Nuits-Saint-Georges:capital of the Côte de Nuits

Nuits-Saint-Georges (5,235 inhabitants, known as Nuitons) is the beating heart of the Côte de Nuits. The village takes its name from its most renowned cru, Les Saint-Georges, which it appended to its own name in 1892 - before then, the commune was called simply Nuits. This is where Burgundy wine country invented much of its modern storytelling: the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin was founded here in 1934, in the Caveau Nuiton, by the negociant Georges Faiveley and the writer Camille Rodier at the height of the 1930s wine crisis. Today the brotherhood has about 12,000 members worldwide and is based at the Château du Clos de Vougeot, 6 km to the south.

The village occupies a strategic position on the Route des Grands Crus, halfway between Dijon (22 km north) and Beaune (18 km south). It is an ideal base for exploring the Côte de Nuits vineyards as well as for day trips to the Hospices de Beaune or the Château du Clos de Vougeot. Unlike more famous neighbours such as Vosne-Romanée or Gevrey-Chambertin, Nuits-Saint-Georges has kept its village life - its covered market, its belfry and its weekly market give it a substance that some of the “showcase villages” on the grands crus route have lost.

The Nuits-Saint-Georges vineyard

The Nuits-Saint-Georges appellation is one of the largest in the Côte de Nuits: 305 hectares of vines spread across the communes of Nuits-Saint-Georges and Premeaux-Prissey. It produces 97% red wine (Pinot Noir), the remainder being Chardonnay - barely 15 hectares of white, or a confidential production of around 370 hectolitres per year.

41 premier crus, zero grand cru

Unique in the Côte de Nuits: the appellation has no grand cru. However, its 41 climats classified as premier cru cover nearly half the surface area (around 142 hectares). The most renowned are Les Saint-Georges (the most famous, which gave the commune its name), Les Vaucrains, Les Cailles and Les Murgers. Connoisseurs consider that some of these premier crus, particularly Les Saint-Georges, reach a quality equivalent to the grand crus of neighbouring communes.

The terroir divides into three sectors:

• To the north (border with Vosne-Romanée): finer, more elegant wines with floral notes and supple tannins, ready to drink younger.
• In the centre (the heart of Nuits): the most powerful and structured climats, such as Les Saint-Georges and Les Vaucrains, which need 5 to 10 years of cellaring minimum.
• To the south (the Premeaux sector): characterful wines marked by more clay-rich soils, with historic monopoles such as the Clos de la Maréchale.

The brown limestone and clay soils, combined with east and south-east exposure, produce wines described as “muscular, vigorous, chewy” - among the most powerful Pinot Noirs in Burgundy. On the nose, fruit dominates when young (cherry, blackcurrant, mulberry), then evolves towards leather, truffle and game after a few years.

Tasting and visiting

Nuits-Saint-Georges is home to several of Burgundy’s largest négociant houses. Maison Faiveley (founded 1825) offers tours of its historic cellars and tastings by appointment. Maison Boisset (a group founded in Nuits-Saint-Georges in 1961) and Domaine Henri Gouges, one of the oldest domaines in the commune, also have their headquarters here. For those who prefer a free approach, several wine shops in the town centre organise comparative tastings without reservation - a practical option for tasting several climats without multiplying appointments at domaines.

The Hospices de Nuits-Saint-Georges wine auction has been held every year since 1962 (or 1961 according to some sources), on the second Sunday of March, at the Château du Clos de Vougeot. Though less publicised than the Hospices de Beaune auction, it attracts a crowd of insiders and has financed local hospital equipment and charities for over sixty years. In 2025, the average price of pièces (228-litre barrels) rose sharply, a sign of growing interest in this sale that long remained in the shadow of its Beaune neighbour.

Cassissium: the other treasure of Nuits-Saint-Georges

Nuits-Saint-Georges is not only about wine. Since 1923, the Védrenne house has been producing fruit liqueurs here and, above all, Crème de Cassis de Nuits-Saint-Georges - a local variant of the famous Burgundy blackcurrant liqueur. The Cassissium, housed in the factory itself, is an interactive museum dedicated to blackcurrants: visitors discover the history of the black fruit, its cultivation in Burgundy, and the liqueur-making process from maceration to bottling.

The standard tour lasts 90 minutes (12 €) and includes the museum, a guided tour of the production workshop, and a tasting of crème de cassis, liqueurs, syrups and eaux-de-vie. For the curious, the Cassis Experience (2 h 30, 36 €) adds a platter of regional specialties. Cassissium is open daily from April to November, and Tuesday to Saturday the rest of the year. An English-language tour is available on request.

Blackcurrant is not a mere anecdote here: Burgundy produces most of France’s blackcurrants, and the Noir de Bourgogne variety is specifically grown for liqueur production. A glass of crème de cassis as an aperitif (or a Kir - crème de cassis and Aligoté) is as much part of the region’s taste experience as a Pinot Noir tasting.

Château du Clos de Vougeot, 6 km away

The Château du Clos de Vougeot, 6 km south of Nuits-Saint-Georges, is one of the most emblematic monuments of Burgundy winegrowing. Built from the 12th century onwards by the monks of Cîteaux Abbey, the château is the only surviving built structure of Burgundy’s most famous clos. Its current buildings blend Cistercian architecture (the great 12th-century vaulted cellar, where the monks already vinified) with 16th-century Renaissance additions.

The guided tour (highly recommended) reveals the cellars with their four giant presses, the former vathouse, the 16th-century kitchen, and the lay brothers’ dormitory with its spectacular 14th-century roof frame. Since 1944, the château has been the seat of the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin, which holds its ceremonies and the Tastevinages here - wine competitions recognised throughout Burgundy.

Getting from Nuits-Saint-Georges to Clos de Vougeot is easy: the Mobigo 113 bus line connects the two in 9 to 22 minutes (2 €), and the cycle ride along the Route des Grands Crus is one of the finest in the Côte de Nuits, winding through vineyards and classified villages.

Practical information

The Gevrey-Chambertin Nuits-Saint-Georges tourist office is on Place de la Libération. It distributes maps of domaines open for tasting and wine-growing hiking routes. The weekly market under the covered market is a good time to discover regional products (cheeses, gingerbread, jambon persillé).

Parking is free in most streets of the centre, with a few blue zones. For a lunch stop, restaurants around Place de la Libération serve classic Burgundy cuisine (beef bourguignon, eggs meurette), with set menus between 18 and 30 €.