When we were planning our trip to France, we knew we wanted to go to the Burgundy wine region. One of the reasons was because Tom, Laura’s father, was coming with us and he absolutely loves French wine. I don’t even know if “love” is strong enough of a word for how Tom feels about French wine! Originally we thought we would stay in Dijon, but Tom suggested we stay in the heart of the Burgundy wine region. After much research and consulting our friend Rick (Steves 😜) we decided to spend our time in Beaune. This turned out to be an excellent decision!
Beaune is located between Dijon and Lyon, and is considered the wine capital of Burgundy. With a population of around 20,000 people, it was the smallest city we were staying in.
We used DayTrip to hire a couple of drivers to take us from Strasbourg directly to Beaune. We traveled in electric vehicles and had to stop midway to charge them up. As I mentioned in the blog post “Vive la France – Strasbourg”, there was a planned truck drivers strike in the Alsace region that would affect our travel time to Beaune. We left Strasbourg early enough so the strike did not affect our travel to Beaune.
Laura, DLP, Tom, Mr. T and I were staying at the Ibis Styles Beaune Centre, a nice chain hotel (I think it would be similar to a Holiday Inn), located close to the city center and within walking distance of everything we wanted to see in town. It was comfortable, with a bar and an elevator. And I realized as I am writing this that I did not take a picture of the room, but we really liked it.
The five of us went out exploring and found a place for lunch, Les Chevaliers. Ok, this is the first place we really experienced what I would call “bad service” and possibly a “bad attitude”. Mr. T ordered food, and they brought him something different than what he ordered, and then the server acted put out that Mr. T returned it and wanted the food he actually ordered. Then I witnessed the server being rude to another American guest. Again, this is the first and only time this happened during our whole time in France. The rest of us had ok meals, but this is a place I don’t need to go back and really would not recommend.
While we were eating, Susan, Sarah, and Patti were checking into their hotel, the Abbaye de Maizières, a former 12th century abbey. Susan was in heaven! She said this was her favorite hotel in France, and maybe her favorite hotel ever! There is a doorway to enter the hotel, but when we came to visit them, we entered through a window 😳. It really is something to see, and as long as you don’t have any mobility issues, is a great place to stay.
We walked around town and eventually all met up that evening for some wine and a light dinner at TOMA Bar à Vin & Food. What a great place! They were very welcoming, and the wine and food were great!
The next morning it was raining, so we decided to go to the Hospices de Beaune, a charitable hospital for the poor founded in 1433. A charitable wine auction has also been hosted here since 1859. The buildings are well preserved, and you can get a good look at what it was like to be cared for in this institution through the years. The glazed tile roofs with their geometric patterns are characteristic of Burgundian architecture.
After visiting the Hospices de Beaune, we took off for La Moutardarie de Edmond Fallot to buy another speciality of the Burgundy region – Dijon mustard! There are tours offered here, but the real star is the mustard, and there is a lot to choose from. We ended up getting several jars to bring home, and love it so much that we have ordered more through Amazon.
Time for lunch! We ended up eating at Brasserie Le Parisien, which just happened to be next door to the first place we ate lunch, Les Chevaliers. What a difference! The service was excellent, and the food and wine very good! We had a tour scheduled for right after lunch, and they did a great job accommodating our group 😊
On to our next stop! And I do need to set this up … before we ventured to France, It’s All About Wine’s book club Get Lit was reading “Wine and War: The French, the Nazis, and the Battle for France’s Greatest Treasure”. A good part of the book focused on Maurice Drouhin, second generation winemaker at Maison Joseph Drouhin, who was a big part of the French Resistance in WWII. In June 1944, the Gestapo came looking for Maurice. Luckily he had been tipped off, and escaped through the Drouhin family cellars, a maze of passageways underneath the city and ended up at the Hospices of Beaune, where the nuns kept him safe. After the war, Maurice donated two hectares of vineyards to the Hospices of Beaune for keeping him safe.
After I read “Wine and War” I knew I had to visit Maison Joseph Drouhin and see the cellars. We booked a tasting at Oenothéque Joseph Drouhin to taste their amazing wines and see the route Maurice used to escape. It was wonderful, and I learned a lot about French wine from our delightful tour guide and tasting expert.
After our tour we continued drinking wine at Bistrot Des Halles – such a great day!
The next day we had scheduled a tour of the Burgundy wine region with A la Francaise!, and I was so excited to get out and see the wine region. We had such a great time! Our tour guide/driver/wine expert picked us up in Beaune and took us through Pommard, Volnay, Meursault, on narrow roads, and then to our first stop, Domaine & Maison Chanzy in Puligny-Montrachet. We had another lesson in how to identify French wine by reading the labels – which I thought I had down until I got back home and was buying some French wine 😂. I don’t know why I find it so complicated! We tasted some fabulous chardonnays and pinot noirs with a nice lunch of meats and cheeses. Mr. T loved it so much he bought a case of wine to ship home.
Our next stop was at the famous grape plot Montrachet of Marquis de Laguiche, owned by the Laguiche family but cultivated and harvested by Maison Drouhin. It is a little over five acres of chardonnay and is considered a Grand Cru vineyard, the highest and most prestigious level in the Burgundy region. In France the vineyards really are the stars!
We went back to Meursault to visit one more winery and have a little walk around the village. The Tour de France went through this small village a few years ago, and Mr. T found some bicycle jerseys that highlighted the Tour’s route through the region – it’s a great souvenir!
The last winery we visited was Domaine Yves Boyer Martenot, where we had another extraordinary lineup of wine to taste.
We ended the evening having a delicious meal at Bistro des Cocettes.
The next morning we headed to Lyon by train, our final destination in France. I can’t say enough good things about Beaune though – easy to get around, nice people, and exceptional wine and food. I was even thinking while I was there that I could get a part time job in one of the villages 🤔.
See you in Lyon!
Tales From The Wine Store 