Discovering Beaune: The quaint town brewing the world's most expensive wines in the heart of Burgundy
11:36 AM EST, January 22, 2024
Beaune is a charming small town in the Côte d'Or department, holding the title of Burgundy's wine capital. It nestles cozily between Dijon and Lyon, surrounded by vineyards. Adjacent villages produce some of the finest wines globally.
Beaune's title as the wine capital arose from its popularity among wine connoisseurs across not just Burgundy, but the whole world. Here, one can find stores with top-tier wines and vineyards with barrels aging in cellars for decades.
The town is truly enchanting, filled with distinctive shops and narrow lanes. Historical walls and a well-preserved moat surround it. Both in the town and its vicinity, remnants of the Roman era and the periods of the Middle Ages and Renaissance are visible.
Charity wine auction and wine school
Beaune indubitably associates with wine for several reasons. Notably, it's renowned for its annual charity wine auction hosted at the Hospices de Beaune, a former almshouse, now a museum.
Since 1859, every third Sunday in November sees the auctioning of a variety of regional wines. Hundreds of barrels containing about 60 gallons each sell, and the proceeds—often tallying up to several million euros—are donated to aid the poor.
Moreover, Beaune hosts a prestigious wine school dedicated to educating future connoisseurs of this noble beverage. Founded in 1884 amid a wine crisis spawned by vine diseases like powdery mildew, black rot, and phylloxera, the school weathered the trials and is now globally acknowledged for honing future winemakers.
The world's most expensive wine
In Burgundy, one can find the most expensive wine in the world. Currently, Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Grand Cru from the Cote de Nuits region holds this title. The average price per bottle surpasses $28,000. Following closely is Domaine Leroy Musigny Grand Cru, also originating from Cote de Nuits, with a bottle price exceeding $24,000.
The Cote de Nuits, a petite region near Dijon, produces a wealth of quality wine from the Pinot Noir variety. Alongside white Chardonnay grapes, Pinot Noir stands dominant in Burgundy.
