Fromagerie Berthaut
Dairy in Époisses making Époisses AOP, Soumaintrain and Aisy Cendré. The shop on the Champ de Foire sells its cheeses with mustard, honey, wine and other regional products.
About Époisses
A soft cow's milk cheese with a washed rind, tied to the Auxois in the west of Côte-d'Or. Tradition credits a religious community of the early 16th century; farm women kept it going, output sank almost to nothing by the 1950s and a farming couple revived it around 1955. Each cheese is rubbed with a salted solution containing Marc de Bourgogne, which gives the rind its colour. It comes in a small format (250 to 350 g) and a large one (700 to 1,100 g).
Made in: Western Côte-d'Or (the Auxois and Châtillonnais), three cantons of Yonne and two of Haute-Marne
On the plate
A powerful, penetrating animal nose, a creamy and melting paste, a fruity sweetness behind the force. The syndicate calls it a cheese outside the usual standards, made of strength and elegance.
Rind: washed, orange and sticky
Wine and cheese
What to pour with Époisses
Chablis (Chardonnay) Burgundy
Our pickA white option. Village Chablis, light and racy, cuts the creamy paste, though the Burgundy wine board warns that a washed-rind Époisses can overpower any wine, so a small portion works best.
The grapes behind these winesChardonnay
From the source
Where to buy and taste it
Fromagerie Gaugry
Washed-rind cheesemaker at Brochon, near Gevrey-Chambertin, since 1946. Tours and tastings are suspended during works until the end of 2027; a temporary shop sells its cheeses.
Fromagerie Lincet
Family cheesemaker since 1895, six generations on. Its Saligny shop sells its Époisses, Chaource and Soumaintrain alongside other cheeses and regional products.
Alain Hess, Maître Fromager
Cheese shop on place Carnot in Beaune with about 200 cheeses, wine and fine groceries. Alain Hess, maître fromager since 1997 and an affineur, created the Délice de Pommard.
Fromagerie Porcheret
Founded in 1930 near the Dijon halles and renovated after Yann Lavigne took over in 2012. A glass trapdoor in the floor shows the vaulted ageing cellar below, and the counter holds more than 200 varieties of cheese.
Le Chalet Comtois
A Dijon cheese shop on rue Musette, founded in 1872 and under new owners since 2017. It stocks 250 to 300 cheeses, mostly from small producers, with Burgundy and Franche-Comté in the lead.
Au Gas Normand
Stall in the Dijon Halles run by maître fromager Sophie Greenbaum since 1983, selling raw milk Normandy cheeses and aged summer Comtés beside other French and European cheeses. Open on Halles market days.
Cheese experiences nearby
Marché des Halles de Dijon
Dijon's covered market, where cheese stalls such as Au Gas Normand sell Burgundy and other French cheeses on market days.
Atelier vins et fromages de Bourgogne
About an hour in a Dijon wine shop tasting three Burgundy wines each paired with a Burgundy cheese, including an Aligoté with Délice de Bourgogne and mustard. Saturdays at noon from 10 October to 26 December 2026.
Vélo et Fromages cycle route
A 22 km easy ride along the Canal de Bourgogne with four cheese tastings at farms, including the Soumaintrain producers Lorne and Leclère, ending at Flogny-la-Chapelle.
Fête du Vin, du Pain et du Fromage à Époisses
Annual village fair in Époisses with about 60 exhibitors selling wine, bread, cheeses and local produce, with a petting farm and music, and a festive evening the next Saturday.
Époisses: questions
Is Époisses washed in Burgundy brandy?
Yes. The appellation requires the cheeses to be rubbed with a salted solution containing Marc de Bourgogne during ripening.
How long is Époisses aged?
At least four weeks, according to the defence syndicate.
Where may Époisses be made?
Within the delimited zone around the Auxois and Châtillonnais: western Côte-d'Or, three cantons of Yonne and two of Haute-Marne.
Same cheeseboard
More cheeses from Burgundy
Plan the trip
Visit Époisses country
Tastings and tours where it is made, and somewhere to stay.
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Sources: protection register, www.inao.gouv.fr, fromage-epoisses.com. The drawing is made from the cheese's recorded shape, rind and paste, not a photograph.