Ma Bourgongne

With a name so interwoven in our history and our oenological knowledge, it’s tempting to think you know Burgundy. We spoke to Vincent Martin, owner of Maison les Pins, to get a feel for the region beyond warring dukes and wine.

Burgundy local –

Vincent Martin

I was born close to Beaune, my father and grandfather were both born in the town itself. The hospital (Hospices de Beaune) is now a museum that sells wine in barrels at a fantastic charity auction in November. My parents were about to retire from running the B&B, so I decided to continue welcoming guests at La Terre D’Or. I am as enthusiastic about Burgundy as before, welcoming guests from all over the world, meeting locals passionate about food and wine, tastings at wineries I had not visited yet… there’s so much to experience here that I keep discovering places even after all this time! 

Do

  • Biking in the vineyards along the Route des Grands Crus, especially from Beaune to Meursault, among such prestigious vineyards as Pommard and Volnay
  • The Dijon Owl Trail, on which bronze arrows decorated with owls have been set in the pavements and buildings to guide you round the city’s most interesting places. The original owl is on the Notre Dame de Dijon. It was added by an unknown stonemason when the chapel was built and a superstition developed around it that touching it with your left hand would bring you luck. It’s worn smooth from centuries of hopeful contact
  • Visit my dad, Jean-Louis! Well, his vineyard anyway, Clos de le Belle Chatelaine. The 2.5-hectare Clos includes a biodynamic vineyard, a 700-tree truffle plantation, a recently planted chardonnay and pinot blanc vineyard, a large vegetable garden and green house … plus a path in the trees finishing with a zip line! You can do tastings, have Jean-Louis arrange a chef to cater to a private party, or look for truffles with a truffle dog (from October to December).  

Eat

  • Bon Accueil in Beaune – one of those simple rural restaurants that is a pleasure just to be in, but with spectacular home cooking. In Beaune, I’d also recommend Sushikai, which is another lovely place to eat and does, as the name suggests, really good sushi
  • Cellier Volnaysien, especially for lunch. Very traditional Burgundy cooking in the wine village of Volnay, about 4km from Beaune. In winter, you eat in the vaulted cellars, with barrels and candles! In summer, in the charming courtyard, under the trees
  • In Vosne Romanée, the Toute Petite Auberge is a slightly more upmarket place, where the food is as attractive to the eye as it is to the tastebuds, with dishes thought out visually as well as for flavour. They have a fabulous wine cellar too, of course! 

See

  • The amazing 360-degree views in Saint Romain. First looking up at the cliffs above the old village, then driving to the top of them and looking down across the whole region
  • Château du Clos de Vougeot, which for almost a century has been the seat of the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin (Fraternity of Knights of the Wine-Tasters’ Cup)! These valiant “knights” work hard to spread the name of Burgundy wines all over the world. They now have a hologram, Dom Gobelet, who can guide you round the old buildings
  • The beautiful Parc Naturel Régional du Morvan, especially the Gouloux Waterfall, the dolmen at Chevresse (a natural rock formation not a prehistoric structure, despite the name), the Cure river at Pierre-Perthuis and the viewpoint at Rochers du Carnaval. 

Featured places to stay in Burgundy

La Saura - Gallery

La Saura

Lusigny-sur-Ouche, Côte-d’Or
La Cimentelle - Gallery

La Cimentelle

Vassy lès Avallon, Yonne

Getting there

This is a great area for walking and cycling and the Côte d’Or tourist office has a great app to help you find all the routes. Autumn is the best time to visit if you’re coming for the wine. It’s the harvest, the vineyards all have autumnal colours and some even throw harvest events and parties. 

 

Getting around

By train:

Eurostar London to Paris Gare du Nord. RER Line D to Châtelet-Les-Halles, transfer to Metro Line 1 and head for Gare de Lyon. (transfer about 30 minutes). Trains to Dijon 90 minutes to two hours.  

By ferry:

Ferries to Le Havre, Calais or Dieppe all leave you around a 5-6hr drive to Dijon. 

By plane:

Paris is the most obvious place to fly into, with Orly the better choice of airport seeing you’re headed south and it’s on that side of the city. The difference between driving from Orly or Charles de Gaulle (in the north-east of the city), only looks like half an hour on maps, but it means circumnavigating Paris and that can get busy. 

Top tip!

Look out for the Saint-Vincent Tournante, a touring wine festival that is hosted by a different village in Burgundy each year. It generally takes place in late January and involves parades and ceremonies devoted to thanking St Vincent, patron saint of winemakers, whose donkey, if legend is reliable, grazed on some vines and caused them to grow back more productive than ever!  

A few days in…Burgundy

Drawing on Vincent’s enthusiasm and adding a few tips from the owners of our places, we’ve put together an itinerary for a few days in Burgundy, cycling the Grand Crus, following owls and taking in some stunning scenery. 

Read more >

Foodie guide to Central France

In her book Amuse Bouche, Carolyn Boyd explores her love of French food, region by region. In these extracts she looks at the blackcurrants Burgundy is hiding behind its grapes, the sweet Canelé of Bordeaux and the one thing that the Loire has almost as many of as it has Châteaux. 

Read more >