Volnay

Volnay is a wine village of the Côte de Beaune, a few kilometres south-west of Beaune, known for its red wines from Pinot Noir. It hosts the 2027 Saint-Vincent Tournante, on 30 and 31 January 2027.

Practical notes

• Beaune, the nearest town, has the railway station and most of the accommodation.
• The festival is held in winter: dress for a cold day outdoors between cellars.

Volnay, an appellation in figures

The Volnay appellation was created on 9 September 1937 and covers red wine only, from Pinot Noir, says the Bourgogne Wine Board (BIVB). In 2022 it had 212.55 hectares in production, 125.88 of them Premier Cru, and it counts 29 Premier Cru climats. The producing commune is Volnay, plus Meursault for the climat Santenots.

• Yield: 7,694 hectolitres a year on average over 2017 to 2021, of which 4,425 Premier Cru. One hectolitre is about 133 bottles.
• On the label, Volnay and Volnay Premier Cru may be followed by the name of the climat.

A hillside turned to the south-east

The village sits on the hill of Chaignot, high in the Côte de Beaune, on a narrow, steep site that leaves the room to the vines. The hill is angled so that the vines face south-east rather than east. Before the Revolution the harvests went to the Knights of Malta, to the abbeys of Saint-Andoche d’Autun and Maizières, and to the Dukes of Burgundy and then the Kings of France. The character of the wine was fixed by the 18th century.

The Climats, a World Heritage landscape

The Climats of Burgundy are on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The association that manages them defines a climat as a named vineyard site combining vine plots, grape variety and know-how, with nothing to do with the weather. The listed area runs for almost 60 km across two départements and more than 140 towns and villages.