--- title: "Sensation Vin, Beaune: Blind Tasting Wine Classes" description: "A Beaune wine school teaching Burgundy through blind tasting since 2006, in English and French. Classes from 1.5 hours, ideal before your wine days out." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/sensation-vin-beaune lang: en updated: 2026-10-01 generated: 2026-10-08 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/things-to-do/sensation-vin-beaune.png --- # Sensation Vin > Sensation Vin: Blind-tasting wine classes in the centre of Beaune, in French and English, since 2006. Sensation Vin is in Beaune. Opening hours: By appointment only · Guided tour: Adults €75 · Allow 1.5 hours to a full day. Sensation Vin is a wine school in the heart of Beaune, a few steps from the Hospices. Since 2006 it has taught Burgundy wine through blind tasting, so you judge the wine rather than the label. Classes suit beginners and enthusiasts, in small groups or privately, and run in French and English. ## Key facts - Type: Wine experiences - Location: In Beaune - Coordinates: 47.0253, 4.8362 - In Beaune itself - By appointment only - Allow 1.5 hours to a full day - Where: [Beaune · Côte-d'Or](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/beaune) - Official website: [sensation-vin.com](https://www.sensation-vin.com) - In Beaune, where your driver is based. - €290 for a [half-day wine tour](https://www.cote-privee.com/wine-tours/half-day) starting here, up to 4 guests ## Getting there Coming by train or plane? [Transfers from stations and airports](https://www.cote-privee.com/transfers) ## History Sensation Vin opened in Beaune in 2006 with a simple aim: to help people understand Burgundy wine through their own senses. Its tasting rooms mix period materials with modern design, above 14th-century Cistercian cellars where the wines are stored. The school runs around 450 classes a year, about seven in ten in French and three in ten in English, all led by Céline Dandelot or Damien Delattre. ## What you will see Classes begin with the basics of tasting: how to look at, smell and taste a wine. You then move through blind tastings that explain grape varieties, work in the vineyard, winemaking and the Burgundy classification. Programmes range from short introductions to full-day courses that include several grands crus. Groups are small, with nine people at most, which leaves plenty of room for questions. The introduction, The Essentials, lasts two hours around one of the school's two tasting tables. It covers the geography of the vineyards, the hierarchy of the appellations, the soils and the grapes, then moves on to a blind tasting of eight wines, whites and reds from Chablis to Mâcon, two of them grands crus. No food is served, since it would get in the way of smell and taste. The wines are drawn from more than 500 references kept in the 14th-century cellar, so they change from one class to the next. ## Opening hours and tickets - Opening hours: By appointment only - Guided tour: Adults €75 There are no opening hours: every class is booked online for a set date and time. Checked on 1 October 2026 on [the official site](https://www.sensation-vin.com/en/classes/the-essentials-2). ## Planning your visit Take a class early in your stay, so you can use what you learn at estates and restaurants. Classes run all year by reservation, and private tastings and vineyard outings can be arranged for two. The school is in the old town, close to the Hôtel-Dieu. The Essentials starts at 10:30 from Monday to Friday and costs €75 per person, while longer classes include Premier vs Grand Cru at €100 and the Grand Cru Experience at €250. Places are booked online, and guests who are not registered cannot sit in, so book a seat for everyone in your party. ## Did you know? Sensation Vin teaches entirely through blind tasting and runs around 450 classes a year, with roughly three in every ten given in English. ## Around Sensation Vin What to combine with Sensation Vin on the same day, nearest first. ### Villages - [Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/beaune) (1 km away): The wine capital of Burgundy, with the Hôtel-Dieu, old ramparts and cellars beneath its streets. - [Chorey-lès-Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/chorey-les-beaune) (3 km away): A village on the gentle land just north of Beaune, known for supple and fruity reds. - [Pommard](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/pommard) (4 km away): A red-wine village between Beaune and Volnay, known for deep, firm Pinot Noir. ### Châteaux - [Château de Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-beaune) (1 km away): Louis XI's fortress in the Beaune ramparts, now home to the Bouchard Père & Fils wine house. - [Château de Challanges](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-challanges) (3 km away): A 19th-century country house in a wooded park south-east of Beaune, now a hotel. - [Château de Chorey](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-chorey) (3 km away): A moated manor with lone round towers and a dovecote, at the edge of Chorey. ### Things to do - [Beaune Ramparts (Remparts de Beaune)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/remparts-de-beaune), 1 km away: A 2.5 km walk around Beaune's towers, bastions and gardens, with wine cellars inside the old walls. - [Maison Jaffelin](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/maison-jaffelin-beaune) (1 km away): A small Beaune wine house founded in 1816, working in the medieval cellars of the Notre-Dame chapter. - [Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame, Beaune (Collégiale Notre-Dame de Beaune)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/collegiale-notre-dame-beaune), 1 km away: One of Burgundy's last great Romanesque churches, with five tapestries of the Life of the Virgin. ### Restaurants - [Clos du Cèdre](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/clos-du-cedre-beaune) (1 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): A winemaker's mansion by Beaune's ramparts, with a starred kitchen and a cellar of over 1,000 wines - [Le Carmin](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/le-carmin-beaune) (1 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): Christophe Quéant's poised, product-first cooking in a Renaissance house on place Carnot - [Table de Levernois](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/table-de-levernois) (5 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): A Relais & Châteaux country house outside Beaune, with its own kitchen garden and 1,800 wines ### Events - **Friday 13 – Sunday 15 November 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Vente des Vins des Hospices de Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/vente-des-vins-hospices-de-beaune): Burgundy's great charity wine auction, first held in 1859 and now staged each November in Beaune's covered halls. (Wine auction · Beaune) - **Saturday 10 – Sunday 11 October 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Salon de dégustation Pains Vins Fromages](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/salon-pains-vins-fromages-beaune): Bread, cheese and wine under Beaune's covered halls, run by the town's tourism students. (Food & markets · Beaune) - **Friday 16 – Sunday 18 October 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Vignobles en Scène](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/vignobles-en-scene-beaune): An October weekend of one-off wine experiences along the Route des Grands Crus. (Wine festival · Beaune and the Côte de Beaune) - **Friday, 13 November 2026 – Tuesday, 5 January 2027 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Lumières à Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/lumieres-a-beaune): Light projections on Beaune's landmarks, every evening in summer and from the Vente des Vins to early January. (Culture · Beaune) - **Friday 13 – Saturday 14 November 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Semi-Marathon de la Vente des Vins de Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/semi-marathon-vente-des-vins-beaune): Burgundy's best-known half marathon, run through Pommard, Volnay and Meursault on the Vente des Vins weekend. (Sport · Beaune) - **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) - **Wednesday 2 – Sunday 6 December 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Beaune Blues Boogie Festival](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/beaune-blues-boogie-festival): Five nights of boogie-woogie, blues and swing in Beaune's theatres and wine cellars. (Music · Beaune) - **Saturday 12 – Sunday 13 December 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Le Festi’Noël](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/festi-noel-marche-de-noel-beaune): Beaune's Christmas market by the Porte Marie de Bourgogne, with crafts, treats and mulled wine. (Christmas · Beaune) - **Thursday 1 – Sunday 4 April 2027 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Festival Beethoven à Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/festival-beethoven-beaune): A spring chamber music festival devoted to Beethoven, led by the cellist Sung-Won Yang. (Music · Beaune) - **Each year over several weeks in late spring and early summer, usually ending in early July** · [Mois des Climats](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/mois-des-climats): A festival of visits, walks and tastings celebrating Burgundy's UNESCO-listed Climats. (Culture · Beaune and the Côte-d'Or vineyards) - **Usually Ascension Thursday, in May, with staggered departures from late morning** · [Beaune Saveurs de Vignes](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/beaune-saveurs-de-vignes): A gourmet walk through Beaune's vineyards, with growers pouring at every stop. (Wine festival · Beaune) - **Usually four consecutive weekends in July** · [Festival international d’opéra baroque de Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/festival-opera-baroque-beaune): Since 1983, a summer festival of baroque opera in the Hôtel-Dieu courtyard and Beaune's historic churches. (Music · Beaune) - **Late September, over four days from Thursday to Sunday (24 to 27 September in 2026)** · [Festival d’automne Jazz O’Verre](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/festival-jazz-o-verre-beaune): Four days of jazz in Beaune at the end of September, in the spirit of a good glass of wine. (Music · Beaune) - **Early October, on a Saturday, with starts from late morning (3 October in 2026)** · [L’Automnale](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/l-automnale-beaune-cyclos): An autumn cycling tour of the Côte and Hautes-Côtes de Beaune, from 44 to 90 km. (Sport · Beaune) ### Guides about Sensation Vin - [Beaune in one day](https://www.cote-privee.com/guides/beaune-in-one-day) ## Questions about Sensation Vin ### How long does a visit to Sensation Vin take? For the visit, allow 1.5 hours to a full day. ### When is Sensation Vin open? Opening days and times change during the year, so check the official website (sensation-vin.com) before you go. Your driver can plan the day around them. ### Is Sensation Vin a UNESCO World Heritage site? Yes. Sensation Vin is part of a site inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. ### Can a private driver take us to Sensation Vin? Yes. Your driver collects you in Beaune or at your hotel in an electric Polestar 2 (up to 4 guests), waits while you visit and plans the rest of the day with you. The driver speaks English, French, Mandarin Chinese and Arabic. → [Half-day wine tour, €290](https://www.cote-privee.com/wine-tours/half-day) ## Book - [Book](https://www.cote-privee.com/book?service=wine-tour&option=half&place=sight:sensationvin): Half-day wine tour from Beaune: €290 for the car, up to 4 guests ## Sources - - - - --- Canonical page: