The 2025 Bourgogne Harvest – An Exceptional Season in Bourgogne
In Bourgogne, the 2025 harvest stretched over about a month, beginning on August 18 with Crémant de Bourgogne, and wrapping up around September 20 in the latest-ripening areas.
Organizing the harvest was no easy task, as rain complicated the choice of picking dates and altered the ripening pattern of the grapes. While yields were lower than expected, producers are pleased with the quality of the juice, showing fine balance and, for the reds, deep color.
After a complicated 2024, this growing season unfolded under far better conditions, despite a few weather incidents. Following a moderate winter, the vines awoke in early April under almost summer-like temperatures.
Weather conditions remained favorable throughout the growing cycle, and 2025 quickly established itself as one of the earliest vintages in recent decades. Two heatwaves, in June and August, accelerated berry ripening and brought excellent maturity, though they did reduce yields.
Producers and négociants in Bourgogne now have everything they need to shape the standout wines of the 2025 vintage.
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Wine, Humor, And Education: Season 2 Of Tasting Tips Is Here!
Six new episodes to make tasting less intimidating and to present Bourgogne wines in a fresh way!
After a well-received first season that already racked up over 1 million views, the web series Tasting Tips returns on October 6 with another batch of six episodes—bolder than ever and just as informative.
Designed to introduce newcomers without pressure, this series uses a lighthearted tone to share the fundamentals of Bourgogne wines: Climats, grape varieties, Crémant de Bourgogne, food and wine pairings, label reading, classification of appellations, touching on all the essentials.
At the helm is Maxime Dubois, sommelier and an official Bourgogne Wines Ambassador, who animates a colorful gallery of characters. Filmed in both French and English, this second season targets a curious, connected generation eager for content that is fun yet thorough.
Produced by Bourgogne Live Prod, shot in record time - 720 scenes filmed in just 4 days - for a short, lively format that deliberately breaks with traditional wine codes.
On October 18-19, Bourgogne wines will be part of the first edition of Vignobles en Scène(in French only), a new national wine tourism gathering initiated by Atout France.
The goal: to showcase winegrowing regions and their Vignobles & Découvertes certified offerings.
The Cité des Climats et vins de Bourgogne will play an active role in Beaune, Chablis, and Mâcon, highlighting Bourgogne’s “Rising Stars” - those lesser-known AOCs with a lovely value for money ratio:
• The scenographic tour will conclude with a winegrowers’ village, featuring tastings led by producers certified with the Vignobles & Découvertes label (Beaune and Chablis).
-> Exceptionally, their wines will also be available for purchase on site.
• From 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., a traditional mâchon bourguignon (Bourgogne-style snack) will be served in bars to accompany tastings (Beaune and Chablis).
• A guided tasting of three wines will be offered at the end of the scenographic tour (Mâcon).
Additional events at the Cité in Beaune on Saturday, October 18:
• 11:30 a.m.: a master class on the theme of “Rising Stars.”
• 7:30 p.m.: Woman Wine Show by Sophie Jammet, a poetic and theatrical creation around wine that weaves together tasting and canapés.
• In the evening: special food and wine menu at the Bar des Accords. Designed around lesser-known appellations (€49, including starter, main course, dessert, and wines)
Last July, the Bourgogne Wine Board (BIVB) celebrated the laureates of the 2025 Cave de Prestige at the Cité des Climats et vins de Bourgogne in Beaune.
Created more than 50 years ago, this selection highlights each year the Bourgogne wines that will represent both the quality and diversity of the region’s wines in the BIVB’s communications and training programs, all around the world.
For this 54th edition, 194 wines were selected from 1,406 entries, representing 13.8% (a proportion on par with the most prestigious guides).
A total of 141 producers (domaines, caves, and négoces), including 23 first-time entrants, made it onto the list.
The 2025 selection reflects the BIVB’s commitment to showcasing approachable appellations that are representative of the region’s diversity, in particular the Régionale AOCs and some of the lesser-known Village appellations such as Saint-Véran, Irancy, Auxey-Duresses, etc.
The Chablis Wine Festival returns on October 25-26, 2025, to celebrate the new vintage in a festive atmosphere at the heart of the village of Chablis.
Each year, a pair of patrons symbolically inaugurate the vintage. For the 2025 edition, French actors Sandrine Quétier and Jacques Bonnaffé will take on the role as new ambassadors of Chablis wines.
Program highlights:
• Tastings of Chablis and Grand Auxerrois wines with about fifty winegrowers
• Concerts, theater, brass band, and family activities (face painting, clown shows, an inflatable castle)
• Exhibitions of vintage cars and winegrowing equipment, vineyard walks, and a tourist train
• The Chablis Half Marathon on Saturday
Visitors can also enjoy gourmet stands, workshops from the Cité des Climats et vins de Bourgogne, an exhibition on phylloxera, and guided hikes.
A convivial celebration at the crossroads of terroir, gastronomy, and wine culture.
More information and the full program: www.fetedesvinsdechablis.fr
From September 29 to October 13, 2025, Sydney will host the first-ever Chablis Restaurant Week, organized in partnership between the Bourgogne Wine Board (BIVB) and the Merivale hospitality group.
In several of Australia’s landmark dining venues - including Mimi’s in Coogee and Bert’s in Newport - the Chablis appellations will be highlighted through unique food-and-wine pairings with oysters, the emblematic match for freshness and finesse.
The Australian market is emerging as one of the most dynamic for Chablis wines, currently ranking ninth among export destinations. This event further strengthens the visibility and reputation of the appellation among Australian consumers.
On November 16, the Hospices de Beaune will hold their 165th Wine Auction, held in Beaune’s covered marketplace (Les Halles) by Sotheby’s.
This edition introduces a 52nd cuvée, Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru, from a donation by Domaine Faiveley. As every year, the auction also has a charitable dimension, with a special focus this year on disability and smart technologies.
Funds raised will also enable the Hospices Civils de Beaune to finance several major projects: the construction of a new 15,000 m² hospital building (€86 million, including €12 million from the French state), the launch of a versatile surgical robot (€2 million), and the rebuilding of the Seurre hospital.
Sotheby’s, a partner for the past five years, highlights the event’s global scope, with tastings organized throughout the year and an increasingly strong international reach. In 2025, six new cities will host tastings (Abu Dhabi, Bangkok, Copenhagen, Jakarta, Madrid, and São Paulo), confirming the growing appeal of Hospices wines among collectors worldwide.
Registrations are already up, particularly from buyers in Brazil, Mexico, and Taiwan.
This world-famous wine auction with charitable aims will this year feature a work by artist Mode 2, as part of the cultural initiative Imaginaire Kréatif (Creative Imagination).
The 2025 Vintage
According to Ludivine Griveau, vineyard manager if the estate, “the 2025 vintage looks distinctive and full of promise: Chardonnay is remarkable, with fine lees and well-balanced fermentations underway, while Pinot Noir shows contrasting but encouraging levels of maturity, with good color and tannins still to be refined.”
New: An Audioguide in Mandarin at the Cité des Climats in Beaune
The Cité des Climats et vins de Bourgogne in Beaune now offers a Mandarin-language audio guide for its permanent exhibition tour.
It will help to better welcome Mandarin-speaking visitors, already well represented in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (nearly 385,000 overnight stays in 2024) and eager for cultural and wine tourism experiences.
Translated by Yan Liu, a guide-lecturer based in Beaune, the audioguide enables visitors to enjoy an independent, complete, and immersive experience of the permanent tour, from the history of the Climats to the contemporary challenges facing the vineyard.
This new tool enhances the destination’s appeal to a growing Asian clientele, fond of tailor-made travel experiences. The project was made possible through sponsorship, consistent with the Cité’s mission to share and promote the UNESCO-listed winegrowing heritage.
News from the vineyard: Saint-Vincent Tournante 2026
The Saint-Vincent Tournante will return to the Maranges on January 24–25, 2026. The villages of Cheilly-lès-Maranges, Dezize-lès-Maranges, and Sampigny-lès-Maranges will host the 82nd edition of this emblematic celebration, which brings together generations of wine lovers.
Ten years after the Bourgogne Climats were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this edition will highlight the richness of the vineyard and its seven Premier CruClimats (La Fussière, Clos de la Boutière, Clos des Loyères, Les Clos Roussots, Clos des Rois, Le Croix Moines, and Clos de la Fussière). Both children and adults are taking part in preparations and celebrations, including a tasting kit adapted for all ages.
The chosen theme, “Maranges in Music,” will set the tempo for the entire weekend with numerous performances and concerts. A highlight of the festivities will be a grand gastronomic banquet on Saturday evening at the Palais des Congrès (Convention Center) in Beaune.
This event will offer visitors and professionals alike a unique moment, blending conviviality, gastronomy, and the celebration of Bourgogne’s winegrowing heritage.
Bourgogne vs. Burgundy: to re-affirm their identity, the region and the producers are reverting back to the original French iteration of the name, Bourgogne.
EN DIRECT 9 issues per year, published by
Bureau Interprofessionnel des Vins de Bourgogne
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DIRECTOR: SYLVAIN NAULIN
EDITOR IN CHIEF: CECILE MATHIAUD – cecile.mathiaud@bivb.com
TRANSLATOR: SARAH JACKSON
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