Nearly 5,000 corkscrews and the old tools of the vineyard in the cellars of a Chablis family estate, with a tasting to finish.
€395one way from Beaune with a private driver
Private driver from Beaune: 1 h 46 by road (159 km), €395 one way for the whole car.
Or add it to our long-day wine tour, €880.
Coming by train or plane? Transfers from stations and airports →
In the village of Beine, a few minutes west of Chablis, Domaine Alain Geoffroy has turned its old cellars into a museum of the vine and the corkscrew. Eight rooms show the private collection of Alain Geoffroy, more than 9,000 objects in all. The visit ends with a tasting of the domaine's Chablis.
The corkscrews come from all over the world and date from the 18th century to the present day: cage and rack models, zigzags, parrots, Punch figures and Thomason patents, nearly 5,000 pieces in all. Upstairs, restored tools tell the daily life of the old vineyard: marc cutters, cask scales, bottling machines, secateurs and sprayers. After the self-guided visit, the domaine pours its Chablis in the cellar and sells bottles to take away.
The Geoffroy family has grown vines around Beine for generations. Around 1850 Honoré Geoffroy extended the farm into Beine and La Chapelle-Vaupelteigne, in the heart of the Chablis vineyard, and Alain Geoffroy later made it a full domaine. Today the family farms about 50 hectares, making Petit Chablis, Chablis, Chablis Vieilles Vignes, the premiers crus Beauroy, Vau-Ligneau and Fourchaume and the grand cru Les Clos, as well as Bourgogne Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Over the years Alain Geoffroy collected old winegrowers' tools and antique corkscrews, and the museum now presents them in eight rooms of the domaine's old cellars. Most wines are made in stainless steel tanks to keep their freshness, the old-vine cuvées in oak, and all the bottling is done at the domaine.
Checked on on destinationgrandvezelay.com.
Allow about an hour. Beine is about 6 km west of Chablis and about 1 hour 35 minutes from Beaune, on the way from Auxerre. The museum is open on weekdays all year and on Saturdays from May to October, with a lunch break, and closes from Christmas Eve to early January. The visit is self-guided, with a ticket for the museum alone or with a tasting. Groups should book. Free parking is available, with five pitches for camper vans.
What to combine with Musée de la Vigne et du Tire-Bouchon, Domaine Alain Geoffroy on the same day, nearest first.
Musée de la Vigne et du Tire-Bouchon, Domaine Alain Geoffroy is about 1 h 46 from Beaune by road (159 km). With a private driver, the trip from Beaune starts at €395 for the whole car, up to 4 guests.
Did you know? Alain Geoffroy's collection holds nearly 5,000 corkscrews, from 18th-century pieces to parrot- and Punch-shaped figures.
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€395 one way from Beaune · up to 4 guests
