Beaune is the epicenter of Burgundy’s wine trade and the second largest town in the Côte d’Or wine region. The name also applies to an appellation for both whites from Chardonnay and (mainly) reds from the Pinot Noir grape variety.

The town gives its name to the Côte de Beaune, the southern half of the Côte d’Or escarpment. Nuits-Saint-Georges has the same honor with respect to the Côte de Nuits.

Beaune wines have always been predominantly Pinot Noir reds. Recently, though, with growing international demand for Chardonnay, the town has increased its production of white wine. Nearly 300,000 bottles of white Beaune wine are now made under the commune’s appellation each year, although this still represents just 20 percent of the total output.

The reds for which the town is better known strike a middle ground in a wine tasting of Burgundy Pinot Noirs. They are not as rich or “masculine” as those from Pommard, immediately to the south, nor as structured as the grand cru wines from Corton, immediately to the north.

The Beaune appellation has an unusually high proportion of premier cru-classified vineyards. More than 40 climats stretching in an uninterrupted belt across the commune from north to south. See left for links to indivdual Beaune Premier Cru pages.

For centuries, Beaune has been intrinsically associated with Burgundy’s wines. This was so much the case that, before the formalization of France’s appellation system, its name was widely used as a generic title for any wine from the wider region. Since the creation of the AOC Beaune appellation in 1936, only wines from Beaune vineyards have been able to use the name.

Beaune is much more developed than other parts of the district, and a large proportion of the town is given over to commercial and residential use – land that would otherwise be covered with vineyards. Over the centuries, however, Beaune’s expansion has been carefully guided away from the prime vineyard sites on the Côte d’Or slopes towards the flatter land east of the old town.

Modern Beaune is neatly divided by the tracks for the high-speed trains that run between Dijon and the south coast. On the western side lie the ancient slopes, their vineyards, the old town and the headquarters of long-established wine merchants.

To the east are the metal warehouses and industrial units of modern wineries, plus the A6 motorway – the Autoroute du Soleil. This links Paris to the Mediterranean via Burgundy and the Rhône Valley.

Hospices de Beaune

Since 1859, the town and its wine producers have hosted a charity wine auction known as the Hospices de Beaune, an event that has become significant not only in the local social calendar, but also as an indicator of pricing trends for the current vintage.

The main beneficiary is the Hôtel Dieu. This is a 15thCentury hospital and almshouse, famous for its extravagant roof and imposing architecture.