--- title: "La Paulée de Meursault 2026: Date and How It Works" description: "Burgundy's most generous harvest lunch, where every guest brings their finest bottles." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/events/paulee-de-meursault lang: en updated: 2026-10-08 generated: 2026-10-09 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/events/paulee-de-meursault.png --- # La Paulée de Meursault > La Paulée de Meursault: Burgundy's most generous harvest lunch, where every guest brings their finest bottles. Each November, on the Monday after the Hospices de Beaune wine sale, about 700 guests gather at the Château de Meursault for La Paulée. It is a harvest-end lunch with one golden rule: everyone brings wine, and the best they can find. The meal is the last of the Trois Glorieuses, Burgundy's great wine weekend. ## Key facts - Type: Tradition - Meursault - 15 min from Beaune - When: The Monday after the Hospices de Beaune auction, at lunchtime. Expected dates, not yet confirmed · Monday, 16 November 2026. - Venue: [Château de Meursault](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-meursault) - Nearby: [Meursault](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/meursault) - Where: Meursault · Côte-d'Or - Location: 8 km south-west of Beaune · Côte de Beaune - Coordinates: 46.9740, 4.7738 - From Beaune: ≈ 15 min · 9 km - €65 one way from Beaune with a [private driver](https://www.cote-privee.com/private-driver) - Add the vineyards: our [half-day wine tour, €290](https://www.cote-privee.com/wine-tours/half-day). ## History A paulée is the traditional feast that marks the end of the grape harvest in Burgundy. In 1923 Count Jules Lafon, who owned vines in Meursault and Volnay, and Jacques Prieur gave the Meursault version its modern form. They turned a grower's harvest meal into a gathering of growers, merchants and friends, where the finest bottles are opened and passed around the tables. In 1932 the lunch gained a literary prize. Each year the mayor of Meursault awards a writer 100 bottles of Meursault, offered by a different grower. Colette received it in 1951 and Maurice Druon in 1960. Today La Paulée closes the Trois Glorieuses, which also include a dinner at the Clos de Vougeot and the Hospices de Beaune charity auction. In 2025 the 92nd Paulée, presided over by the writer Jean-Baptiste Andrea, was held in the village's Hubert-Rougeot sports hall with nearly 800 guests. The 93rd, expected on Monday 16 November 2026, should move into the newly renovated cuverie of the Château de Meursault. ## What to expect Guests sit at long tables for a lunch of several courses, prepared by a caterer and sometimes by a well-known chef. The real show is on the tables. Growers and collectors open large formats, old vintages and grands crus, and pour them for their neighbours. Sharing is the whole point, and a guest who arrives with nothing to open is not welcome. The mood is joyful and generous. ## Tips for the day Places are limited and there is a long waiting list, so this is not an event you can join on the day. Every guest must bring at least one bottle. If you cannot attend, the Château de Meursault also hosts ticketed paulée dinners, including its own each October and the Paulée de Printemps in March. Meursault is about 15 minutes south of Beaune by the D974. Invited guests are best dropped at the door and collected after a lunch that runs well into the afternoon, which spares them the parking and the drive home; over the weekend, your driver can also take you around the village cellars. ## Did you know? Since 1932 the Paulée has awarded a literary prize paid in wine. The winning writer receives 100 bottles of Meursault, offered by a different grower each year. ## Around La Paulée de Meursault What to combine with La Paulée de Meursault on the same day, nearest first. ### Other events in November 2026 - **Runs Sunday 11 October – Monday 30 November 2026** · [Marché aux truffes de Noyers](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/marche-aux-truffes-de-noyers): Burgundy truffles, a giant omelette and a clanging bell in the medieval squares of Noyers. (Food & markets · Noyers) - **Runs Saturday 31 October – Wednesday 11 November 2026** · [Foire internationale et gastronomique de Dijon](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/foire-gastronomique-dijon): Burgundy's great food fair, held every autumn in Dijon since 1921. (Food & markets · Dijon) - **Tuesday 3 – Sunday 15 November 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Les Symphonies d’Automne](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/symphonies-d-automne-macon): Mâcon's festival of the voice, built around an international competition for young opera singers. (Music · Mâcon) - **Usually from the last Saturday of November to the first Sunday of January.** · [Les Fééries de Noël de Dijon](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/feeries-de-noel-dijon): Chalets, vin chaud, an ice rink and a big wheel across the heart of Dijon. (Christmas · Dijon) - **Usually from late November to early December.** · [Les Nuits d’Orient et d’ailleurs](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/nuits-d-orient-et-d-ailleurs-dijon): Dijon's winter festival of music, dance and art from the Orient and beyond. (Culture · Dijon) - **Friday 13 – Saturday 14 November 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Fête des Grands Vins de Bourgogne](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/fete-des-grands-vins-de-bourgogne): Every Burgundy appellation in one hall, poured by the growers themselves, on the Vente des Vins weekend. (Wine festival · Beaune) ### Nearby - **Saturday, 17 October 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [La Paulée du Château de Meursault](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/paulee-du-chateau-de-meursault): The Château de Meursault's autumn harvest dinner, cooked each year by a guest chef. (Tradition · Meursault) - **Saturday 24 – Sunday 25 October 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Coup d’œil, Coup de cœur à Auxey-Duresses](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/coup-doeil-coup-de-coeur-auxey-duresses): Auxey-Duresses opens its cellars on the fourth weekend of October, as the vines turn gold. (Wine festival · Auxey-Duresses) - **Saturday 30 – Sunday 31 January 2027 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Saint-Vincent Tournante](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/saint-vincent-tournante): Burgundy's winter wine festival, hosted by a different village each January. (Tradition · Volnay, 2027 host) - **Mid-February, on a Sunday** · [Trail de Pommard](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/trail-de-pommard): A winter trail race on gravel tracks and paths through the vineyards of Pommard. (Sport · Pommard) - **Easter weekend, Saturday and Sunday** · [Le Printemps de Monthelie](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/printemps-de-monthelie): Easter weekend in Monthelie, when the growers open their cellars and the village comes out to celebrate. (Wine festival · Monthelie) - **Usually a Saturday evening in mid-March** · [La Paulée de Printemps de Meursault](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/paulee-de-printemps-meursault): Meursault's spring banquet, where some 500 guests bring their best bottles to share. (Tradition · Meursault) ### Villages - [Meursault](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/meursault) (1 km away): The great white-wine village of the Côte de Beaune, with a glazed-tile town hall and 19 premiers crus. - [Monthélie](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/monthelie) (2 km away): A small hillside village between Volnay and Meursault, once compared to a village in Tuscany. - [Auxey-Duresses](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/auxey-duresses) (2 km away): A quiet valley village of supple reds and bright whites, set between wooded hills west of Meursault. ### Châteaux - [Château de Meursault](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-meursault) (1 km away): A wine château with vast vaulted cellars, a walled Chardonnay clos and a forest garden. - [Château de Cîteaux](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-citeaux) (1 km away): A 19th-century château in Meursault, built over the cellars of the monks of Cîteaux. - [Château de la Velle](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-la-velle) (1 km away): A 16th-century fortified house on the southern edge of Meursault, with its own wine estate. ### Things to do - [Domaine Boyer-Martenot](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/domaine-boyer-martenot-meursault) (1 km away): A Meursault family estate since 1917, with a tasting cellar open on weekdays, with or without an appointment. - [Église Saint-Nicolas de Meursault](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/eglise-saint-nicolas-meursault) (1 km away): Meursault's Gothic church, whose 57-metre stone spire rises above the village and its vineyards. - [Domaine Jean Monnier & Fils](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/domaine-jean-monnier-et-fils-meursault) (1 km away): A Meursault family estate with roots in 1696 and a tasting cellar on the town hall square. ### Restaurants - [Auprès du Clocher](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/aupres-du-clocher-pommard) (4 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): Pommard's newly starred table, where the butcher's son cooks beside the church - [Ed.Em](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/ed-em-chassagne-montrachet) (5 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): A starred couple's table in the heart of Montrachet country, with 600 wines to match - [Le Carmin](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/le-carmin-beaune) (7 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): Christophe Quéant's poised, product-first cooking in a Renaissance house on place Carnot ### Guides about La Paulée de Meursault - [Hospices de Beaune auction weekend 2026](https://www.cote-privee.com/guides/hospices-de-beaune-auction-weekend) ## Questions about La Paulée de Meursault ### When is La Paulée de Meursault 2026? The 2026 dates of La Paulée de Meursault have not been announced yet. Usual timing: the Monday after the Hospices de Beaune auction, at lunchtime; in 2026, expected on Monday 16 November. ### Where does La Paulée de Meursault take place? La Paulée de Meursault takes place in Meursault (Côte-d'Or), at Château de Meursault. ### How do you get to La Paulée de Meursault from Beaune? Meursault is about 15 min from Beaune by road (9 km). The easiest way is a private driver: from €65 for the whole car, up to 4 guests, with no parking to find and nobody at the wheel after a glass of wine. ### Can we book a private driver for La Paulée de Meursault? Yes. Your driver collects you in Beaune or at your hotel in an electric Polestar 2 (up to 4 guests), waits while you enjoy La Paulée de Meursault and drives you back. For the busiest weekends, book a few weeks ahead. → [Half-day wine tour, €290](https://www.cote-privee.com/wine-tours/half-day) ## Book - [Book a driver](https://www.cote-privee.com/book?service=wine-tour&place=village:meursault): No parking to find, no one left as the designated driver: everyone enjoys a glass. Your driver waits and drives you back: no parking to find, and everyone can enjoy a glass. ## Sources - - - - - [The full events calendar](https://www.cote-privee.com/events) --- Canonical page: