Burgundy's famous Route des Grand Cru's

The "Route des Grands Crus" starts on D122 that turns into Route Nationale or Route D974. The start of this famous road is in Marsannay-la-Cote, which finishes in Puligny-Montrachet. I've driven this road many times, and part of my fun is getting a little lost, discovering places I hadn't even heard of. Remember, many wineries are very small, so exporting them to the USA is not automatic. These tend to be excellent values too.

You can visit many towns that are quite interesting to those not passionate about wine—Dijon, Chateauneuf-en-Auxois, Auxerre, to name a few. Burgundy begins and ends for me in Vosne-Romanee home to the most famous winery in the world, DRC Domain Romanee-Conti, a place that's almost impossible to visit unless you're a shop, restaurant, or long time direct customer with many bottles in your cellar. Still, driving into the area and going to the part where the vineyards start is magical. The gates with the initials RC on them hold behind them the winemaking shed that is DRC. Continue to the southern vineyard with a gentle upward slope, and you'll be in front of the actual vineyard. Bottles of DRC cost upwards of $4800, making the average cost of the 400 grapes to make one bottle about $14 each. (I admit I owe DRC about $40). A plaque on the corner names the vineyard, but I love standing in front of the DRC cross. It's a serene and poignant moment that should be treasured.

Continuing towards Beaune, you come to the region of Nuits-Saint-Georges, my favorite as some of these wines are quite affordable. Again driving off the wine road and visiting the small connecting roads, you'll come across many—opportunities to taste in either a winery or wine shop's tasting room. Here are a few I like.

WINE SHOPS outside Beaune:
Grands Vins de Bourgogne, La Maison des Vines, Le Grand Cave de Vougeot, Elius Collection de Vins, Caveau des Musignys . All of these have a wide selection and price range  Many have wines to taste.

WINE SHOPS inside Beaune:
Le Cellier de la Cabiote, Domaine des Vins, La Vinotheque, Boutique Wine Market, and Place des Cru's are my personal favorites. These tend to be pricey as they are in the Beaune, where there's plenty of tourist dollars flowing. In Beaune, I lifted a bottle from its display only to set off an alarm for theft patrol, which I must say was very effective. 

Wineries to Visit: Domaine Francios Lamarche, Chateau de Santennay, Bouchard Aine et Fils, Domaine de Chateau Meursault, Maison Mayeul Pierre, Chateau de la Cree, Domaines Famille Picard. Almost all of them require an appointment, so plan your day by arranging your visits in a timely matter. I would suggest no more than 3 to enjoy the drive and walking around Beaune.

If you’re a Chardonnay fan of elite status, by all means, head to Puligny-Montrachet or other parts of Burgundy such as Aloxe Corton, Mersault, and Cote d'Or.  Either way, there's no shortage of amazing things to do in the region of Burgundy.

PS Don't eat more than $40 worth of grapes at DRC, they aren't struggling, but you might be shown a still functioning guillotine.