Burgundy is unlike any other wine region that I’ve visited, and coming from Australia I found it quite difficult to navigate. Add on a language barrier and you wind up in some interesting scenarios. So I thought I would provide 5 tips for visiting Burgundy so that if you are visiting Burgundy you know what to expect, and perhaps go in with a little more knowledge than I did!
We only had two days in Burgundy, and although we drove the Route des Grands Crus, we could have easily spent a week there exploring it further. The good thing about the region is that it offers so much, but you can tick off the main areas without travelling too far if you have limited time. So here we go: my 5 tips for visiting Burgundy
Tips for visiting Burgundy 1: Book ahead to guarantee a tasting
When we were in Burgundy, we had a day set aside to visit the wine regions. We drove down the Route des Grands Crus from Dijon to Beaune and expected that we would be able to pop into wineries on the way. To be fair, we were also told by the Wine Tourist office that this was something we could do without a problem, so we wandered into our first winery of the day thinking we would be able to get a tasting.
One thing to note about Burgundy, it has only recently become a tourist wine region. By that I mean they are beginning to accept tourists. This doesn’t mean that they are welcoming with open arms – they are still building up this industry in the region. So whilst we had many friendly encounters, we also had some unfriendly ones because we were not following the process. Burgundy wineries do not make their income from tourists, so they are not really geared towards this type of customer. You can understand why, I mean I wouldn’t want to deal with tourists if I didn’t have to! Especially those with terrible French (like me).
So we wandered into the winery and asked to taste the wines. We were standing there waiting for about 15 minutes before we were acknowledged, and then we were told that there were no tastings available, despite being one of many couples in the room. We were then told “You should have booked, come back next week.”
Don’t be disheartened
Some people might find this rude, and to be honest, it did deflate me a bit, but having read about the wine region it didn’t come as a massive surprise. If you are going to visit their business, you need to let them know you are coming in advance.
So two pieces of advice from here: don’t listen to the tourism office, and make sure you book ahead! It will help you plan out your day as well, so it is a good thing to do. You could even get your hotel concierge to book it for you if you’re worried about emailing in French. They might even help you find some hidden gems.
Tips for visiting Burgundy 2: If you’re not booking, look for the ‘degustation’ signs
I don’t want you to be disheartened, because I know it is something quite Australian to not book in for wine tastings. We are quite spoilt with our wine regions in that you can rock up pretty much anywhere and get a tasting without a booking. Therefore the thought of having to call in advance is against our nature. So there is a little trick if you don’t want to book in for your wine tasting.
If you want to fly by the seat of your pants in Burgundy, you most certainly can. You just need to know what to look for. There are a number of wineries that you’ll see throughout the region that either have ‘degustation’ or ‘De Vignes en Caves’ written on them. These wineries, as long as they are open, will offer you a tasting, generally without a booking.
Although many offer degustation, and in fact you’ll see this written everywhere as you drive through, the official sign is the ‘De Vignes en Caves’. These wineries are exemplars of their field and provide a friendly welcome and a free tasting. So look out for the plaques as you drive through (you can find out more here).
It can be hard to know which of these wineries offer a good tasting, especially as the best wineries tend to require a booking. But if you’re armed with a book from the tourist information centre, you should be able to pick out the ones that will give you a good experience. I found this website quite helpful in working out which wineries to visit.
Tips for visiting Burgundy 3: Visit the wine stores in Beaune and Dijon
Some of our favourite places we visited in the main cities of Burgundy had the most incredible wine shops. I mean you are in one of the main wine regions of France, why wouldn’t you have a sticky beak at the wines on offer?
In Dijon we found some great stores that had a huge cellar in the bottom, but at the top had great gifts and trinkets that were all wine related. I didn’t know I needed to many wine related goodies, but now I do. They are great for presents to bring back, but also good for things to remind you of your visit.
One of my favourite places that we visited wine stores in was Beaune. The main street is full of them, and they had the most incredible wines. Even if you aren’t buying any, it is worth a look to see all the wines. It is almost like a trip back in time. My favourite store had a table covered in old, dusty bottles of burgundy wine from years and years ago. If I had had more space in my suitcase, I would have definitely brought a few of those back!
Burgundy wine isn’t readily available in Australia (well, not like it is in France), so if you want to check out all the different wines on offer in one place, I wouldn’t miss the bottle shops! Look out for them by following the Cave a Vin signs.
Tips for visiting Burgundy 4: Check out the wine caves
We didn’t go to many tastings because we were unorganised, but I did book us in for a tour of the wine caves under Beaune. These are thousands of years old, and make up many kilometres under the city. I’d heard it was worth a look, so I booked us in.
The two main houses offering this are Patriarche and Maison Joseph Drouhin. We chose Patriarche for the cheaper price, and because Joseph Drouhin was booked out. I’ve heard these caves are incredible so you could always check out both!
Patriarche was fun but it was quite touristy. They have a self-guided tour through a part of their 5km of caves which has a number of videos along the way. Don’t be put off: it is worth seeing the wine caves. They are absolutely incredible and filled with thousands of old bottles of wine. It is truly a magical experience. The best part about it is that at the end you get to try their wines with a little silver cup you can take home. The wine tasting was self-guided with many wines to try. I felt quite cheerful on the way out!
Although the wines at Patriarche weren’t the best ones that we had in Burgundy, it was worth it to see the incredible wine caves.
Tips for visiting Burgundy 5: Get off the highway
My final tip for you is to do with the scenery. Burgundy is unlike any wine region I’ve been to before. There are wineries as far as the eye can see, and greenery that stretches for miles in between quaint small towns and huge wheat fields. The scenery should not be missed in your wine experience, so include it in your trip plan!
Although it is a lot quicker to go on the highway, you will miss a lot of what Burgundy has to offer. Most of the wineries are between the larger towns, and it is difficult to get off the highway. Trust me, I know this from experience. My partner and I took a wrong turn and there wasn’t an exit for another half an hour before we could get on the right road. It turned a half an hour trip into 1.5 hours!
If you are going to do Burgundy, do not miss the Route des Grands Crus. This is the best way to see the sights, wineries and little towns along the way. This was one of the most magical experiences of our time there, and I think I enjoyed this most out of our full day of winery visiting. Seeing how the grapes are grown, driving down little side streets and through villages, it made the trip for me.
You can easily follow the signs for the Route des Grands Crus throughout Burgundy. It’s well signposted so it’s hard to get lost, unless you wind up on the highway!
In summary: 5 tips for visiting Burgundy
So there you have it, my top 5 tips. This isn’t exhaustive and I know most people will have had different experience, but hopefully this helps you in planning your trip!
Burgundy is a place unlike any other I’ve been to, and it is definitely worth a visit. From its beautiful little towns to the hills covered in grapes vines, it has so much to offer. And we didn’t even touch on the food here!