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Driving and Tasting through the Côte-d’Or

We drove and tasted our way around the Côte-d’Or where we drank plenty of Montrachet and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Burgundy wine tasting is the best!

Burgundy Wine Tasting in the Cote d'Or France

We woke up surprisingly refreshed after our epic three-star dinner at Maison Lameloise. Perhaps our good night’s sleep was due to the comfortable room at La Maison Chaudenay, a charming B&B in Burgundy.

We couldn’t resist a light breakfast, which was highlighted by chats with Australian travelers staying at the inn. (Since the B&B is owned by a former Aussie and a former Kiwi, it’s not surprising that travelers from down under were at breakfast.)

We took a quick walk around the premises, took a final look at the grand Sequoia tree in the backyard, and then we were on our way to do some Burgundy wine tasting.

Photos of La Maison Chaudenay

Chaudenay Hotel Room in Burgundy France
Chaudenay Hotel Room
View from the Hotel Balcony in Burgundy France
View from our Hotel Balcony
Enjoying the View in Burgundy France
Enjoying the View
Mindi on the Balcony in Burgundy France
Mindi on the Balcony
Fence in Burgundy France
Fence
Window in the Vines in Burgundy France
Window in the Vines
Chaudenay Burgundy France Selfie
Chaudenay
Sequoia Tree in Burgundy France
Sequoia Tree

Burgundy Wine Tasting in the Côte-d’Or

Chassagne-Montrachet Tasting Room in Burgundy France
Chassagne-Montrachet Tasting Room

Since the inclement weather eliminated the option of biking, we started our day by driving to the official tasting room in Chassagne-Montrachet, where we got to taste a good selection of the world’s greatest white wines representing the best of France.

Wine Tasting Bottles in Burgundy France
Wine Tasting Bottles
Wine Tasting in Burgundy France
Daryl drinks wine from the tasting menu.
Enjoying the Wine in Burgundy France
Mindi approves of his wine choices.

Needless to say, we were looking forward to exploring the wine country of Burgundy due to the region’s rich history and our love for wine. For better and worse, we were in Burgundy at the height of the harvest.

City Vineyard in Burgundy France
City Vineyard

Yes, we observed some interesting seasonal activity, but we also lost access to many smaller producers who were busily picking their grapes. This is why we hadn’t set up rendezvous appointments.

Peugeot Rental Car in Burgundy France
Our Zippy Peugeot

We then hopped onto the Route des Grands Crus stretching through the vine-filled Côte d’Or. Our next stop was a tasting in Puligny-Montrachet, where we sampled and purchased delicious white wines.

Ripening Vines in Burgundy France
Ripening Vines

The day was still young, so we headed to the town of Meursault, also known for its Chardonnay wines. Suddenly, it was lunchtime, and everything was closed except for the restaurants.

Montrachet Grand Cru Vineyard in Burgundy France
Montrachet Grand Cru Vineyard
Mesrsault over the Wall in Burgundy France
Mersault over the Wall
Mersault Roof in Burgundy France
Mersault Roof

As we discovered, the French would prefer that everyone eat lunch between 12:00 – 2:00 and shop between 2:00 – 7:00. So, we had no choice but to take a lunch break.

Lunch at Le Bouchon in Mersault France
Lunch at Le Bouchon in Meursault

We stopped at a small roadside restaurant in Meursault called Le Bouchon, where we dined at a French equivalent of a luncheonette.

Future Wine in Burgundy France
Future Wine
Grapes in Burgundy France
Grapes
Grapes on the Vine in Burgundy France
Grapes on the Vine – Note that 2012 may not be great year.
More Grapes on the Vine in Burgundy France
More Grapes on the Vine – These clusters are far more suitable for picking
Vine Posts in Burgundy France
Vine posts make excellent coat hangers.
Burgundian Harvester in Burgundy France
Burgundian Harvester

After lunch, we drove through the grape-lined fields to our next destination, Pommard – yet another cute village with more wine to be tasted. It was a tough job, but we were up to the challenge.

Cassis Museum and Tasting

Cassissium in Burgundy France
Cassissium

Our next stop was a bit off the beaten path, at least for Americans. We drove up to Nuits-Saint-Georges and went to the Cassissium, a museum dedicated to Cassis, the local blackcurrant liqueur.

Cassis Tasting in Burgundy France
Cassis Tasting

Headsets in English helped since everything in the museum was in French and German. We toured the somewhat campy museum and sampled various drinks featuring Cassis and Marc, a local version of pomace brandy.

Our Burgundy adventure continued as we headed off to our final destination of the day – La Ruchotte in Bligny-Sur-Ouche.

Planning Checklist

Thirsty for More Wine?

Check out our Stellenbosch wine tasting experiences for inspiration. Then discover why Alto Adige is Italy’s wine wonderland.

About the Authors

About the Authors

Daryl & Mindi Hirsch

Saveur Magazine’s BEST TRAVEL BLOG award winners Daryl and Mindi Hirsch share their culinary travel experiences and recipes on the 2foodtrippers website and YouTube. The married Food and Travel content creators live in Lisbon, Portugal.

Disclosures

Article Updates
We update our articles regularly. Some updates are major while others are minor link changes and spelling corrections. Let us know if you see anything that needs to be updated in this article.

Funding
We self-funded our trip to Burgundy.

Original Publication Date: October 22, 2012

Heidi

Wednesday 24th of October 2012

yummmmm! and love your photos :)

Bob

Tuesday 23rd of October 2012

This time I ate before I read your very interesting blog. Much better. The wine and museum looked interesting also.

Linda Rosen

Tuesday 23rd of October 2012

It sounds delightful. Your planning was worth the effort because you knew where to go. I.m amazed how you found these places.