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The wine route

For wine lovers, the names "Côte de Nuits" and "Côte de Beaune" sound mythical. From Dijon to Santenay, over 65 kilometres, is one of the most renowned vineyards in the world.
The hillsides, as straight as a die, mark out the road and gave the region its fantasy name: Côte d'Or (golden coast). On the divine route, the perfect vines and packed cellars go together with the renowned castles, the Cistercian abbeys and the dream views.


First, the "Côte de Nuit" stretches out over 3,000 hectares of crimson and golden vines on a narrow strip of hillsides facing East between Fixin and Corgoloin. It is the paradise of the Pinot Noir vine, at the origin of the great red wines. Its first class wines: Chambertin, Clos de Vougeot and Romanée-Conti.
Village after village: Chenove where you can visit the "cuverie des ducs de Bourgogne" in which you will see the magnificent 13th century wine presses; Marsannay-la-Côte and its museum of wine-growing life; Gevrey-Chambertin and its 10th century fortress given to the monks of Cluny during the 11th century; Vougeot and its castle finished during the Renaissance by the abbot Loisier and Nuits-Saint-Georges.

The "Côte de Beaune" extends over 5,000 hectares from the North of Aloxe-Corton to Santenay and initially produces great white wines but also excellent red wines. Its principal wines: Meursault, Montrachet and Corton-Charlemagne for the whites and Volnay, Pommard and Beaune for the reds. Here too, the route crosses villages with suggestive names: Pommard bearing the name of an ancient temple dedicated to Pomone, the fruit and garden divinity; Volnay of which the red wines are said to have been very much appreciated by Louis XI; La Rochepot, Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet and Santenay.
For this route, be sure to take time for the many tasting stops, that will allow you to discover magnificent buildings. Be sure, also that the driver stays sober!

The vineyards of Burgundy

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The Knights of Tastevin

The Knights of Tastevin The Château du Clos Vougeot is the property of the brotherhood since 1944. In 1934, a small group of Burgundians gathered in a cellar of Nuits-Saint-Georges and founded a society to fight the slump in wine sales and to help people know "French and more particularly, Burgundy wines" better. The brotherhood was founded and its renown was so great that it soon went all over Europe and America. Every year, in the Grand Cellier (the great cellar), are held several chapters of the order which are famous around the world. Five hundred guests participate to these "disnées" (diners) after which the great master and the great chamberlain, accompanied by high dignitaries, enthrone new knights following a scrupulously established rite, set on the diversion of Molière's Imaginary Invalid.

The Brotherhood of Tastevin

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