A close-up of the best-known Burgundy festivals:

> Festivities for the Hospices de Beaune Wine Auction

The Festivities for the Hospices de Beaune Wine Auction is undoubtedly the best-known of the Burgundy festivals. In the third week-end in November, Beaune welcomes thousands of people for 3 days of festivities. On the programme you will find: Popular entertainment, street theatre, Wine auction chapter (gala dinners organised by one of the Burgundy brotherhoods) and special wine-tastings by the merchant houses and family wine estates.

The Hospices de Beaune auction sale takes place on the Sunday afternoon. Today it’s the most famous charity wine auction in the world and acts as an international barometer for the prestige wine market. The wines for auction come from the Hospices de Beaune estate. The founder, Nicolas Rolin, had donated a Côte de Beaune vineyard to the hospices so that they would be assured of an income. After 500 years of donations and legacies, this asset now totals 57 hectares of grand cru and premier cru wines. The profits from the auction are used to maintain the assets and the hospital facilities. In this way it is a charitable work faithful to the spirit of Nicolas Rolin.

> The Saint-Vincent Tournante (Rotating Saint Vincent)

In January (usually the last weekend), winegrowers pay tribute to Saint Vincent, the patron saint of winegrowers. Every year, a village is chosen to host this traditional festival that is made up of official ceremonies (the Saint-Vincent Mass, procession through the village...), entertainment (concerts and fanfares), wine-tastings in the wine cellars and a banquet.

This Burgundy festival was founded in 1938 by the Chevaliers du Tastevin Brotherhood to promote Burgundy wines. It also originally had a mutual aid function, which it still has today. The mutual aid organisations (groups of winegrowers in each village whose mission is to ensure that none of their members’ vineyards are endangered as a result of difficulty (death, accident, health problem…) ) meet together. Following the Mass that celebrates Saint-Vincent, the Chevaliers du Tastevin Brotherhood enthrones a few winegrowers in the host village, who have worked throughout their lives in accordance with tradition.