, and then down to the individual parcels of land a given wine comes from.
To illustrate his point about different standards of Burgundy wine captured under the Burgundy appellations, Alex put the SUV to good use to take us up to a rocky outcrop overlooking a large valley – impossible in a standard tour bus, but easy for us in our SUV. We hopped out and he proceeded to point out the different appellation classifications we could see before us – the vineyards beyond the main road in the distance were Vins de Bourgogne (the lowest grade possible in the appellation), and then so on up the hillside until we reached the “top vines” that grow the grapes used in the most prestigious appellation standard (Grand Cru).
It was very interesting and quite different (of course) to how the appellation system works elsewhere in France. Alex also pointed out the forest area above where we were standing to explain that the forests of the Burgundy were protected so stop further vineyards being planted – what was growing now is all that is permitted.
Heading back to a properly made road it was time to visit the most expensive and one of the most famous Burgundy winemakers – Rominee Conti. Rominee Conti wines sell for around €5000 a bottle (if you can buy it) and Alex explained the limited quantities and how difficult it is to purchase. He also explained how some people – especially influencers – head into the vineyards and pick the grapes, so they can say they have tasted Rominee Conti. We learned how, not only is this theft and trespass, it is potentially damaging to the highly valuable vines due to incorrect technique to pick the grapes (it can impair proper growth and can introduce infection to the vine and to individual bunches of grapes).
If you choose to visit the Rominee Conti vineyards – or any other vineyard in Burgundy, please don’t be that person.
We had stopped in front of a statue of a cross and I could see another one up the hill a little way. Alex explained how the vineyards had originally been planted by monks, but that the Burgundy vineyards were also on the Way of St James – the French part of the Camino de Santiago.
Our next lesson was how we could tell the different owners of the different rows of vines. The Burgundy vineyards were originally planted and owned by monks. After the French Revolution, vineyards were confiscated from the church and distributed among the local population. Due to French inheritance laws, parcels of vineyards were inherited by all the offspring, so individual parcels became smaller and smaller. Alex showed us how to look at the rows of vines and determine the different owners – some owners had literally just four rows of vines!
Like the sound of this tour? You can book it here >>
Wine tours in Burgundy: Burgundy wine tasting
Having completed our lessons in Burgundy wine and wine growing it was time to taste. Alex had chosen a small, family owned producer for our tasting. Because we were such a small group it was a really a private tasting experience down in the cellars.
We were able to taste a total of six wines: a palate cleansing chardonnay to start, followed by a much sweeter wine that was labelled as Vin de France – because it was made with a grape not approved under the Burgundy appellation system. Then finally a range of reds varying from a Vin de Bourgogne up to a Premier Cru (the second highest classification). It was very interesting to taste the different reds – all made with the same grape, all from Burgundy, but all completely different, due to the different terroir (there is no true English equivalent to the French word terroir, but it is best described as the land and microclimate where a particular vineyard is located) and different barrels.
Our charming hostess was able to point to the exact location of the grapes for each wine on the handy Burgundy wine map on the wall in the tasting room, which certainly added to our experience. As we returned to the car I was interested to see that my Italian wine maker fellow guest had treated himself to a small case of one of our tastings – it must have been good if a professional was impressed.
What I thought of my Côte de Nuit Burgundy wine tasting tour
I thoroughly enjoyed this wine tour of Burgundy. Alex was an excellent guide, and being in such a small group enabled us to get really up close and personal with the vineyards and the producers. The tasting we were treated to was generous in its pours and by Burgundy standards the individual wines were not particularly expensive should you choose to buy something that tempted. Given the length of the tour and its small size, I believe it represents good value for money.
Even if you don’t know much about wine, this tour visits some truly beautiful countryside, and you will learn a lot about Burgundy wine and its production. The vehicle we travelled in was spotlessly clean and comfortable. For those who are less mobile there is not much walking required. This tour would be suitable for well behaved older children.
The tour is also available as a morning departure from Beaune. You can book the morning tour here >>
While my Burgundy wine tour departed from Beaune, a private tour of the Côte de Nuits is also available as a Burgundy wine tour from Dijon – it has a slightly different itinerary. You can book the Côte de Nuit private tour from Dijon here >>
Not travelling to Burgundy anytime soon? You can book other high quality Rue des Vignerons tours and tasting visits here >>
Author’s note: I was a guest of Rue des Vignerons on this tour. All opinions are my own.
