Can't help with specific cellars but I highly recommend a stop at the marche aux vins in Beaune http://www.marcheauxvins.com/vin-beaune-tourisme/en/visit-wine-tasting.html the wine tastings are done in atmospheric cellars below! Highlight of our trips!

I recommend the Château de Savingny-lès-Beaune, just a short drive from Beaune itself. There are also one or two small tasting rooms in Savigny, and the wines are excellent.

For something larger, head to the Château de Meursault, which has an enormous cellar tasting room. Fine white wines, of course.

Thanks jamikins - we've added the Marche aux vins in Beaune to our itinerary. Thanks also Underhill, the Château de Savingny-lès-Beaune sounds perfect for something close in to Beaune. Since we'd like to visit at least one cellar that specializes red wines and one that specializes in whites, we'll also put Château de Meursault on our list as well.

t

We were part of a Patriarche Cellar visit in 2002. They have extensive cellars under the streets of Beaune. For our group, they had tasting stations set up & they gave everybody a tastevin & turned us loose. It ended in an underground store where you could buy the wines. It was a blast. We also had dinner in a large underground dining room setup for our group.

See http://www.patriarche.com/en/oenotourisme-caves-ppf.php

Ian

Here are a couple of pictures that I took . . .

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h308/imcarthur/France/France%202002/cellars2.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h308/imcarthur/France/France%202002/Patriarche.jpg

Ian

Ian..fully agree that the Patriarche family cellar is the place to visit, right in the town of Beaune. We were literally the sole visitors and therefore earned a "private" tour..the lineup at Marche aux Vins caused by a tour bus wassignificant, so we headed for Patriarche...just a ten minute walk from Marche.

Meandering around after our tasting gymnastics, we were completely unrushed and then we were left on our own to stroll among the purorted 3,000,000 bottls, some gathering dust. The cellar is enormous and for a minute I thought we were lost, couldn't find the exit...(but as you can see we finally found daylight).

Rumseydog: You can scroll to the Patriarche part or look at all which will give you a good familiarization feel for the Cote' surrounding Beaune and Dijon. We particularly liked the town of Pommard (see pix). Enjoy Burgundy..don't drink and drive!

stu tower

http://picasaweb.google.com/stuarttower/FranceBurgundy2009#

Great pictures, Stu. Thanks for sharing!

Trip Report from Burgundy
Our trip is complete, and I can report that all is well in Burgundy! Here are some details to assist those of you planning a trip in the next few months:

We spent a total of 3 days in Burgundy, taking the TGV from Paris to Dijon, renting a car from EuropCar at Gare Dijon Ville, and driving a circuit that included Commarin, Châteauneuf-en-Auxois, Sainte Sabine, and Beaune. Among the highlights:

Château Commarin
Châteauneuf-en-Auxois: On the list of "The Most Beautiful Villages of France"
Château Sainte Sabine: renovated and opened as a hotel in 2011, just across the valley from Châteauneuf ( www.saintesabine.com ) - highly recommended!
Hôtel-Dieu (Hospices de Beaune)
Château du Clos de Vougeot
Dijon: as many before have said, walk the Owl Trail to discover many of the most historic sites in Dijon. One of our discoveries was a plaque dedicated to Thomas Jefferson on la Porte Guillaume in Place Darcy (Jefferson travelled to Dijon as U.S. Ambassador to France on March 7, 1787). Also visit Les Halles, the covered market (open Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday mornings from 9-1). We purchased mustard and fruit here.

We had an excellent lunch in Beaune at Le Caveau des Arches (10 Boulevard de Perpreuil - www.caveau-des-arches.com ):

I had the Menu Bourguignon for 24€
- Ou Duo de Six Escargots et Un Œuf en Meurette
- Bœuf Bourguignon, Champignons, Lardons et Petits Oignons
- Ecrasé de Pommes de Terre Ou Coupe Dijonnaise à la crème de cassis

My wife had the Menu Tradition for 30€
- Ou Saumon Mariné à l’Aneth, Huile d’Olive et Citron, Pommes de Terre Tièdes et Crème de Ciboulette
- Filet de Canette Rôti, Pleurotes Sautées Ecrasé de Pommes de Terre
- Ou Fromage Blanc à la Crème, au Sucre ou aux Herbes
- Moelleux au Chocolat Amer Servi Tiède, Crème Glacée à la Vanille

We did the "Degustation Tastevin" for 10€ at the Marché aux Vins in Beaune, but were disappointed in the wine choices (3 whites and 2 reds of unremarkable quality) and presentation, which is comprised of a series of self-serve tasting stations through a cellar with no person to explain the wines until the last station.

We made up for this by stopping at Caves du Palais in Nuits-Saint-Georges, where the owner offered us a taste and description of 3 reds from the immediate vicinity (one of which we really liked and purchased).

As for other places to taste, there are many "caves" and wine shops in Beaune, and several wineries along the "Route des Grands Crus" driving north from Beaune to Dijon had their wine tasting signs out.

The only issue we had with our car rental was the recent downtown re-construction in Dijon, which made our GPS unit from home useless for driving to and from Gare Dijon Ville. Fortunately, we had a good map from the tourism office and made only 1-2 wrong turns.

For those of you pinching pennies between fine Burgundy meals, we elected a light dinner of inexpensive and delicious pizza for out last meal in Dijon at Cafe Cosi opposite Les Halles (4 rue Bannelier).

Rumseydog, thanks for the report. We are going to Beaune in September and I printed out your report for the trip folder.

yes, thanks.

glad you had such a great trip.