Clockwise from Top Left: Main Courtyard of the ‘Hotel Dieu’, Wine Tasting at ‘Aloxe Corton’ estate, ‘Yin Yang’ of Les Oeufs en Meurette at ‘Bar de L’Etoile’, Nuits Saint Georges
I never imagined that my love of France and everything French, which goes as far back as the early eighties, could or would be renewed and reinforced with as much vigor and vitality, as happened recently in the midst of a deeply immersive and lightly inebriated few days spent in Burgundy, France, which I have come to believe, after some amount of doubt kindled by a fast-weakening memory that is emblematic of mid-life, was my first ever foray into the region …
… In the mid 1990’s, I had travelled quite extensively around the country with my parents, during my father’s tenure as Indian ambassador to France, and whilst my mind harbors crystal clear memories of numerous visits to the other principal wine making region, Bordeaux, there has been considerable confusion with respect to whether or not I had ever accompanied them to Burgundy, but I am now pretty sure that I didn’t …
… Even if I did, then it appears that a brief bout of occasional amnesia has quite the silver lining, for how often in the short span of a lifetime does one find oneself falling in love with the same place a second time, just as haplessly as the first …
… Endowed with a rich and varied history, cultural identity, artistic and architectural heritage, in addition to the more widely acknowledged traditions of gastronomy, oenology and vinification, Burgundy embodies the very essence of France …
… Unlike numerous other parts of the country, with special emphasis on the capital where disgruntlement is permanently de rigueur and persistent complaint a sport for which Parisians in particular have endless stamina, the men & women of Burgundy, both ordinary and privileged, luxuriate in the good fortune of their provenance alone, and may well be distinguished by an enviable air of aristocratic insouciance …
… The bucolic setting with its rolling fields, vineyards, valleys and mountains, commands and champions pleasure seeking and idleness, which in this angst-ridden era stained by a frenzied, and needless to say, ultimately futile pursuit of relevance and relentless output, is not only refreshing but also entirely disarming and eminently soothing …
Above: Images of the landscape of Burgundy
… Moreover, and somewhat paradoxically, the very by-product of these two principal traits is a remarkable natural perfectionism, (as opposed to that which is deliberate and cultivated), right from the seamless organization of local tourism and preservation of cultural heritage to the unshakeable integrity of vinification and gastronomy …
… But to return to the point from the far reaches of my characteristic digression, in the month of May 2025, I travelled alone to Burgundy for 2 nights and 3 days, after several failed attempts to visit the region in the company of friends who hold seats at the high table of the wine fraternity; by consequence, I travelled what might be called the ordinary way, by which I don’t mean pedestrian and on a budget, but rather without any pomp, ceremony or exclusivity, and suffice to say that I had the time of my life …
Above: Images of the Center of the town of Beaune
… Self-realization in consort with the sense of autonomy that it invariably aids and abets, is one of the most powerful & satisfying drugs in the world, and without any side effects to boot, other than a gentle impatience with the intrusive aspect of human company …
… But in order to arrive at such a state of blissful self-possession and reliance, one has to muster up the courage to both be and do the things one wants to on one’s own, thereby surmounting the fear of aloneness whilst yielding completely to self-discovery, sense of adventure and fate …
… Of all of the regions of France other than the capital city and its environs, I would recommend Burgundy as the number one must visit, for it has a little bit of everything that is, and will perhaps always remain utterly and uniquely French.
Since I don’t like to speak of practical matters in my travel accounts, such as addresses, contact details and all that one is able to find by way of a simple google search, I will leap straight into my tale, which begins in the picture postcard pretty town of Beaune , where I based myself at a charming 18th century mansion turned luxury service apartment hotel, called ‘La Maison des Courtines’, located on a quiet square, 6 minutes by foot to the center of town and all of the main attractions …
Above: Images of La Maison Des Courtines
… The quintessential ‘home away from home’, yet with the highest attention to detail right from the color palette of the interior decor to the five-star hospitality touches, with reference to luxurious bed & bath linen, a master sommelier’s selection of wine to choose from in the event of a night in, and a complimentary bottle of local crémant de Bourgogne (Burgundy sparkling wine), I cannot recommend it more strongly for those who prefer the privacy and independence of private accommodation to mainstream hotels.
The day I arrived, in the late afternoon, I did a reconnaissance walk around the quaint city and visited the famous Hotel Dieu Museum-Hospices de Beaune, a cultural landmark of the region of Burgundy that not only symbolizes its history and wine producing heritage but is also keeper of many artistic treasures, in addition to being one of the few remaining examples of late medieval civil architecture…originally a hospital for the poor, it has received all types of donations including vineyards over the years, and today the ‘Domaine de Hospices de Beaune’, owns around 61 hectares of vineyards, many of them Grand and Premier cru.
Above: Images of Hotel Dieu Museum -Hospices De Beaune
An annual charity wine auction, originally held in the great hall of the Hotel Dieu, is a continuing tradition in the month of November every year, now organized by Sotheby’s and spread out over different venues during the course of 3 days…needless to state, but I will anyway, that no visit to Burgundy is complete without paying one’s respects to the hotel Dieu …
Above: Images of La Maison aux Mille Truffes
… Later that afternoon, I took a pre- booked a cab from ‘Taxi Franon’, a service recommended by the management team at the hotel (public transport in and around Beaune is next to none, so hiring a car is strongly advised for those wishing to wander into the countryside independently, rather than as part of a guided tour), to go and watch a truffle hunting demonstration followed by a degustation of a most delicious truffle liqueur, named ‘Ratatruffe’ as chaperone to a platter of truffle delicacies, including an unusual & delectable truffle panna cotta, at the Maison aux Mille Truffes (House of Truffles) a 25 minute drive from the city center, located at the edge of the forest…as ‘touristy’ as it may sound, it was a most charming experience helmed by a bunch of wonderfully eccentric locals, with whom I chatted away endlessly, especially after they complimented me on my extremely rusty skills in the language …
Above: Images of The Truffle Hunting Demonstration and Truffle Tasting platter, and Close up of Truffle Panna cotta
… That night, I turned in early, after a generous helping from the complimentary bottle of ‘Cremant de Bourgogne’, since I had discovered upon arrival, and please note carefully, that most restaurants in the region are closed on Mondays …
Above: Image of the Complimentary Bottle of the ‘Cremant de Bourgogne’
… But in the end, it was the best thing that could have happened, for I had booked an 8 hour long wine tasting tour the next day, which turned out to be an exercise in unbridled hedonism…I won’t go into the specific details, since there are a hundred different tours you can choose from online (just do a simple google search of wine tours in Burgundy, beginning either in Beaune or Dijon, and the selection will pop up), each one varying in duration, number of tastings, number of people etc. etc.…mine, booked on Viator, happened to be with a group of six including me, in addition to the tour guide Emmanuel, a gargantuan man with rosy cheeks and a tear jerking sense of humor, who wore the consequences of a lifestyle of excess with both immense pride and pure satisfaction…in short, the ultimate poster boy for the region of Burgundy.
Above: Images from the Wine tasting Tour
We must have tasted a total of 30 wines, from Corton, to Montrachet, Vosne Romanee, Clos de Vougeot, Nuits St, Georges, Pommard, Gevrey Chambertin, etc etc, at three venues including the cellars of the Aloxe Corton vineyard, a wine shop in Savigny les Beaune and another wine tasting cellar in Gevrey Chambertin, by which time we i.e myself, Emmanuel and our small group of four Americans and a lone young Chinese woman had become fast friends and ended up drinking, rather than just tasting…in the middle of all of this was lunch at an unassuming brasserie in the village of Nuits Saint Georges, called ‘Bar de l’etoile’, specializing in local dishes, and boy, oh boy, what a treat it was, especially ‘les oeufs en meurette’, a Burgundy specialty thought to have originated at the famous Chateau Clos de Vougeot – which hosts an annual competition in the making of this dish – consisting of poached eggs in a red wine sauce, but in this case we were served a duet named ‘Yin Yang’, of two eggs, one with a red wine sauce and the other with a cheese sauce using the local Epoisses cheese; well, all I will say is that it has to be eaten to be believed, for it is a dish I have never much cared for before…my main course was a grilled Andouillette sausage, made of the large intestine of the pig, and whereas this may be considered an acquired taste, for me each and every time, the eating is akin to a transcendental experience, especially chaperoned by a young and robust, but beautifully rounded Domaine Faiveley, Mercurey Vielles Vignes Red wine, and even more so after a perfectly chilled Kir Royale as aperitif.
Top Row, Left to Right: Bar de L’etoile Restaurant, Kir Royale, Yin Yang of Les Oeufs en Meurette
Bottom Row, Left to Right: Domaine Faiveley, Mercurey Vielles Vignes, Andouillette, Fat Fries
Our last stop that day was at the afore-mentioned Chateau clos de vougeot, seat of the Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin (a fraternity of Wine Connoisseurs established in 1934 to promote Burgundian wine and culture) before heading back to Beaune…the region of Burgundy known as ‘Cote de Nuits’, which is home to the most prestigious and most expensive wine in the world, Domaine de la Romanee Conti, was not part of the tour, but that will be for next time, for indeed there will be a next and most likely many more after that …
Above: Images of Chateau Clos de Vougeot
… That evening my group and I, together with Emmanuel decided to do pre-dinner drinks together, over a couple of bottles of Vosne Romanee and Gevrey Chambertin, in the courtyard of a most charming hotel in the center of the town of Beaune called ‘Le Cep’, after which the young Chinese Woman and I went next door to a restaurant highly recommended by Emmanuel (since I had not been terribly efficient in pre-booking ) called Loiseau des Vignes where I ate a rich, buttery, ‘garlicky’, ‘mustardy’, creamy & unequivocally dreamy Frog leg and crayfish vol-au-vent, followed by a melt in the mouth side of veal, served with classic turned and glazed vegetables…Emmanuel had instructed the Sommelier to marry each course with a glass of wine, but by this stage I was far too intoxicated to either take photographs or record the selected wines in my memory…what I do remember is that in the moment, each combination was nothing short of gustatory perfection.
Top Row, Left to Right: Façade of Hotel Le Cep, Bar of Hotel, Courtyard of Hotel, Pre-Dinner Drinks
Bottom Row, Left to Right: Façade of Restaurant Loiseau des Vignes, Main Dining room of Restaurant, Frog Leg and Crayfish Vol au Vent, Side of Veal
And then, all too quickly, it was my last day in this unequivocally paradisaical part of France, which I spent wandering around the town of Beaune, visiting the beautiful 13th century ‘Basilica of our Lady’ aka ‘Collegiale Notre Dame’, and the ‘Hotel des Ducs de Bourgogne’, a historic 14th century building, once upon a time the seat of the parliament of Burgundy and now a museum, which not only showcases the wine heritage of Burgundy but also provides a veritable education in oenology.
Top Row: Images of the ‘Basilica of our Lady’ or ‘Collegiale Notre Dame, Beaune
Bottom Row: Images of Hotel des Ducs de Bourgogne Museum, Beaune
I then wandered through the Wednesday market before settling down at a table on the verandah of the ‘Bistrot des Halles’ on the main town square, for a final meal of a cheese platter, comprising a selection from the local Master Cheesemaker Alain Hess’ ‘Fromagerie’ …
Above: Images of the Wednesday Market and the Alain Hess Cheese Platter at Bistrot des Halles, Beaune
… and thus, it was on the heady tastes of a ‘Brillat-savarin’, ‘Epoisses’ and ‘Delice de Pommard au son de Moutarde’ that I tore myself away from what felt like my first, greatest and forever love: the exquisite and incomparable region of Burgundy, France.