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Burgundy Tours › Burgundy in Autumn: the Harvest and the Hospices de Beaune Wine SaleUpdated 2026-09-18

Burgundy in Autumn: the Harvest and the Hospices de Beaune Wine Sale

Hours, prices and access verified by the Burgundy Tours team — last checked 2026-09-18.

The Hôtel-Dieu courtyard in Beaune under its roofs of glazed polychrome tiles

Autumn is Burgundy's busiest and most photographed season. The grapes come in, the leaves on the Côte turn gold and red, and in mid-November Beaune holds the Hospices de Beaune's wine sale, an auction for charity. Here is what changes for your visit, and what to settle before you make your Burgundy booking.

What changes in the vines in autumn?

First the picking, then the colour. The harvest fills the rows with pickers and the cellars with fermenting wine. After it, the vine leaves on the Côte turn gold and deep red, and the villages grow quiet again. It is one of the best times of year for photographs.

The days shorten fast. Dijon's average high falls from 21.7 °C in September to 16.1 °C in October and 9.7 °C in November, Météo-France's 1991-2020 normals show.

When is the Burgundy harvest?

There is no fixed date. Each domain picks when its own parcels are ripe, so the start moves from year to year. No official date for the 2026 harvest has been published.

So do not plan a trip around a picking date. Plan around the season, and ask your operator when you book what the domains on your day will be doing that week.

Can you see the picking on a tour?

You may see it from the van or the path, but no tour sells a place in it. The harvest is the winemakers' busiest weeks, and a tasting that week happens around their work, not inside it. If watching the picking matters to you, a private day is the better bet: your guide can stop wherever the rows are busy.

Which cellars pause for the harvest?

Some barrel cellars close to visitors while the new wine ferments. The 2CV half day from Beaune says so plainly: it visits its barrel cellar outside the harvest and fermentation period. The tastings still pour, but the cellar walk may change.

If the cellar is the part you came for, ask before you book. The Grand Cru route day and the private days pour at domains that set their own rules for the season.

When is the 2026 Hospices de Beaune wine sale?

The 166th sale is on Sunday 15 November 2026, under the Halles de Beaune. By tradition it falls on the third Sunday of November. The Hospices de Beaune sell the wine of their own estate: 60 hectares and 53 historic cuvées, built from benefactors' gifts.

The festivities run the whole weekend, from Friday 13 to Sunday 15 November. The Hospices have not yet announced the time of the 2026 auction, so check their own page before you set your Sunday.

Can you attend the sale?

Not as a bidder: the auction is for professionals. But the weekend belongs to everyone. Beaune Tourisme lists tastings at the Hospices' own estate, in the wine shops and in the domains around the town, with bookings published ahead of the weekend. Some houses hold gala dinners, a few of them open to the public by reservation.

DateWhatWhereFor you
19-20 September 2026European Heritage DaysClos de VougeotGuided tour EUR 12, EUR 5 for ages 8 to 17
23-27 September 2026Livres en Vignes (27 September)Clos de VougeotGuided tours may be affected: call ahead
31 OctoberLong hours endClos de Vougeot10 am to 5 pm from 1 November
13-15 November 2026The sale weekendBeauneTastings, market, funfair
15 November 2026The 166th Hospices de Beaune saleHalles de BeauneProfessionals bid; everyone else tastes
16 NovemberShort hours beginHôtel-DieuClosed 12:30 to 2 pm

What else happens that weekend?

  • The Festivinales: a village of craftsmen and food makers with music, from Friday afternoon to Sunday evening.
  • A food market: stalls of snails and bœuf bourguignon, Beaune Tourisme says.
  • Parades: folk groups in the streets through the weekend.
  • A funfair: on Place Madeleine, for the children.
  • Museums: the Musée des Beaux-Arts and the Cité des Climats et vins de Bourgogne open for the weekend.

What is the Pièce de Charité?

One barrel, the Pièce de Charité, is sold for a cause. It is usually a Grand Cru of the year from the Hospices' own vines, and a pièce holds 228 litres. In 2026 it supports research and care for people with rare diseases.

The sale can reach remarkable sums. In 2022, Beaune Tourisme records, the 162nd sale raised 32 million euros for its 802 barrels, and the charity barrel alone went for 810,000 euros.

Where should you stay for the sale weekend?

In Beaune, if you want to be in the middle of it: the sale, the market, the parades and the funfair are all in town, and you walk back to your bed after the evening tastings. Book your room as early as you can.

If Beaune is full, stay in Dijon and take the TER down in the morning. Keep the ticket, which earns a reduced Hôtel-Dieu entry for 48 hours. Or book a private day that collects you from a hotel between the two towns, and let the driver deal with the traffic. Our page on where to stay sets the bases side by side.

What are the Hôtel-Dieu's hours in autumn?

The Hôtel-Dieu keeps its long hours, 9 am to 7:30 pm, until 15 November, so the sale Sunday is the last long day of the year. From 16 November it opens 9 am to 12:30 pm and 2 to 6:30 pm, every day. The ticket desk closes an hour before the doors.

What about the Clos de Vougeot in autumn?

The Clos de Vougeot opens every day. Its long hours, 9:30 am to 6 pm, run to 31 October; from 1 November it opens 10 am to 5 pm. Its guided tour in English runs at 11:30 am and 3:30 pm all year, for EUR 15.

September brings two dates to note. European Heritage Days fall on 19-20 September 2026, with the guided tour at EUR 12. And Livres en Vignes on 27 September may affect guided tours from the 23rd to the 27th, so call the château on +33 3 80 62 86 09 before you plan a visit that week.

What is the weather like in October and November?

Cooler and wetter than summer, but rarely hard. In October, Dijon averages a high of 16.1 °C, a low of 7.6 °C and 73.6 mm of rain over about 10 days, with 118 hours of sun. In November the high falls to 9.7 °C, the rain rises to 77.6 mm, and the sun drops to 66.5 hours.

November also brings the first frosts: Dijon averages 6.5 nights at or below 0 °C. Pack a warm layer for the vineyards and the cellars, and a waterproof for the rows. The whole year is on the Burgundy weather page.

Which tours suit an autumn visit?

The Grand Cru route day from Beaune operates in all weather conditions, which matters in a month with eleven wet days. It pours 14 wines at two domains, so a grey morning costs you little of the day.

If you book Authentica's six-cru private day for the sale weekend, avoid the Sunday: its three-course lunch at a family estate is not served on Sundays. And if you want to be inside the Clos de Vougeot in November, Au Tour du Vin's private route day spends 40 minutes there, entry included, before tasting in Vosne-Romanée and Aloxe-Corton. From 1 November the château opens from 10 am to 5 pm, so a morning pickup fits its hours.

Should you book autumn tours early?

Yes, and earliest of all for the sale weekend. The shared days take eight people at most, and the sale weekend runs from Friday 13 to Sunday 15 November. Most fares refund in full up to 24 hours ahead, so an early booking costs you little.

A few fares cannot be refunded: the 2CV half day, the Authentica private days and the custom planner. Fix your dates before you book one of them. For a quieter visit, come the week before or after the sale, when the leaves are still turning and the cellars are calm.

Frequently asked questions

When is the grape harvest in Burgundy?
There is no fixed date. Each domain picks when its own parcels are ripe, so the start moves from year to year. Ask your operator when you book, because some barrel cellars close to visitors while the wine ferments.
When is the Hospices de Beaune wine sale?
By tradition on the third Sunday of November, under the Halles de Beaune. The 165th sale was held on Sunday 16 November 2025. Check the Hospices' own announcement before you plan a trip around the 2026 sale.
Can visitors bid at the Hospices de Beaune sale?
No, the auction is for professionals. The weekend around it is open to everyone, with tastings at the Hospices' estate, in wine shops and in the domains around Beaune.
Is the Hôtel-Dieu open on the sale weekend?
Yes. It opens every day, from 9 am to 7:30 pm until 15 November, then 9 am to 12:30 pm and 2 to 6:30 pm from the 16th. The ticket desk closes an hour before.
When should you book a tour for the sale weekend?
As soon as your dates are fixed. The shared days take eight people at most, and Beaune fills that weekend. Most fares refund in full up to 24 hours ahead.
When is the best time for a Burgundy wine tour?
May to September gives you long days in the vines, with Dijon's average highs between 20 and 27 °C. Autumn adds the harvest and the Hospices sale. Winter is quieter, and the Hôtel-Dieu and the Clos de Vougeot keep shorter hours.
What should you wear on a wine tour?
Good shoes and a warm layer for the cellars, which one operator asks every guest to bring. Dress for the weather too: the Grand Cru day from Beaune runs in any.

Where these facts come from

Sight hours, prices and dates come from the official pages below. Everything about a tour comes from its own booking page. Check before you travel, because both change.

Days for an autumn visit to the Côte

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