Burgundy Wine
Discover Burgundy Wine: Regions, Villages & Vineyards
Burgundy rewards travelers who slow down. Vineyards climb the hills above small stone villages, famous wine names appear on roadside signs and cellar doors, and the landscape changes from the Chardonnay country of Chablis & Grand Auxerrois to the Pinot Noir villages of the Côte de Nuits and the rolling southern hills of the Mâconnais.
Pinot Noir and Chardonnay define much of Burgundy, but they are only part of the story. Bouzeron gives Aligoté its own Village appellation in the Côte Chalonnaise, Irancy adds the local César grape alongside Pinot Noir, and Saint-Bris produces Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon Gris. The most memorable trips combine these wines with walks between vineyard walls, drives along quiet village roads, and long lunches in towns such as Beaune, Chablis, and Mâcon.
We spent a month based in Dijon and another two weeks in Beaune, giving us plenty of time to drink Burgundy wines and explore the villages and vineyard landscapes around us. Tasting the wines where they are grown makes the region easier to understand: Gevrey-Chambertin and Vosne-Romanée feel different from each other in the glass and on the ground, just as Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet offer different sides of Chardonnay a short distance apart in the Côte de Beaune.
Burgundy Wine at a Glance
Burgundy is best known for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, but choosing where to go depends on the wines and landscapes you want to experience. The main wine areas stretch from Chablis in the north to the Mâconnais in the south, with villages, named vineyards, and classifications becoming increasingly important as you narrow the origin on a bottle.
- Main grapes: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with Aligoté, Gamay, César, Sauvignon Blanc, and Sauvignon Gris playing smaller but distinctive roles.
- For Pinot Noir: Start with the Côte de Nuits, then compare Pommard, Volnay, Beaune, and other red-wine villages in the Côte de Beaune.
- For Chardonnay: Compare Chablis & Grand Auxerrois, Meursault and the Montrachet villages in the Côte de Beaune, Rully and Montagny in the Côte Chalonnaise, and Pouilly-Fuissé, Saint-Véran, and Viré-Clessé in the Mâconnais.
- For Aligoté: Bouzeron in the Côte Chalonnaise is Burgundy's Village appellation devoted to the grape.
- For other grapes: Irancy can include César with Pinot Noir, while Saint-Bris is based on Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon Gris.
- Classification: Burgundy broadly uses Regional, Village, Premier Cru, and Grand Cru levels, although not every appellation contains every level. Named climats and lieux-dits may also appear on Village-level wines without being Premier Cru.
- For Gamay: Continue south to Beaujolais Wine for Beaujolais, Beaujolais-Villages, and the 10 crus.
For a first Burgundy wine trip, Beaune makes a practical base for exploring the Côte de Beaune and southern Côte de Nuits, while Chablis works better as a separate northern stop. Travelers with more time can continue south through the Côte Chalonnaise into the Mâconnais, where the landscape becomes broader and the focus shifts increasingly toward Chardonnay.
Sub-Regions of Burgundy
Each part of Burgundy gives travelers a different reason to visit. Choose Chablis for classified Chardonnay, the Côte de Nuits for Pinot Noir and red Grand Crus, the Côte de Beaune for both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, the Côte Chalonnaise for Aligoté and a broad Premier Cru landscape, or the Mâconnais for southern Burgundy Chardonnay.
Chablis & Grand Auxerrois
Start in northern Burgundy when Chardonnay and Chablis classification are the main priorities. Chablis offers Petit Chablis, Chablis, 40 Premier Cru climats, and seven Grand Cru climats, while the wider Grand Auxerrois adds Irancy for red wine, Saint-Bris for Sauvignon, and Vézelay for Chardonnay. This is the most varied northern route when you want to change grapes as well as vineyard origins.
Côte de Nuits
The Côte de Nuits is the strongest starting point for serious Pinot Noir. The narrow vineyard strip south of Dijon includes Marsannay, Fixin, Gevrey-Chambertin, Morey-Saint-Denis, Chambolle-Musigny, Vougeot, Vosne-Romanée, and Nuits-Saint-Georges, along with Burgundy's greatest concentration of red Grand Cru appellations. Choose it when comparing individual Pinot Noir villages and classified vineyards is the main purpose of the trip.
Côte de Beaune
The Côte de Beaune combines important Pinot Noir and Chardonnay villages in one compact wine region. Pommard and Volnay provide a useful red-wine comparison, Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet lead many Chardonnay itineraries, and the Hill of Corton brings red and white Grand Cru vineyards into the same landscape. Beaune is the most practical central base for exploring these villages by car.
Côte Chalonnaise
The Côte Chalonnaise has no Grand Cru vineyards, but Rully, Mercurey, Givry, and Montagny together contain 142 Premier Cru climats. Bouzeron adds a different reason to visit because its Village appellation is devoted to Aligoté. Choose Mercurey and Givry for Pinot Noir, Rully for both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, or Montagny for Chardonnay.
Mâconnais
The Mâconnais is Burgundy's southern Chardonnay country, with Pouilly-Fuissé, Pouilly-Loché, Pouilly-Vinzelles, Saint-Véran, and Viré-Clessé among its main Village appellations. Pouilly-Fuissé has the region's largest Premier Cru inventory, while newer Premier Cru classifications in Pouilly-Loché and Pouilly-Vinzelles add another level of vineyard comparison. The broader Mâcon appellation also offers wines identified by individual geographical names such as Mâcon-Vergisson, Mâcon-Pierreclos, and Mâcon-Chardonnay.
Beaujolais
Technically part of Burgundy but often considered its own region.
South of the Mâconnais, Beaujolais follows a separate wine hierarchy built around Gamay, Beaujolais, Beaujolais-Villages, and the 10 crus.
For detailed maps and appellation profiles, visit the official Bourgogne Wines website by the Burgundy Wine Board (BIVB).
Grape Varieties in Burgundy
Burgundy is unique in its focus on just a few grape varieties. Rather than blending many grapes, Burgundy wines are usually varietal expressions that highlight terroir — the combination of soil, climate, and vineyard site.
Black (Red) Grapes
Pinot Noir
The defining red grape of Burgundy. Grown primarily in the Côte de Nuits, Côte de Beaune, Côte Chalonnaise, and parts of the Mâconnais. Pinot Noir here produces wines with red fruit, floral notes, and earthy complexity, capable of long aging in the finest vineyards.
Gamay
Gamay appears in several broader Burgundy appellations, including Coteaux Bourguignons and Bourgogne Passe-Tout-Grains, but its most important wine region lies farther south. For the Gamay-based hierarchy of Beaujolais, Beaujolais-Villages, and the 10 crus, see our Beaujolais Wine page.
White Grapes
Chardonnay
The signature white grape of Burgundy, grown from Chablis to the Mâconnais. It expresses a wide range of styles, from steely and mineral in Chablis to rich and complex in the Côte de Beaune and Mâconnais.
Aligoté
Aligoté produces dry white wines with lively acidity and appears under the regional Bourgogne Aligoté appellation, but its most distinctive Village-level expression is Bouzeron in the Côte Chalonnaise. Bouzeron is the best place to compare Aligoté by named vineyard site rather than treating the grape only as a simple regional white or the base for a Kir.
Wines in Burgundy
Burgundy is easiest to choose by grape and place rather than by a single regional style. Pinot Noir changes from the Côte de Nuits to the Côte de Beaune and Côte Chalonnaise, while Chardonnay ranges from cool northern Chablis to the Montrachet villages and the warmer hills of the Mâconnais.
Pinot Noir
For the widest range of classified Pinot Noir, start with the Côte de Nuits, where villages such as Gevrey-Chambertin, Chambolle-Musigny, Vosne-Romanée, and Nuits-Saint-Georges offer different balances of fruit, tannin, perfume, and structure. Continue into the Côte de Beaune for Pommard, Volnay, Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune, and the red wines of the Corton hill. Farther south, the Côte Chalonnaise adds Mercurey, Givry, and red Rully.
Chardonnay
For a cool, mineral expression of Chardonnay, explore Chablis & Grand Auxerrois, where Chablis can be compared from Village through Premier Cru and Grand Cru levels. The Côte de Beaune includes Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet, and the great white Grand Crus around Montrachet and Corton. Rully and Montagny extend the comparison into the Côte Chalonnaise, while the Mâconnais brings Pouilly-Fuissé, Saint-Véran, Viré-Clessé, Pouilly-Loché, and Pouilly-Vinzelles into a warmer southern landscape.
Aligoté
Bourgogne Aligoté is made across a wider regional area, but Bouzeron gives the grape its own Village appellation in the Côte Chalonnaise. Choose Bouzeron when you want to taste Aligoté from specific slopes and named village-level sites rather than only as a broad regional wine.
Sauvignon and César
The Grand Auxerrois adds grapes that many travelers do not immediately associate with Burgundy. Saint-Bris produces white wine from Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon Gris, while Irancy is based on Pinot Noir and may include a small proportion of César.
Crémant de Bourgogne
Crémant de Bourgogne is Burgundy's traditional-method sparkling appellation and can provide a useful break between still-wine tastings. Rully in the Côte Chalonnaise has a particularly long connection with Burgundy sparkling-wine production, although bottles carry the regional Crémant de Bourgogne appellation rather than the Rully name.
Gamay and Beaujolais
For a wine trip centered on Gamay, continue south of the Mâconnais to Beaujolais Wine. That region is covered separately because its labels and travel choices revolve around Beaujolais, Beaujolais-Villages, and 10 individual crus rather than the Burgundy sub-region hierarchy used on this page.
Quality Tiers in Burgundy
Burgundy labels become more specific as the geographic origin narrows, but not every part of the region uses the same classification ladder. The broad pattern moves from regional appellations to more local or Village appellations, then to Premier Cru and Grand Cru where those classifications exist. Named climats and lieux-dits may also appear at Village level without being Premier Cru.
For the complete vineyard hierarchy, use the individual guides to Chablis & Grand Auxerrois, the Côte de Nuits, the Côte de Beaune, the Côte Chalonnaise, and the Mâconnais.
Regional Appellations
Regional appellations cover the widest production areas. Examples include Bourgogne, Bourgogne Aligoté, Bourgogne Passe-Tout-Grains, Coteaux Bourguignons, Crémant de Bourgogne, and Mâcon. Some regional wines use an additional geographical name, narrowing the origin without turning the wine into a Village or Premier Cru appellation.
Village and Local Appellations
More specific appellations identify a smaller place of origin. In the Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune, familiar examples include Gevrey-Chambertin, Vosne-Romanée, Pommard, Volnay, and Meursault. The Chablis & Grand Auxerrois area includes appellations such as Chablis, Irancy, Saint-Bris, and Vézelay, while the Côte Chalonnaise includes Bouzeron, Rully, Mercurey, Givry, and Montagny. In the Mâconnais, Pouilly-Fuissé, Pouilly-Loché, Pouilly-Vinzelles, Saint-Véran, and Viré-Clessé provide the main Village-level Chardonnay appellations.
Named Climats and Lieux-Dits at Village Level
A named vineyard on a Burgundy label does not automatically mean Premier Cru. Some Village appellations allow qualifying climat or lieu-dit names to identify a more precise origin while the wine remains at Village level. Examples appear in Bouzeron, Saint-Romain, Irancy, Saint-Bris, Vézelay, Marsannay, and Côte de Nuits-Villages. The individual sub-region guides distinguish these named Village-level sites from formally classified Premier Cru vineyards.
Premier Cru
Premier Cru identifies officially classified vineyard sites within specific appellations. The category appears in Chablis and across selected appellations in the Côte de Nuits, Côte de Beaune, Côte Chalonnaise, and Mâconnais. The exact labeling system differs by area, so use the relevant sub-region page for the complete current Premier Cru inventory and classification status.
Grand Cru
Grand Cru is Burgundy's highest vineyard classification and appears only in Chablis, the Côte de Nuits, and the Côte de Beaune. Chablis Grand Cru is one appellation containing seven named climats, while the Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune use individual Grand Cru appellation names such as Chambertin, Musigny, Romanée-Conti, Corton, Corton-Charlemagne, and Montrachet. There are no Grand Cru vineyards in the Côte Chalonnaise or Mâconnais.
FAQs About Burgundy Wine
What kind of wine is Burgundy?
Burgundy, or Bourgogne, is best known for red Pinot Noir and white Chardonnay, but the region also produces Aligoté and smaller amounts of other grapes depending on the appellation. Northern Burgundy adds Sauvignon in Saint-Bris and permitted César in Irancy. This guide follows the five main Burgundy wine areas from Chablis & Grand Auxerrois through the Mâconnais; Gamay-focused Beaujolais is covered separately.
Is Burgundy just Pinot Noir?
No. Pinot Noir is Burgundy's defining red grape, but Chardonnay is equally important, from Chablis and Meursault to Puligny-Montrachet and Pouilly-Fuissé. Aligoté has its own Village appellation in Bouzeron, while Saint-Bris is based on Sauvignon and Irancy may include César with Pinot Noir. For the Gamay-dominated vineyards farther south, see the separate Beaujolais Wine guide.
What’s the difference between Burgundy and Bordeaux?
Burgundy wines are usually single-varietal (Pinot Noir for reds, Chardonnay for whites) and focus heavily on terroir — the specific vineyard site. Bordeaux wines, by contrast, are blends, typically combining Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc for reds, and Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon for whites. Bordeaux emphasizes the château (estate), while Burgundy emphasizes the vineyard.
Is Côtes du Rhône a Burgundy?
No. The Côtes du Rhône is a separate wine region located in the Rhône Valley, south of Burgundy. It is known for Grenache-based red blends, while Burgundy is known for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
Can you visit Burgundy wineries?
Yes. Burgundy is highly accessible to visitors, with many domaines offering tours and tastings in villages such as Beaune, Nuits-Saint-Georges, and Chablis. Larger négociants often have visitor centers, while smaller producers may require advance booking.
What food pairs best with Burgundy wines?
Red Burgundy (Pinot Noir) – Excellent with roast chicken, duck, game birds, mushrooms, and earthy dishes.
White Burgundy (Chardonnay) – Pairs with seafood, creamy sauces, poultry, and cheeses such as Comté.
Beaujolais (Gamay) – Matches well with charcuterie, lighter meats, and casual bistro fare.
When is the best time to visit Burgundy?
Spring (April–June) and autumn (September–October) are the best times to visit. Harvest season in September brings energy to the vineyards but can make appointments harder to secure. Summer is lively with festivals, while winter is quieter, offering a more intimate experience in cellars.
Choose Chablis & Grand Auxerrois for northern Chardonnay and a wider mix of grapes, the Côte de Nuits for Pinot Noir and red Grand Crus, the Côte de Beaune for Burgundy's strongest red-and-white comparison, the Côte Chalonnaise for Bouzeron, Rully, Mercurey, Givry, and Montagny, or the Mâconnais for southern Chardonnay. For Gamay and the 10 Beaujolais crus, continue to Beaujolais Wine; for other French wine regions, return to France Wine.