Hospices de Beaune: Eva Longoria and Dominic West to Patron the 164th Auction
The 164th Hospices de Beaune Wine Auction will be held inside the town's covered market on Sunday, November 17, 2024, starting at 2.30pm. This year’s theme celebrates the One Health cause, emphasizing “one health for all,” with distinguished ambassadors presiding over the event.
The Hospices Civils de Beaune are organizing the auction in association with Sotheby's, the world's leading wine auctioneer. The 60-hectare estate achieved organic certification following the 2024 harvest and will offer 51 cuvées for auction, distributed across 438 barrels of wine, including 321 barrels of red, 117 of white, and three “feuillettes” (small barrels).
The charity lot, known as the “Pièce des Présidents,” is a Beaune Premier Cru les Bressandes. The proceeds from its sale will benefit the One Health cause, which emphasizes the connection between health and the environment, supported by the Global Gift Foundation (GGF)and Médecins sans Frontières (MSF). These two organizations will receive the auction’s proceeds, represented respectively by Dominic West and Zabou Breitman, and Eva Longoria and Jean Reno.
Beyond charitable support, the Hospices de Beaune Wine Auction funds crucial investments to meet local healthcare needs, including medical equipment upgrades and the modernization of buildings and technical facilities.
Today, the Hospices Civils de Beaune is still a modest-sized healthcare institution with 1,000 beds, employing 1,500 people. In 2023, it handled nearly 15,000 hospitalizations covering medicine, surgery, and obstetrics, approximately 700 births, 90,000 outpatient consultations, and over 20,000 emergency visits.
The new Bourgogne Wines web series, ‘The Tasting Tips’ is already available with its first three episodes, and promises to make quite a splash this fall! The 6-part series, with each episode lasting around three minutes, is presented by Maxime Dubois, a certified sommelier and an Official Trainer for Bourgogne wines. The goal? To demystify wine tasting in a fun and relaxed way.
Since October 5, every Saturday for the English version, wine enthusiasts and beginners alike can discover a new episode on the Instagram and Facebook accounts of Bourgogne Wines.
Among the subjects covered in this first season, you'll find useful tips on the following topics:
- Wine Glass 101
- How to Open & Serve Wine?
- How to Look at your Wine?
- How to Smell your Wine?
- How to Taste You Wine
- How to Store an Open Bottle?
Produced in collaboration with the audiovisual production company Bourgogne Live Prod, this web series aims to make the world of wine accessible in a relaxed atmosphere, while offering high-quality content. Maxime Dubois’ educational approach is already captivating viewers, and a second season is planned for 2025.
The first three episodes are available, so feel free to share them with your readers! You can find them on our social media channels and use the hashtag #thetastingtips to share your impressions.
Bourgogne 2024 Vintage: There's quality in the cellars!
This vintage has not been easy. However, while volumes are small, the wines that are starting to mature are already appealing.
The 2024 harvest in Bourgogne has wrapped up, signaling the end of an exhausting year. Although the overall yield is lower than usual, the initial feedback from winegrowers and vintners during the vinification process is quite encouraging.
The grape selection was strict despite already low volumes. But quality comes at this price! As a result, the musts/wines currently in the cellar already show great potential.
The work continues in the cellar, where magic unfolds to reveal the full character of this vintage. Tastings prior to the Hospices de Beaune Wine Auction mid-November should confirm these initial impressions.
The Bourgogne Wine Board (BIVB) is organizing an auction of nearly 600 vintage appellation signs on Tuesday, November 12, from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m., live-streamed on drouot.com and interencheres.com. Open to everyone, the auction will be led by auctioneers Jérôme Duvillard and Alexandra Chaillou-Weidmann (Quai des Enchères).
The lots:
- 29 panels featuring prestigious Grand Cru appellations
- 280 panels representing Régionale or Village appellations
- 280 panels displaying the emblematic “B” logo of Bourgogne wines
This rare auction is a unique opportunity to add a vintage 'Bourgogne wines' touch to your garden, cellar or living room. All proceeds will be entirely donated to the Cité des Climats et vins de Bourgogne to support its cultural initiatives. A highlight not to be missed: Lot number 19, a sign from the AOC Grand Cru Grands Echezeaux, will be sold along with a dinner for four and a private tour of Château du Clos de Vougeot.
This special lot will benefit a literary event called "Livres en vignes." Sponsored by Laurent Delaunay, President of the BIVB, this auction will take place around 4 p.m. In order to bid: Participants must register in advance on one of the two websites, drouot.com or interencheres.com, using their identification.
The delivery of the signs will be the responsibility of the buyers. A rate schedule is available on the auction websites for France and UE. For the other countries, the work is on progress and should be online soon.
The Bourgogne Wine Board has just updated its key figures in an infographic format. This is an essential tool that you can reference or use in your articles.
As you probably know, Bourgogne is just a small drop in the ocean of wines produced worldwide. Indeed, Bourgogne produces an average of 5.5% of French AOC wines (which is already very little), but it accounts for just 0.5% of global production!
Yet, this region is known worldwide, as it exports 58% of its production to more than 170 countries!
Bourgogne owes its success to the quality of its wines, which come from its exceptional terroir that has been cultivated for over 2,000 years.
It also owes its success to the representatives of 3,489 wine estates, 316 merchant houses, and 16 cooperative cellars who travel throughout France and the world to share their passion.
When people think of Bourgogne, red wine often comes to mind. However, today, 61% of Bourgogne wines are white, 27% are red, and 12% are Crémant de Bourgogne.
Check out all the key figures in full on our handy infographic.
Â
Economic news
Bourgogne wines are off to a good start in 2024
In a tense global context, Bourgogne wines are maintaining their sales in exports.
The 2023-2024 season, following the generous 2022 vintage, has seen a certain return to normal. The 2023 vintage has helped replenish a good portion of stock, providing reassurance ahead of the 2024 vintage, which is expected to have lower volumes.
The 2023 harvest, around 1.9 million hectoliters (more than 253 million bottles), has significantly replenished Bourgogne wine stocks following the 2022 vintage. The industry is thus more serene than in 2016 or 2021, with more than 2.9 million hectoliters available at wine estates at the start of the season (the second-highest available volume in the past 10 years, after the 2018-2019 season).
This comes even as the upstream market remained dynamic during the 2023-2024 vs. the 2022-2023 campaign:
- Estate sales: +1.6 % (in millions of euros)
- Bulk wine transactions: +7.5% (in volume)
On the export front, the first half of 2024 saw an upturn, after a lackluster 2023.
Bourgogne wine exports increased +3% in volume, while sales stabilized (+0.2% compared to the first six months of 2023, reaching €754 million).
This is welcome news, as the general trend for French AOC wines has been declining.
This momentum is driven by several appellations: • Régionale Bourgogne AOC in white: +22.9% in volume and +38.7% in value • Chablis and Petit Chablis AOCs: +4.6% in volume, generating sales of 81.8 million euros • Régionale Bourgogne AOC in red: +15% in volume and +24.1% in value. • Crémant de Bourgogne: +10.5% in volume with sales of 29.3 million euros
A slight change has occurred within the "Famous 5" main markets for Bourgogne wines. Sweden has dethroned Belgium for 5th place in the first half of 2024, importing nearly 3 million bottles (+11.6% compared to the first 6 months of 2023).
Asian countries are also showing renewed interest with a 13.2% increase in volume. Industry stakeholders remain committed to supporting sales in an uncertain geopolitical context.
Exports of Bourgogne wines to the United States showed strong growth in the first half of 2024. This key market remains the largest for Bourgogne in both value and volume, with 9.3 million bottles exported (+4.1% compared to the first 6 months of 2023) and revenue reaching 153 million euros (+8.2% compared to the first 6 months of 2023).
Régionale AOCs dominate the market
With 61% of white wines and 75% of red wines exported, Bourgogne and Mâcon AOCs (including their geographical denominations) lead the way.
Added to this is Crémant de Bourgogne, which represents 10% of Bourgogne's total wine exports.
White wines account for 63% of export volumes and 54% of sales, with growth of +10.8% compared to the first six months of 2023.
Red wines are not far behind, accounting for 27% of volumes and 42% of revenues. This segment grew by +5.2% in volume and +4.9% in value compared to the first six months of 2023.
Autumn 2024 is set to be a remarkable season for the Cité des Climats et vins de Bourgogne, featuring events that blend culture, heritage, and wine tasting at the three emblematic sites in Beaune, Chablis, and Mâcon.
Until November, visitors, whether they are wine enthusiasts or looking for family activities, will be able to enjoy a variety of immersive experiences.
The program includes:
- Weekend of the Hospices de Beaune Wine Auction (November 16-17): guided tours, tastings of fine wines, and workshops to discover the secrets of Bourgogne viticulture. - Wine tasting and food pairing workshops: introduction to the art of tasting, exploration of emblematic aromas and grape varieties, as well as innovative workshops such as wine and perfume pairings, or wine and art pairings. - Family activities: a ghost hunt for Halloween, workshops for kids to create grape juice, and other fun activities for all ages. - Afterwork evenings, concerts, and tastings: a convivial atmosphere to extend the discovery of Bourgogne wines. - Archives Exhibition on the Wine Houses of Bourgogne: This exhibition highlights the history of the Bourgogne wine trade over more than three centuries, from the 18th to the 20th Century. It brings together a unique selection of more than 100 documents [letters, brochures, photos, objects, paintings, sculptures, videos and more], some of which have never before been seen.
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
12 Boulevard Bretonnière - BP 60150 - F-21204 BEAUNE CEDEX
Tel. 00 33 (0)3 80 25 04 80
DIRECTOR: SYLVAIN NAULIN
EDITOR IN CHIEF: CECILE MATHIAUD – cecile.mathiaud@bivb.com
TRANSLATOR: SARAH JACKSON
For access to our press release archive and thousands of rights-free photos,
go to our on-line pressroom at: www.bourgogne-wines.com
COPYING OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS NEWSLETTER FOR FAIR USE IS AUTHORISED
Press
professional access
Educator Area 
extranet
Partager
