My wife and I are planning a trip in early February and we’re going to be spending a few days in Beaune. A couple years ago, we worked with Henri Challou in Bordeaux and could not recommend him highly enough! We reached out to him to see if he had a recommendation for someone who does something similar in Burgundy to what he does in Bordeaux. He recommended Florent with “Detours in France”.
Does anyone know of Florent and, if so, would you provide a similar recommendation? Or, is there another person/driver who you’d recommend who has connections to some well-respected domaines in Burgundy? We’ve been to Burgundy before and went with Bourgogne Gold, which was lovely. But we’d prefer to spend more money on wine than on the tour itself, if possible. And we’d like something closer to the “serious” end of the spectrum rather than “touristy” end.
My suggestion is to use the driver for further away places from Beaune like Vosne Romanee. I would set up appointments on your own for close by places like Pommard and Volnay and get taxis to take you and pick up.
Sorry if this is too late - but I figure I’d throw my thoughts in for anyone searching.
I’ve used a tour before, but I would highly recommend just set up tours on your own and then use the train + bike to get around if the weather cooperates. The tour was nothing special, and I will probably not go back to those locations. I’m a cyclist, but my wife may have not used a bike in a couple years and had no problem getting around.
If the weather is bad - I would still use the train but also taxis. I also highly suggest using either Cote d’Or Imports or MBE Dijon to ship your wines back to the US. Much easier than carrying it - but bring a backpack so you can take a bottle to enjoy while you’re there. Most of the domaines have a relationship with either CDI or MBE Dijon and can set you up - or you can reach out in advance. You’ll save on VAT, and they’ll pick up from anywhere in the Cote d’Or.
I have always had my own car - but we typically did too many tastings for me to drive even when I spit (Well - I don’t spit the Grand Crus ). Last time we stayed at an Airbnb in Beaune and at the Chateau de Gilly near Vougeot. I’d probably just stay in Beaune again next time, unless I did one of Anne Gros’s guest houses. There’s better dinning in Beaune.
On our last trip we drove but we did have an old family friend that lived in the region along to interpret for us. At smaller producers, knowing French is a big bonus. Our next trip in Burgundy will be by chartered barge. We have worked with the barge owners to identify the wineries we want to visit and they have made the arrangements. However, our barge trip is not solely for visiting wineries so we will visit fewer.
In order to keep peace with our wives, we have limited our winery visits to five for this trip. Our wives told us that we WILL be enjoying other activities while on this trip. The wineries have been selected in part based on proximity and in part based on our requirement. We will be visiting only one large winery (Château de Meursault) but that visit will be a private one tasting back vintages in the cellar. One advantage of the barge trip for us other than the pure fun of it, is the barge owner’s access to producers.
). Last time we stayed at an Airbnb in Beaune and at the Chateau de Gilly near Vougeot. I’d probably just stay in Beaune again next time, unless I did one of Anne Gros’s guest houses. There’s better dinning in Beaune.