2024 marked our inaugural tour in the vineyards (and classrooms) of Burgundy! In the past, we were exclusively retained by companies and/or individuals for speaking engagements. This was the first program we organized and hosted ourselves. This 3 ½ day program focuses on learning from the “roots up” in both the vineyard and masterclass-style settings. Being in the vineyards gives burg lovers a great appreciation for, and understanding of, what makes the wines what they are – and about the terroirs that are expressed in each glass of burgundy. Due to our statement of principles (where we don’t ask domaines for favors,) we will not be visiting domaines to taste. This trip is focused on in-depth education/sessions and time in the vineyards, plus a deep dive into one commune in the form of a Masterclass Tasting for Program 1; and two Masterclass Tastings for Program 2. This exclusive opportunity will be limited to 15 participants per program – to ensure all of your questions and program goals can be met.
2025 PROGRAMS:
In 2025 we will offer two different programs, hosted by Allen, Erica and Chris Meadows: Program 1: The Côte de Nuits Vineyards of Vosne-Romanée, Chambolle-Musigny and Gevrey-Chambertin, and Program 2: The Côte de Beaune Vineyards of Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet. NOTE: Please be aware that the program covers multiple days; locations; walking on irregular terrain; entering historical wine cellars; getting up and down the steps of, and driving in, a private commercial shuttle/bus; visits to restaurants and venues; and walking on irregular/cobbled streets, roads and along/between vineyards, as well as venue entrances, and ancient irregular stairwells, that are not level or disabled accessible, and/or which may not have disabled accessible restrooms.
Tentatively scheduled:
PROGRAM 1 – Côte de Nuits Vineyards of Vosne-Romanée, Chambolle-Musigny and Gevrey-Chambertin
Monday 30 June – Our full morning session with Allen (indoors) includes an overview of Burgundy, an intro to its history, a discussion of the vineyards and wines of Vosne-Romanée and a Q&A session followed by lunch. This is a great time for us to learn the goals of each participant since this is such an intimate-sized group. Then we will board our private shuttle to visit and walk along the vineyards of Vosne for a full-afternoon educational program.
Tuesday 1 July – After a brief morning intro to the region and wines of Chambolle-Musigny, we board our shuttle to visit and walk along and learn about the vineyards of Chambolle, followed by lunch. We will then move into a private room for an afternoon masterclass tasting. Since we are focused on red wine vineyards on this tour, to round out the program, the masterclass will cover the white wines of Chassagne-Montrachet. We will taste through eight white wines, from villages-level to grand cru, as Allen guides us on an in-depth dive.
Wednesday 2 July – This morning’s brief intro will focus on the region and wines of Gevrey- Chambertin, before boarding our shuttle to visit and walk along the vineyards of Gevrey. After lunch, we will visit a historic domaine (not for tasting), to learn more about the history of the old cellars and the basic processes of winemaking/élevage.
Thursday 3 July – The day is your own to explore Beaune, etc. and that night we will close out the program with a celebratory dinner at the prestigious 1243 Club in Beaune. Dinner will be Paulée-style where all participants share bottles from their/our own cellars.
Program 1 Tentative Schedule: (Click on image to view/download PDF)
PROGRAM 2 — Côte de Beaune Vineyards of Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet
Monday 7 July – Our full morning session with Allen (indoors) includes an overview of Burgundy, an intro to its history, a discussion of the vineyards and wines of Meursault, and a Q&A session followed by lunch. Like Program #1, this is a great time for us to learn the goals of each participant since this is such an intimate-sized group. Then we will board our private shuttle to visit and walk along the vineyards of Meursault for a full-afternoon educational program.
Tuesday 8 July – After a brief morning intro on the region and wines of Puligny-Montrachet, we board our shuttle to visit and walk along the vineyards of Puligny-Montrachet, followed by lunch. We will then move into a private room for an afternoon masterclass. Since we are focused on white wine vineyards on this tour, to round out the program the masterclass will cover the red wines of Gevrey-Chambertin. Allen will guide us on our in-depth dive as we taste 8 wines up and down the hierarchy.
Wednesday 9 July – This morning’s brief intro will focus on the region and wines of Chassagne-Montrachet, before boarding our shuttle to visit and walk along their vineyards, followed by lunch. After lunch, we will move into a private room for an afternoon masterclass. We will wrap up the 3 communes we have visited with a tasting of 9 wines up and down the hierarchy of Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet, for a final in-depth dive.
Thursday 10 July – As with program #1, the day is your own to explore Beaune, etc. and that night we will close out the program with a celebratory dinner at the prestigious 1243 Club in Beaune. Dinner will be Paulée-style where all participants share bottles from their/our own cellars.
Program 2 Tentative Schedule: (Click on image to view/download PDF)
HOW TO REGISTER:
To register, please write mrsburghound@burghound.com. Registration is now open and reservations will be accepted on a first come, first served basis. To ensure a spot, the non-refundable deposit and signed waiver must be received and acknowledged by Burghound.com.
COST: US$9,985.00 for either Program 1 or Program 2 (excludes hotel, airfare, breakfast and dinners except for the final evening of both programs). To reserve a space, a non-refundable US$985.00 deposit is due along with a signed waiver. The balance will be due in late January 2025. Upon sign-up, Burghound will send the current Travel Guide to assist with hotel reservations, etc. All funds are to be wired in US$ to Burghound.com, Inc. – wire instructions will be provided.
Participant comments
from the 2024 vineyard tour/education program (We had participants from Indonesia, Australia, US, China and the US):
All participant surveys returned said that the program “exceeded expectations”, and all felt their questions were fully addressed.
Commenters said:
“Allen did a great job of adjusting his material to the group’s interests.”
“I enjoyed all the venues that you organised. However, I must emphasise that even if the venues were disappointing, which they were not, I would not have minded because the main event was Allen and he delivered! It was all the stuff he said that was “off topic” which I really appreciated. For example, at the 1243 dinner he explained to me the styles of the 3 generations of Roumier which contextualised the ‘05 we had that evening. There are countless snippets of unscripted moments like that which I will remember fondly.”
“…[Erica’s] energy, warmth and thoughtfulness were all essential to the group dynamic working so well. On leaving, I felt like we really were a big family…”
“The organization made things run seamlessly.”
“The organization and communication were fabulous! ..I felt so prepared, and coming alone that really made a difference…”
“…even though I had read Allen’s books and others about Burgundy, his [first morning] summary was wonderful and brought everything together. and all of us up on the same level of knowledge…”
“[re Vosne-Romanée] I loved how Allen got into the details of each of the grand crus. This is detail I was curious about and his stories helped to make it all digestible.”
“…I loved how the [vineyard] tour helped put together some of the information about the vineyards’ locations…[differences in] upper and lower level vineyards…soils, microclimates that produce the best wines.”
“I loved being on the bus with Allen so he could point out important features and share fascinating stories along the way. I also enjoyed the experiences getting off the bus and walking along the vineyards with Allen and learned so much.”
“The advance-materials were excellent! I was very prepared for what to expect.”
“[re Gevrey-Chambertin] this was just wonderful. Seeing the vineyards and having Allen explain the various climates due to the combes and the mining of the stone, leaving vineyards in their wake. Amazing information about the soils and climate here. And so beautiful.”
“[the program] absolutely exceeded my expectations. You created the perfect balance of vineyard tours and seminars and tastings and the lunches were a delight.”
“The days were full and we really got our money’s worth.”
“[overall satisfaction with the program] It was truly extraordinary and Erica you did a superlative job preparing us for the trip and keeping us all informed along the way. I came away with a new appreciation and confidence to start collecting Burgundies again…you were both so gracious to all of us and I will treasure this trip.”
“The final night’s dinner was extraordinary – the setting, the food and the celebratory feel of my new family. It was a great ending to an extraordinary program.”
“[first morning session] This was the highlight of the classroom days simply because of how Allen’s deep knowledge of [the] history, and how history caused Burgundy to evolve into what it is today is so important to understanding the region.”
“The driver did a great job and left Allen available to answer our questions non-stop on the bus – and allowed him to share interesting stories and important facts as we drove together each day.”
“…seeing the vineyards and getting a visual understanding of how small they are was what stood out to me the most. Allen’s discussion of the soil types, elevations, geological formations, micro-climates, etc. were also very helpful to my understanding of Burgundy.”
“[masterclass] I loved it! I discovered a few vineyards to look for that I wasn’t familiar with. Understanding what Allen got from the wines and why (tied to the terroir) and how that compared to what I got from the wine, is what I wanted and got from the class as well.”
“It was an amazing experience to visit the ancient cellars on our last afternoon – what a rare experience I learned so much from.”
“I thought the program delivered exactly what the pre-trip materials said it would. The Chassagne-Montrachet tasting was an added bonus. I was very happy with the group size and enjoyed getting to know the participants and the Meadows family.”
“I had a great time and learned a lot.”
“Each venue was carefully selected and the lunches were delicious and ample.”
“I enjoyed the bus – it was cool and the perfect size. Even when seated at the back I could clearly hear Allen speak without a microphone. It made a big difference being able to leave my bag on the bus too [during vineyard walks].”
“The value for me was in Allen sharing his knowledge – knowledge that he has gained over many years through people, wine and researching old texts.”
Click here for photos of our 2024 Vineyard Tours.
