Côte Chalonnaise, Burgundy’s quieter wine country south of Beaune

Five villages have their own appellation. Bouzeron is the only village appellation of Burgundy made entirely from Aligoté; Rully and Montagny are known above all for their whites, Mercurey and Givry for their reds, and these four count 142 premiers crus between them: 23 in Rully, 32 in Mercurey, 38 in Givry and 49 in Montagny.

The region is thought to be the cradle of Crémant de Bourgogne: in 1822, specialists from Champagne were invited to estates in Rully and Mercurey to make sparkling wine. Further west, beyond the Canal du Centre, the Couchois has had its own appellation, Bourgogne Côte du Couchois, since 2000.

It is a quieter side of Burgundy, with fewer visitors and unhurried tastings. The Château de Rully keeps its late 12th-century keep, the Château de Germolles is the best-preserved residence of the dukes of Burgundy, and the Southern Burgundy Greenway, a cycle path on a former railway line, runs from the Côte Chalonnaise to Cluny.

In Chalon-sur-Saône, the Maison des Vins de la Côte Chalonnaise is a shop and tasting room for the wines of the five villages and Crémant de Bourgogne, and the town is where Nicéphore Niépce, the inventor of photography, was born: the Nicéphore Niépce Museum stands on the Saône quays. Our full-day wine tour covers the region, with tastings, lunch and time in the vineyards; the tastings are paid to the domaines directly.