Burgundy and Champagne, what can be a better combination for a tour with top-notch French wine and food? We start in Burgundy and finish in Champagne!
Burgundy consists of thousands of tiny vineyard plots, each said to give the wine its own character. Not so easy to understand how they can. But after a few days in Burgundy — and after tasting some fantastic wines, some of them premier cru and grand cru — you start getting a feel for it.
We will spend four nights in Beaune, a charming small town strategically located in the Côte d’Or, the region home to many famous Burgundy villages, such as Gevrey-Chambertin, Pommard, Aloxe-Corton, Meursault, and more.
We will spend some time in the vineyard to talk about the important work done there, the foundation of the wine’s final quality. Vinification in Burgundy is often simple: fermentation in open vats with manual punch‑downs, then into the oak barrels where the wine rests for a while. The magic lies in treating the grapes correctly in the vineyard and harvesting at the right moment.
We will enjoy Burgundian specialities with fantastic wines and there will be no shortage of premier cru or grand cru. We are certainly big advocates of not being blinded by the label “grand cru”, simple labels are reliable, but when you choose them carefully, as at our grand cru lunches, it becomes a great (grand!) experience.
After enjoying some of the best wines in the Côte d’Or, we will travel north. We will make a short stop in Chablis, famous for its lovely crispy chardonnay. We then continue to Reims, the capital of Champagne, for the next part of our tour.
Champagne has changed in recent years. It is no longer only a blended wine where different vintages, sub‑regions, and vineyard sites are combined into one cuvée.
More and more producers now focus on expressing the specific character of individual sites, especially the smaller family estates. One of the producers we visit, Alexandre Penet, is specialised in this. We visit one of his single vineyards, Les Fervins, which we later taste during lunch.
Champagne no longer wants to be only an aperitif or wine for celebration, but also a complex food wine, with the refreshing bubbles as a bonus. Traditionally, Champagne is blended: vintages, grape varieties, sub‑regions, and vineyard plots. This is how the Champagne houses make their BSA (brut sans année — non‑vintage brut), the so‑called “standard” champagne. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with blending (it is even necessary in a cool climate, as in Champagne). But tasting a champagne made from grapes from a single small vineyard — one that you have actually visited — is something special.
Join us for a behind‑the‑scenes deep dive on this Burgundy/Champagne tour, where we also enjoy some truly delicious lunches, always accompanied by top-quality Burgundy or different styles of Champagne.
Come on this exceptional tour to two of the world’s most respected wine regions with BKWine, one of the world’s leading wine tour operators (*).
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(*) And the only one who has authored 13 award-winning wine books.
Wine Travel at Its Finest
When you travel with BKWine, you travel with true wine authorities: Britt and Per Karlsson. For over 20 years, we have personally created and led hundreds of tours for thousands of wine lovers across Europe, South Africa, South America, and Oceania. We are the authors of 13 award-winning books, recognised by the Swedish Academy of Gastronomy, Gourmand International, and the OIV (International Organisation of Vine and Wine). Our publications are frequently used as core material in both professional and enthusiast wine education.
Our expertise is globally recognised. We have been named “Best Wine Guide” and “Best Wine Tour Operator” by the Wine Travel Awards, and our journeys have been hailed as the “World’s Top Wine Tours” by the world’s leading travel media. Beyond our tours, we write in-depth on wine for BKWine Magazine and are regular contributors to Forbes.com and frequently serve as expert judges in prestigious international wine competitions. We have also acted as speakers and advisors on wine tourism for organisations, regions and nations including the UN (UNWTO), The World Bank, Vinitaly, Ukraine, the Languedoc and others.
Our mission is to provide you with an unparalleled wine and culinary experience. The gastronomy on our tours is legendary. Because we personally design every itinerary and have visited thousands of estates over the decades, we know exactly where to find the most authentic people and the most unique, hidden gems. We don’t always take you to “the big and famous”—that would be too easy. Instead, we focus on unique rencontres: meaningful encounters with people, wine, and food.
We aren’t here to sell you bottles; we are here to provide a profound wine experience and memories that last a lifetime—all while ensuring you have a truly wonderful time. When you choose BKWine, you are travelling with the experts, with Britt and Per, who created the journey, ensuring you receive the very best experience possible.
