Gourmet Tours

Burgundy Discovery

Informative, informal and fun wine tours to family wine producers in Burgundy

Burgundy Discovery Guided Wine Tour

Burgundy Discovery, now in its fourteenth year, offers highly personal, small group wine tours to the independent, family winegrowers typical to Burgundy.

Run by English-couple Robert and Joy Pygott, Burgundy Discovery is recognised as a leader in wine tourism in the region. You can visit and meet winegrowers who rarely open their cellars to the public and taste the end result of their dedicated efforts. In 2013, 2014 and 2015 they received the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence - number one on the activities list in Beaune.

The tours include one, two and three-day Classic tours and a selection of Exceptional Experience tours including Grand Premier,Gourmet Grand Premier, and Hidden Secrets, all of which can be combined together to give a two or three day tour to really remember.

Demystifying Burgundy

On a typical day you will visit three small, family owned growers and taste around 15 wines from the bottle and, where possible, the barrel. You will taste red and white regional Bourgogne Village and Premier Cru (and Grand Cru on our Grand Premier tour) across a range of vintages, visit the cellars and meet the growers.

Robert and Joy can translate any questions you may have if your French is a touch rusty. There are about 4,000 wine growers in Burgundy and the vast majority are small, family concerns where it is unusual for the winegrower to speak much English. These tours are in English and there is help on hand to guide you through the maze and introduce you to the friendly, passionate winegrowers who make these excellent wines.

Transport is by air-conditioned Land Rover through the beautiful Burgundy villages and vineyards, taking time to have a close look at the vines to appreciate better the terroir and aspect. Included is a typical three-course Burgundy style lunch, with wine. A personalised information pack with tasting notes for each guest is provided.

It is Burgundy Discovery's relationship with the winegrowers that make the day special - you will meet and talk to some real Burgundy characters. The tours are informative, informal and fun whether you are a winegrower from other parts of the world, wine students, wine experts and, most frequently, just simply a wine lover.

'During our tours', says Robert, 'we explain the background to Burgundy, its appellation system, the classification of Burgundy wines, the winemaking process and the work in the cellars and the distinctive, different terroir of the vineyards. We take you through the tasting process and help you appreciate the differences between the wines. Our aim is to demystify Burgundy for all our guests. We visit wineries typical to the region (the average Domaine size here is 6ha) meet the growers, experience the cellars and see the winery.

Lunch is an integral part of the day. All the restaurants we visit serve a selection of typical Burgundy style dishes and we enjoy a three-course lunch with wine. Apart from enjoying good Burgundy food, the lunches also offer the opportunity to sample different combinations of wine and food.'

EXCEPTIONAL EXPERIENCE TOURS

'For the opportunity to try all four levels of the Burgundy wine appellations including Grand Cru you can take our Grand Premier tour. To complete your day, our Gourmet Grand Premier tour offers the chance to not only taste great wine but to enjoy a three-course lunch in the magnificent setting of a Relais et Château Hostellerie where the main restaurant has a Michelin star. Here the menu changes each day and the chef and his team use only the best, fresh seasonal produce. For those seeking out the winemakers off the beaten track the Hidden Secrets tour is for you.

Visit www.burgundydiscovery.com,
email Robert@burgundydiscovery.com,
call 00 33 (0)6 38 53 15 27