Epicurean, generous and gourmet, Burgundy is a land of plenty. Good food and great wine make your taste buds tingle, from world-famous vineyards to Michelin-starred restaurants. On a Burgundy getaway, it's easy to learn about the art of gastronomy by visiting the vineyards or sampling mustard seeds and blackcurrants. It's a great way to fill up on delicious memories!
Get a whiff of mustard at Fallot in Dijon and Beaune
100g brown mustard seeds, 8 tablespoons dry white wine, 6 tablespoons white wine vinegar and a teaspoon of coarse salt. Mix, crush, add, flavour... A slightly pungent smell tickling your nostrils? Welcome to Dijon, capital of Burgundy and mustard! In the workshops of Maison Fallot, one of the last family-run mustard factories in Burgundy, you can learn how to make this famous condiment in expert company. In Beaune, Fallot's mustard-makers also reveal their manufacturing secrets in a highly sensory museum area. A "Sensations Fortes" tour well worth the diversions.
Destination Dijon Moutarderie Fallot Visit the mustard factory
Seeing red at the Cassissium de Nuits-Saint Georges
Everything you need to know about blackcurrants. The little berry is a star in Burgundy, sweet and velvety in liqueur to make the famous Kir, tart and fruity in jams or fruit jellies. In Nuits-Saint-Georges, the birthplace of some of the world's greatest red wines, Maison Vedrenne has created the Cassissium, an interactive museum entirely dedicated to blackcurrants, with films, videos and interactive terminals. Tastings and workshops are the perfect complement to a gourmet visit.
Maison Vedrenne Cassissium Nuits-Saint-Georges Tourist Office
Harvesting at Château de Pommard
Ah, harvest time! Burgundy is never more beautiful and golden than under the September sun. If you dream of slipping into the shoes of a winegrower for even a few hours, Château de Pommard welcomes you to its iconic vineyard. Hold the secateurs and hand-pick the beautiful purple bunches, help carry the baskets, follow the grapes all the way to the bottle, taste the wine at different stages of its development and, of course, share the grape-pickers' lunch... A 'grand cru' experience in a vineyard listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We're sure you'll find this vintage unforgettable!
Feast on local specialities at Les Halles de Dijon
Since 2016, every Sunday during the summer months, the Halles Brunch has been making food lovers' hearts beat a little faster under the great metal halls of historic Dijon. Even in its takeaway version, the new edition retains its guinguette spirit and awakens the taste buds with music. The menus, meanwhile, remain worthy of the reputation of the Burgundians (gourmands!): parsley ham, brioche sausage, veal blanquette, Époisses, pears in wine and a few vintages from the Climats du vignoble de Bourgogne listed as a Unesco World Heritage site. From 10am to 2pm, chefs and local producers will be cooking up a storm. Order your hamper and head off for a picnic, why not in Talant on the heights of Dijon? We promise you good food and good taste.
Discover the Climats de Bourgogne and their nectar
You don't need to be a weather expert to understand what a Climat in Burgundy is. Don't look up to the sky, look down at the ground and admire the 1,247 carefully demarcated parcels of vines, stretching along a thin ribbon of land from Dijon to Santenay, south of Beaune. Some of these climats go by the legendary names of Chambertin, Romanée-Conti, Clos de Vougeot, Montrachet, Pommard... It's here that you should push open the doors of the winegrowers' cellars. In the narrow streets of Gevrey-Chambertin, the new Halle Chambertin invites you to travel back in time, play naturalist and discover the great wines of Gevrey.
Immerse yourself in the vineyards of a divine château at Clos de Vougeot
Between Dijon and Nuits-Saint-Georges, a chateau with beautiful glazed tiles stands in a sea of vines... This is the home of the Knights of the Tastevin, a venerable brotherhood of 12,000 knights, ambassadors for Burgundy the world over. The old wine presses, the vat room and the large cellar are just as they were in the 12th century. What better setting than the Clos de Vougeot for 'sensory' visits, where you can taste the very best of Burgundy, in the glass and on the plate?
Recommendations and advice
Would you like to take a gourmet walk through the incredible vineyards of Burgundy? It's a truly wonderful experience! And it's even more enjoyable when the region is quieter than during the busy high season. So if you have the chance, don't hesitate to choose an off-season holiday to take advantage of more attractive prices and the best visiting conditions. In addition, remember to preserve this unique environment by adopting a few simple reflexes that will also make your stay more enjoyable. For example, take the train to the Burgundy region, which is particularly well served, and remember that soft transport (tram, segway, bicycle) is well developed to get around. What a gastronomic discovery!
Find out more - Prepare your trip to Burgundy
By Pascale Filliâtre
Journalist-traveller. I often voyage to the end of the world to explore what France offers... just next door. filliatre.pascale@orange.fr