So I have been holding out on arranging tastings for my group of four because I wanted to see when the Burgundy harvest would take shape. It appears it won’t take place until October. We will be there 9/21-9/28.
I would love suggestions for winery tastings while we travel the canals by boat. Suggestions? Much appreciated!
I’m going to jump in on this post and watch. I just booked my flights and hotels to visit in December. We will fly into Lyon on December 4th and leave very early on the 9th. Unlike John, we won’t be on the canals but we are looking for places to taste in the Cote de Nuits and Cote de Beaune. I have Maison Ilan and Mugneret-Gibourg on my short list so far but I’m pretty clueless when it comes to producers. Any help would be appreciated.
Re: places to taste, it helps to have connections. Without, ones that might be easier to get in - Bize, Pavelot, M. Gaunox in the Cote des Beaune.
Re: September, it will be very hard, that’s right at harvest I think.
Supposedly harvest will likely occur in October due to unusually cold weather in the spring. I don’t know how the recent storms will affect things though.
Best tasting I’ve ever done was with Fourrier. Email Vicky.
Thanks Dan! Will do.
Any others?
Dan, I haven’t been able to find contact information on the net. Any idea how I can get Vicky’s email?
Hi Monte,
Are you taking the armour with you this time ?
Cheers Anthony.
No Armor. Just two empty WineChecks to fill.
Their trip was a little crazy but it didn’t have as many bumps as I expected. Their favorite day was driving from Beaune to Piolenc wandering and stopping as they saw fit. It’s part of the reason we decided to do this trip with just the two of us. I’ll post the preliminary details soon as we just finished plane, car and lodging. Now I’m researching places to taste and places to eat.
You may not bump into harvest, but you might bump into pre-harvest preparations, so be ready to hear some “merci but no merci”, especially at the smaller places. Just an FYI.
Oh, and I’m jealous, Burgundy at harvest is amazing (I did it in 2006).
Monte, you already know where to eat:
All the places that she and her armored friends did not go to that we previously suggested. ![[snort.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/b/bdc3944606213c4dca6c1169cf0a166c8bc4f8c9.gif "snort.gif"){kind=small}
Have a great time! ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
Andrew
You’re so right Michel. Since you have been there during harvest do you have any suggestions, recommendations, or words of wisdom? I have no idea what to expect. So far I have contacted Fourrier, Dujac, Ray Walker and Bouchard. No responses yet.
I have your notes bookmarked and read through them again last night. I’m sure we will try to make reservations for lunch at Le Millésime and Le Gourmandin, dinner at L’Ecusson and probably Ma Cuisine. I’m sure we will also find our way to la Pâtisserie Wagner sometime on the trip.
Our rough itinerary breaks down this way:
Wednesday December 4 - Arrive in Lyon at 11:45. Lunch in Lyon then head north. Staying that night at L’Atelier du Relais in Laives, just south of Chalon-sur-Saône. Will have dinner that night in the B&B.
Thursday December 5 - Likely to focus on the Côte de Beaune (at least in the morning). Our B&B for the next three nights is Ame de la Terre. It is in Ruffey les Echirey, just northeast of Dijon. A little out of the way but highly recommended by a friend and looked wonderful on the website.
Friday and Saturday December 6 & 7 - Schedule to be dictated by tasting appointments and restaurant reservations.
Sunday December 8 - Knowing that Sundays can be a challenge, we are going to probably spend a bit of the day driving and just enjoying the scenery as we make our way back down to Lyon. We’ll have dinner there and check into the NH Lyon Aéroport, which is right at the airport. With a 6:50 flight Monday morning, we figured it would be easier to drop off the car Sunday and walk to the gate.
We are still trying to figure out which producers to visit so any advice is welcome on that level.
No go for Fourrier.
Was it timing, or they just don’t take visitors?
I got the same message this morning for the same general timeframe–she said it was timing.
I would just suggest you remain as open minded as possible. The better domaines that we all talk about are in general smaller so won’t have the personnel to show you around. Equipment’s being cleaned and prepared, things are being put into place for the super sprint that is harvest.
I would suggest you drive around and enjoy the sights, sounds, and almost as important at harvest, smells of the countryside.
That’s the plan. I will be there with my wife and some really good friends. We plan to roam the villages. We buy fresh produce and cook on the boat. We are triathaletes so we will be biking and running the countryside. When it comes to the wine we will take any opportunity we can get. We’ve got reservations at some excellent restaurants but we will also just try to find some random bites as well.
As for Fourrier, Vicky said they would be in the mad final prep for harvest.
I would love to see Ray Walker’s Maison Ilan operation but I have yet to hear back from him. I know he’s on his book tour so I will just have to hope to get a response.
you will be right into the harvest time (including pre harvest preparation). You can still opt for more commercial places (Drouhin, Patriarche, Chateau Meursault, Chateau Pommard, Bertagna, Moillard, etc…).