Hi.....
We will be in the Beaune area for 2 days. The region%26#39;s wine and cuisine will be the main focus of our stay.
We will have a car and are staying in St. Romain.
Realistically, how many vineyards can we visit in a given day??
Now, I%26#39;m not asking this question to see how much wine I can possibly consume in a day, rather, I%26#39;m trying to put together a rough list of possible vineyards we%26#39;d like to visit, and I%26#39;d like to know how many I can plan on seeing within a comfortable timeframe. I will be leaving room, of course, for unexpected stops and time to just enjoy the area and sights.
Thanks!
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Sorry this is not the reply you are expecting.
But, I am trying to put together a few days in france wine tasting but I have no idea where to begin. Could you give me any pointers, good websites, good places to go, good vineyards-how do you find which ones to visit, and nice chateauxs to stay in?
Thanks in advance
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I would try to do about 3 or 4 a day if you are planning the visits and that will leave time for any that you stumble on and fancy popping in!
When touring the villages you will see ones that you will want to visit so don%26#39;t plan too many. Too much spitting required otherwise!!
A few links that might be of interest:
http://www.vigneron-independant.com/
These are all independants and are always glad to see you.
http://www.thewinedoctor.com/ -Intereresting website that gives a bit more info than usual.
http://www.bourgogne-wines.com/ -Good listing of producers.
Also OZ Clarke wine guide 2007 is a good source of info.
Just pick some of his recommendations from the type of wine or village you prefer and %26quot;google%26quot; the name. You should get some good potential visits that way. Book will be available on Amazon.
Here are a few we have enjoyed and bought from:
http://www.champy.com/uk/index2.html
Champy have a great selection of most wine villages and are located in Beaune itself. Well worth a visit.
Domaine Rollin, Pernand Vergelesses - in village and produce superb wines and friendly visit here.
Chateau de la Saule M Roy Montagny
vigneron-independant.com/annuaire/…
Incredible value Montagny 1st Cru and others.
This one is a reliable family producer who have a cellar in centre of Nuits St Georges - good English spoken here if you need it :
http://www.dufouleur.com/
Domaine Prieur-Brunet prieur-santenay.com/anglais/…sommaire.htm
They have an excellent restaurant also.
Domaine de la Renarde ANDRE DELORME
2 Rue de la République
71150 Rully
Excellent selection of local wines and good tasting given.
Further south if you have time :
Pouilly-Fuissé to visit Château Fuissé www.chateau-fuisse.fr/
Perhaps the best Puilly Fuisse producer and great tasting venue.
Excellent Cote de Brouily
Château Thivin http://www.chateau-thivin.com/uk/
Hope this helps
Neal
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By the way this is a good site for accomodation:
http://www.sawdays.co.uk/
Never stayed in a chateau but we love this hotel/restaurant
http://www.auberge-cheval-blanc.net/
Really welcoming people %26amp; husband is great chef!
Neal
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Neal,
Thanks for the info.....looks like I will be busy researching some of these links for good places to visit/taste.
Do the vineyards that offer tastings say so on their signs? I read somewhere that they either post it somewhere or that they put glasses out front (like on a wine barrel).....is this true??
Thanks again!
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Flourgal
You do see the wine barrel/glasses sometimes but generally look for the word degustation or degustation gratuit at the entrance.
Most now seem to have a website these days and if you pick a few you fancy visiting before you go the website generally cleary states if they offer tastings by giving the opening times.
Having said that we have popped into ones that having checked afterwards really wanted a reservation but never been refused a tasting.
Don%26#39;t worry too much about a fixed plan as you will get distracted by other places as you go through the villages I promise you. A bit of research befrore you go is worth it however as it is region that can allow some expensive mistakes but also has some great value as well,particularly from ajoining villages to the %26quot;great name%26quot; ones.
As you are in Beaune itself I would strongly recommend Champy as a first port of call to give you a benchmark as to what is available in the region as they can show you wines from that area all the way up to Chablis.
You will have a great time
regards
Neal
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the route nationale 74 is the main artery of the region
going north towards dijon,all the villages of interest are on your left
do not go further than gevrey chambertin,there is no point
in the south the last village is santenay,but you might want to explore the villages as far as chalon
you can fit one tasting in the morning
lunch
and then two tastings in the afternoon
bear in mind that all the wineries easily accessible to the public at shrt notice are tourist traps
ask the palce where you stay in saint romain to set up the tastings
all the best
pierre
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We are in Beaune now and we have bicycled around for the last week. This is NOT Napa. Wineries do not host you. There is rally only a few places you can go. You buy wine at a shop, and with the Euro price, a bottle of SL Cask 23 looks like a bargin.
The people are nice and all...lack of tourists. this is my 9th or so time in France, so it%26#39;s not like I don%26#39;t like the place.
FYI, It%26#39;s cold, a little rain, and it%26#39;s AUGUST...everyone in France is on holiday. Shops close from 12-2pm fyi. Suggestion, go to Paris.
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At a bit of a loss at to where you are coming from with this.
You%26#39;re not a Californian wine producer are you. Certainly nothing wrong with that if you are but Californian wines are good enough to speak for themselves.
It will be quiet in August - the French do take their holidays then - but I thought that was general knowledge.
Many,many places state that they are open for degustation so how did you not manage many visits?
From all the places I have put on the posting I can open a bottle of wine of theirs this evening and I can assure you they were bought at source.
In Burgundy if you have specific ones you wish to visit then as a courtesy a prior phone call can often be a good idea but you really should not have a problem getting sufficient visits to have a very enjoyable day.
You will I admit have difficulty getting a degustation gratuit at places like Puligny Montrachet or Vosne Romanee so from that point of view some places are not like the Napa Valley.
The ones on this site should be particularly welcoming:
http://www.vigneron-independant.com/
You say there are no tourists in Beaune in August? You have to be kidding!
It does rain in Burgundy, I agree.
Has it%26#39;s compensations though- last year they had the helicopters out drying the vineyards - that was different, we don%26#39;t get that in England.Or Paris!
Neal
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A couple of years ago when we were in Beaune, I picked up a free booklet from the tourist information office which listed vineyards in the area, with their policy on wine tasting visits (whether you need to book, whether they make a charge if you don%26#39;t buy anything, etc). I don%26#39;t know whether it%26#39;s still produced, but there is an online listing: burgundy-tourism.com/MoteurIdeal/voir_la_lis…
It looks useful for identifying producers in a particular village, and I get the impression that doing a %26#39;sort by Quality - label%26#39; prioritises some of the major caves which definitely do visits without booking.
From experience, some of the smaller producers may not speak much English, which can be .. um ... interesting.
How many to visit? We%26#39;ve done a tour with Burgundy Discovery, and they offer 3 visits in a day, which was comfortable - however, I%26#39;m jotting down nealrover%26#39;s recommendations for next time :-)
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I don%26#39;t expect it to be like Napa. If we had wanted Napa, we%26#39;d have gone there instead. We will have already been to Paris, where indeed, we will have tasted some great wines.
Additionally, we will not be there in August. We will be there in September, during les vindages, which admittedly will be a somewhat difficult time to find tastings very easily as wine growers will be busy in the fields. We understand this fully. Regardless, we are still interested in visiting the area and experiencing the wines when/where available. The weather is unpredictable.....it is also this way in Paris as well.......this will not be a deterrant - simply a minor obstacle should we encounter a shower or two (or three). We will have an unbrella and a sense of humor!
I will be taking the advice I find here on TA, as well as work with the B%26amp;B owner where we will be staying who will make suggestions and reservations if needed , to come up with a few places to go during our short time there. No doubt, we will vising a cave in the city as well...........that%26#39;s fine with us.
We are just looking for a fun, memorable experience......which I%26#39;m sure we will have, no matter where we go, how many wines we taste or how much it rains!
Cheers to all.......14 more days (but who%26#39;s counting!).
Michele
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