--- title: "The wine year · When to visit Burgundy" description: "When to visit Burgundy’s vineyards: harvest, the Hospices de Beaune auction and what happens in the vines each month." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/when-to-visit lang: en updated: 2026-10-08 generated: 2026-10-09 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/when-to-visit.png --- # When to visit Burgundy > The best time to visit the Burgundy vineyards is May to June or September to October: highs of 21 to 25 °C in spring and 16 to 22 °C in autumn, the harvest (dates set each year, now often from late August) and golden vines after it. July to September is the peak and December to March the quietest, and the Hospices de Beaune auction fills the third weekend of November. The Côte is busiest from May to mid-October, and harvest and auction weekends book out weeks ahead. ## Burgundy month by month The wine year, how busy the villages are, the usual weather near Beaune and the main events of each month. | Month | Vines and cellars | Visitors | High / low, rain | Key events | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | January | Pruning begins | Quiet | 6 / 0 °C, rain on 11 days | [Saint-Vincent Tournante](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/saint-vincent-tournante) · [Saint-Vincent de Dijon](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/saint-vincent-de-dijon) | | February | Pruning in the cold | Quiet | 8 / 1 °C, rain on 9 days | [Trail de Pommard](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/trail-de-pommard) · [Carnaval de Chalon-sur-Saône](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/carnaval-de-chalon-sur-saone) | | March | Sap rises, last pruning | Quiet | 13 / 4 °C, rain on 10 days | [Vente des Vins des Hospices de Nuits-Saint-Georges](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/hospices-de-nuits-wine-auction) · [Le Printemps de Monthelie](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/printemps-de-monthelie) | | April | Budburst, risk of frost | Busy | 17 / 6 °C, rain on 10 days | [Festival Beethoven à Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/festival-beethoven-beaune) · [Bouzeron fête sa différence](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/bouzeron-fete-sa-difference) | | May | Shoots grow and are tied up | Busy | 21 / 10 °C, rain on 10 days | [Mois des Climats](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/mois-des-climats) · [Beaune Saveurs de Vignes](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/beaune-saveurs-de-vignes) | | June | Flowering | Busy | 25 / 14 °C, rain on 9 days | [Lumières à Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/lumieres-a-beaune) · [Elégance des Volnay](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/elegance-des-volnay) | | July | Small green grapes form | Peak | 27 / 16 °C, rain on 8 days | [Festival international d’opéra baroque de Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/festival-opera-baroque-beaune) · [Festival De Bach à Bacchus](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/festival-de-bach-a-bacchus-meursault) | | August | Véraison; the harvest often starts late in the month | Peak | 27 / 15 °C, rain on 7 days | [De Cep en Verre](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/de-cep-en-verre-nolay) · [La Ronde du Couchois](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/ronde-du-couchois) | | September | Harvest, at dates set each year | Peak | 22 / 12 °C, rain on 8 days | [Festival d’automne Jazz O’Verre](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/festival-jazz-o-verre-beaune) · [Livres en Vignes](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/livres-en-vignes-clos-de-vougeot) | | October | Fermentation, golden leaves | Busy | 16 / 8 °C, rain on 10 days | [Fête du Vin Bourru](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/fete-du-vin-bourru-nuits-saint-georges) · [Fête des Vins de Chablis](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/fete-des-vins-de-chablis) | | November | Leaves fall, new wines in barrel | Busy | 10 / 4 °C, rain on 11 days | [Vente des Vins des Hospices de Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/vente-des-vins-hospices-de-beaune) · [La Paulée de Meursault](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/paulee-de-meursault) | | December | New wines rest in barrel | Quiet | 6 / 1 °C, rain on 11 days | [Beaune Blues Boogie Festival](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/beaune-blues-boogie-festival) · [Le Festi’Noël](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/festi-noel-marche-de-noel-beaune) | Weather: average daily high and low, and days with at least 1 mm of rain, at Météo-France’s Savigny-lès-Beaune station, 4 km north of Beaune (1991 to 2020 normals). Events: the next edition of each, with its dates on its page. ## Harvest and truffle season Harvest: picking starts when the grapes are ripe, usually 90 to 100 days after flowering, so its dates change every year and are set each year by prefectoral decision, the ban des vendanges. It now often starts in late August, sometimes earlier: in 2026, the earliest year on record, Crémant de Bourgogne grapes were picked from 8 August and still wines from just after 15 August, and the last grapes came in just before mid-September, according to the Burgundy wine board (BIVB). In 2021, a year of classic dates, picking began around 18 to 20 September. Truffles: the Burgundy truffle, Tuber uncinatum, is gathered from mid-September to the end of January on the limestone plateaus above the vineyards, and its fêtes and markets come in October and November: - [Fête de la Truffe et des Papilles](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/fete-de-la-truffe-et-des-papilles-is-sur-tille) - [Fête de la Truffe impériale](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/fete-de-la-truffe-imperiale-chatillon-sur-seine) - [Marché aux truffes de Noyers](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/marche-aux-truffes-de-noyers) Read more: [Harvest and truffle season in Burgundy](https://www.cote-privee.com/guides/burgundy-harvest-and-truffle-season) ## The wine year What happens in the vines, how busy the villages are and the events of each month. Prices stay the same all year: what changes is how early to book. - **January** (Quiet, Pruning): Pruning begins. The Saint-Vincent Tournante wine festival comes at the end of the month. The quietest weeks: roads and cellars are calm, though some domaines close for a few days after New Year, so book tastings ahead. → [All events in January](https://www.cote-privee.com/events#2027-01) - **February** (Quiet, Pruning): Pruning in the cold. Cellars are calm and winemakers have time to talk. Still quiet: an easy month for tastings, and for restaurant tables at short notice. → [All events in February](https://www.cote-privee.com/events#2027-02) - **March** (Quiet, Sap rising): The sap rises and the cut vines weep. The last pruning is done. Calm roads and the first spring weekends: a good month for an unhurried visit. → [All events in March](https://www.cote-privee.com/events#2027-03) - **April** (Busy, Budburst): Budburst. On frosty nights, growers light fires in the vineyards. Visitors return around Easter: book tastings a week or two ahead. → [All events in April](https://www.cote-privee.com/events#2027-04) - **May** (Busy, Shoot growth): Shoots grow fast and are tied up. The tasting season opens. Bank holidays and long weekends fill Beaune: book your driver and your tastings early. → [All events in May](https://www.cote-privee.com/events#2027-05) - **June** (Busy, Flowering): Flowering, with a light sweet scent over the vineyards. Warm days and busy weekends; on weekdays, tastings are still easy to arrange. → [All events in June](https://www.cote-privee.com/events#2027-06) - **July** (Peak, Fruit set): Small green grapes form. Long evenings on the terraces of Beaune. High season: many visitors, and some small domaines close for a summer break. Book ahead. → [All events in July](https://www.cote-privee.com/events#2027-07) - **August** (Peak, Véraison): Véraison: the grapes change colour, and in recent years the harvest has often begun late in the month. The holiday month: many family domaines close for part of August, so plan your tastings with us. → [All events in August](https://www.cote-privee.com/events#2027-08) - **September** (Peak, Harvest): Harvest time, at dates set each year: pickers in the rows and presses running day and night. The busiest and most beautiful weeks. Many domaines receive fewer visitors while they pick: book early. → [All events in September](https://www.cote-privee.com/events#2027-09) - **October** (Busy, Fermentation): The wines ferment in the cellars and the vines turn gold and red. Golden vineyards and fewer crowds after the harvest: one of the best months to visit. → [All events in October](https://www.cote-privee.com/events#2026-10) - **November** (Busy, Hospices auction): The Hospices de Beaune charity auction, on the third Sunday of the month. The Hospices de Beaune auction weekend books out months ahead; the rest of the month is calm. → [All events in November](https://www.cote-privee.com/events#2026-11) - **December** (Quiet, Barrel ageing): The new wines rest in barrel. Quiet, crisp days in the Côte. Christmas markets and quiet cellars; many domaines close between Christmas and New Year. → [All events in December](https://www.cote-privee.com/events#2026-12) ## Events - **The harvest** (August to September): Pickers in the rows and presses running. The most beautiful and the busiest weeks of the year. - **Hospices de Beaune auction** (15 November 2026): The world’s most famous charity wine sale. Book your auction weekend driver early. - **Saint-Vincent Tournante** (30–31 January 2027): Burgundy’s winter wine festival comes to Volnay, five minutes from Beaune. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is the best month for wine tastings in Burgundy? October and the spring months from April to June suit tastings best: the vineyards are at their finest, the days are mild, with highs of about 16 °C in October and 25 °C in June near Beaune, and the villages are calmer than at the height of summer. During the harvest, which starts between August and mid-September depending on the year, family domaines have little time for visitors, and some close for a holiday in August; from December to March the cellars are at their quietest, but the days are short and highs only reach about 6 to 13 °C. ### Is November a good time to visit Burgundy? Yes, especially on the third weekend of November, when Beaune celebrates the Hospices de Beaune wine auction with tastings, dinners and street festivities from Friday to Sunday: book your hotel and your driver weeks ahead, as parking in the old town is very difficult all weekend. The rest of the month is calm and the large wine houses of Beaune stay open, but the days are short and often grey, with highs of about 10 °C and rain on about 11 days. ### Can you visit Burgundy during the harvest? Yes, but plan around it. Picking starts when the grapes are ripe, usually 90 to 100 days after flowering, so the dates change every year: in recent years the harvest has begun anywhere from early August, as in 2026, the earliest on record, to mid-September. While they pick, family domaines have little time for visitors, so book tastings at the large houses and tasting venues of Beaune, which generally open every day, and watch the pickers at work from the roads through the vineyards. ### Are wineries and sights closed in winter? Mostly not. In Beaune the Hôtel-Dieu opens every day of the year, with a lunch break from mid-November to the end of March, the Cité des Climats et vins de Bourgogne every day except 25 December and 1 January, and the Marché aux Vins every day except around Christmas and New Year and for two weeks in January. Family domaines receive visitors by appointment and set their own holidays, and some close their cellars for part of the winter, so book tastings and restaurant tables ahead. ## Sources - - - - - - - - - - - - ## Book - [Book](https://www.cote-privee.com/book?service=wine-tour&option=full) --- Canonical page: