For a very long period of my life I was lucky enough to spend at least two, if not three weeks of every year in the Burgundy area – so it’s a wine region that I know pretty well. The third week of November is perhaps one of the busiest of the year, although not necessarily for the wine makers themselves, but simply for the amount of activity in the area. Just under a week ago, on the third Thursday in November, we had the launch of this year’s Beaujolais Nouveau – maybe not the world’s greatest wine, but certainly one of the most effective wine marketing campaigns ever created. Despite a decline in sales over recent years, the wine is still extensively exported, the largest market being Japan snapping up some 660,000 cases flown in on a fleet of jumbo jets!

Last weekend, on the third Sunday in November, the town of Beaune hosted the 152nd annual ‘Vente des Vins’, a charity auction held in aid of the Hospices de Beaune. Set up as a charitable hospital for the poor and needy in the 15th century, the building itself is now a museum and is a truly impressive example of the architecture of that era, well worth a visit.

The wine auction is a sale of ‘piece’ (barrels) of wine from many of the different appellations of the Cotes de Beaune and the Cotes de Nuits – 44 to be exact. The vineyards of the Hospices cover a total of 61 hectares donated over the years by the generous benefactors of the hospital. The proceeds of the wine sale now support a modern hospital in the town whilst the original Hôtel Dieu simply stands as a major tourist attraction for the region.

Since 2005 the auction has been administered by Christie’s and with interest from around the globe price paid are always well in excess of the real commercial market value – it’s more a matter of prestige. For example, this year the ‘Presidents Barrel’ sold for €270,000, which equates to nearly €1,000 per bottle – bought by a wealthy Ukrainian.

By the way, if you do visit Burgundy you must stay with my old friends Suzanne & Thierry, either at Le Montrachet or La Chouette, both situated in the village of Puligny  Montrachet and only a few km from Beaune. 

For a very long period of my life I was lucky enough to spend at least two, if not three weeks of every year in the Burgundy area – so it’s a wine region that I know pretty well. The third week of November is perhaps one of the busiest of the year, although not necessarily for the wine makers themselves, but simply for the amount of activity in the area. Just under a week ago, on the third Thursday in November, we had the launch of this year’s Beaujolais Nouveau – maybe not the world’s greatest wine, but certainly one of the most effective wine marketing campaigns ever created. Despite a decline in sales over recent years, the wine is still extensively exported, the largest market being Japan snapping up some 660,000 cases flown in on a fleet of jumbo jets!

Last weekend, on the third Sunday in November, the town of Beaune hosted the 152nd annual ‘Vente des Vins’, a charity auction held in aid of the Hospices de Beaune. Set up as a charitable hospital for the poor and needy in the 15th century, the building itself is now a museum and is a truly impressive example of the architecture of that era, well worth a visit.

The wine auction is a sale of ‘piece’ (barrels) of wine from many of the different appellations of the Cotes de Beaune and the Cotes de Nuits – 44 to be exact. The vineyards of the Hospices cover a total of 61 hectares donated over the years by the generous benefactors of the hospital. The proceeds of the wine sale now support a modern hospital in the town whilst the original Hôtel Dieu simply stands as a major tourist attraction for the region.

Since 2005 the auction has been administered by Christie’s and with interest from around the globe price paid are always well in excess of the real commercial market value – it’s more a matter of prestige. For example, this year the ‘Presidents Barrel’ sold for €270,000, which equates to nearly €1,000 per bottle – bought by a wealthy Ukrainian.

By the way, if you do visit Burgundy you must stay with my old friends Suzanne & Thierry, either at Le Montrachet or La Chouette, both situated in the village of Puligny  Montrachet and only a few km from Beaune.