When researching things to do in Dijon, I quickly realized that wine drinking was the thing to do–as it is the capital of the Burgundy wine region! Having recently done a tour in Champagne (read about it here) I recognized the value in having someone more educated than myself take us around to learn about the wine (as well as handle the driving to keep it legal!). In the off-season (re: winter) there are a lot less tours running on the weekends but I reached out to Authentica tours and booked the Charm tour for a nice 1/2 day experience.
The tour started at 1:30 which was nice because it allowed us enough time to sleep in and then take our time doing the Owl Walking tour (that I talked about here)! We met up with our guide and fellow drinkers travelers near the Darcey Park and began the drive. What was nice about the tour is that they also allowed infants and children (for a partial price) so my friend was able to bring her one year-old along. In the states I feel like they are so anti-children when it comes to any drinking activities that it can be limiting, so we appreciated their ability to work with families.
Our tour guide Thomas was full of energy and knowledge about the wine. He was also full of jokes about Americans and we let him get away with most of those so he could think he was funny (he wasn’t very funny, but maybe the French have a different kind of humor). On the drive to the first stop, we learned about the Burgundy region and how it is broken down into different “Cotes.” We would be touring in Cote de Nuits and Cote de Beaune, the better regions and homes to the most Grand Crus. The next thing we had to learn about was what exactly that meant! The Burgundy wine rating is kind of on a scale of 1-4, with Grand Cru being at the top (and therefore, most expensive), followed by Premier Cru, and then village wines. 100s of years ago, monks ranked the different plots of land as Grand Cru, Premier Cru, etc. and so even if your wine is actually not that good, you can still call it Grand Cru and get the Grand Cru price if that is the land it was grown on. There is a bit more info to it but we had 5 hours to learn about it from Thomas and I don’t have your attention that long. The main takeaway I got was to buy Premier Cru wines instead since they are cheaper but are almost always guaranteed to be tasty.
Our first stop was to do a wine tasting inside a wine-store wine-cellar. Super cute. The gentleman that ran the place set up a nice table with cheese and chocolate as well as 5 Burgundy wines for us to taste ranging from 12 euro to 75 euro (close to $100). Thomas also talked us through each of the wines in the tasting. When a wine is considered a “Burgundy Wine” it doesn’t mean it has to be red – the two types of grapes they grow in Burgundy are Chardonnay and Pinot Noir (which are also 2 of the 3 grapes they grow in Champagne!). The first wine we tasted was a Chablis (so, Chardonnay grapes, and technically a little further away from the rest of Burgundy) and it was so darn delicious we all left with a bottle (or two!). After that we moved to reds and the main takeaway I had from those was to let your Burgundies grow up – you really want to let them age longer so that the flavors develop and mellow a bit and lose some of the harsh tannins. This is seemingly more important with a Pinot from Burgundy than say a Pinot from Oregon or California.
After the tasting, we started off on a long-ish (1 hr or so) drive to Cote de Beaune. Along the way Thomas talked about the grapes and vineyards and stopped for a photo of an old monastery- turned- chateau (that apparently has a 2 year waiting list if you want to host your wedding there). If you want to get to go inside the monastery, do the Discovery tour. We had wanted that tour but sadly it was not available the weekend we were there. Thomas did stop for some photos though!
In Cote de Beaune we only had an hour (unfortunately) since some of the people on the tour had a train to catch (and the tour ended at 630 anyway) so our guide took us to another winery store where we were able to have another free tasting (of 4 wines). We were bummed we didn’t have time to walk around the town and see the main sights like their “Hospice” or the mustard stores but we did walk away with a couple cases of wine (all white) so the stop was productive!
Two stops for a 5 hour round-trip tour is pretty realistic, especially since the areas are so far apart so if you want to get more, definitely look at some of the longer day tours (like the Passion tour) that take you to some wineries and vineyards. If you are looking to learn about the region’s wine and buy some good stuff without getting ripped off, then the Charm tour is perfect for you. We left far more educated about the region, wine, and wine labels than before and I settled for once and for all that I am a far greater fan of French white wines than reds!
Have questions? Post them in the comments below!
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Kali