Burgundy Walking: From Dijon to Meursault

Transfer to Marsannay, a city reputed for its rose wines (unique in the Burgundian region). This village opens the Route des Grands Crus de Bourgogne and offers a landscape of soft curves, where vineyards run in close rows from villages to villages. This is a land where the plots surrounded by old dry stone walls are called clos (enclosures), and where beautiful castles like to leapfrog up the hills. With its double vaulted cellars, Marsannay's cellar is a good place to start on the route.

Continue towards Fixey and Gevrey-Chambertin. Known worldwide, the small town didn't let fame change it-it's still peacefully wrapped around its Romanesque church and medieval castle. To get a look at the town's panorama, you have to take the high path, just behind the vineyards. It is worth a look! (B/D).

Cross through the Grand Cru vineyards and pass by the village of Chambolle Musigny before continuing to one of the most famous sites of Burgundy, the majestic Château de Clos Vougeot. Your path continues across the vineyards of Echezeaux and Romanée-Conti. You could almost miss this vineyard (and what a shame if you did) ! A simple sign in the shape of a crucifix by the side of the road indicates one of the most treasured grape plots in the world, that of the domain Romanee-Conti. It is there, on 1. 8 hectares (4. 5 acres), that the most expensive and most famous red wines on the planet are born.

The secret of this nectar with aromas of rosehips and rose petals? Its climate, its land which enjoys perfect exposure and the work of the winemakers that has improved the wine over the centuries. Continue your way until you arrive at Nuit St Georges. The small town that gives its name to the famous Côte de Nuits is the cradle of some of the world's greatest red wines. Nuits-Saint-Georges also welcomes the Cassissium, a place dedicated to cassis, the black gold of Burgundy (B/D).

Walk through the first Premiers Crus vineyards, heading to Pommard. When one thinks of red wine, Pommard is a name that first comes to the lips, a name evocative of a village and an iconic vineyard of Burgundy where Pinot Noir reigns supreme. A pleasure for the eyes as well as the tongue, Pommard is home to an 18th century castle built in front of the vineyards, boasting magnificent French-style gardens, vaulted cellars and an astonishing art gallery with exceptional cuvees and works by Dali, Picasso and Miro.

Then continue in the direction of Meursault. The unjustly charming capital of the great white wines of Burgundy, with a vineyard mostly planted with chardonnay grapes, lying in the middle of the hills of a gentle slope. With its vineyard castles, its cozy houses, its great restaurants lorded over by spire of its gothic church, Meursault embodies 'la douce France' (sweet or gentle France) (B/D).

Make your way across the vineyards, to pass through hamlets, forest and reach Chateau of La Rochepot. This 12th-century feudal castle of neo-Gothic-Burgundian style is covered with glazed burgundy tiles and is jewel in the green scenery. Then wind through the Grands Crus of Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet.

Here is a vineyard that does not deserve to be judged by its cover-it's set up on a rocky hill of a bald mountain that turns out to be a terroir of excellence in the heart of the Cote de Beaune. In this ocean of vineyards, two villages, accomplices and rivals at the same time, share the honor of producing the world's grandest dry white wine (B/D).