Key eras
Roman and Gallo-Roman vines, 1st century AD
1st to 4th century AD
Vine cultivation spread through the Saone valley under Roman rule, and a panegyric delivered to the Emperor Constantine in 312 AD describes the ageing vines around Augustodunum (Autun), a documentary reference to organised viticulture in the area that became Burgundy.
The Climats de Bourgogne UNESCO dossier and the regional Bourgogne wine board both cite the 312 AD panegyric to Constantine as the first documentary trace of Burgundian vines.
Benedictines of Cluny shape the vineyard, 910
910 onward
The founding of Cluny Abbey in 910 placed vast vineyard holdings under Benedictine stewardship. The monks cleared, walled and documented parcels across the Maconnais and Cote d'Or, beginning the systematic mapping of plot by plot quality that later defined the climats.
The Climats de Bourgogne foundation and the Bourgogne wine board both record the Benedictine and Cistercian monastic role in clearing and delimiting the vineyard.
Cistercians build Clos de Vougeot, 1098 to 1336
1098 to 1336
The Cistercian order, founded at Citeaux in 1098, assembled the 50-hectare walled Clos de Vougeot between the 12th and 14th centuries and completed its chateau cellars around 1336. The monks tasted plot by plot and codified the notion that adjoining parcels yield distinct wines.
The Clos de Vougeot reference record and the Climats de Bourgogne dossier both document the Cistercian assembly of the clos and the construction of the chateau cellars.
Philip the Bold bans Gamay, 1395
1395
Duke Philip the Bold of Burgundy issued a 1395 edict outlawing the disloyal Gamay grape from the Cote d'Or in favour of the noble Pinot Noir, protecting the prestige of ducal wines and effectively fixing Pinot Noir as the red grape of fine Burgundy.
The Bourgogne wine board history and the Burgundy wine reference both record the 1395 ducal edict expelling Gamay in favour of Pinot Noir.
The Valois Dukes raise Burgundy's wines, 1363 to 1477
1363 to 1477
Under the four Valois Dukes, from Philip the Bold to Charles the Bold, the court of Burgundy became one of the wealthiest in Europe and used its wines as diplomatic gifts to popes and kings, building the early international prestige of the Cote d'Or.
The Bourgogne wine board history and the Burgundy wine reference both describe the Valois ducal era and the use of Burgundian wine as a tool of court prestige.
Hospices de Beaune founded, 1443
1443
Chancellor Nicolas Rolin and his wife Guigone de Salins founded the Hotel-Dieu charity hospital in Beaune in 1443. Endowed over centuries with vineyard parcels, the Hospices still funds its hospital through the annual charity wine auction held every November.
The Hospices de Beaune official history and the Beaune tourism office both record the 1443 foundation by Nicolas Rolin and the vineyard endowment behind the auction.
First Hospices de Beaune charity auction, 1859
1859
The Hospices de Beaune held its first public charity wine auction in 1859, replacing private sales. The candle auction model, where bids close as a small flame dies, became a global benchmark for fine-wine prices and a fixture of the Burgundian calendar.
The Hospices de Beaune history page and the Beaune tourism auction page both record the 1859 first public charity sale and the candle-auction tradition.
Lavalle and Beaune committee classify the climats, 1855 to 1861
1855 to 1861
Doctor Jules Lavalle published his 1855 ranking of the Cote d'Or vineyards into tetes de cuvee and cru tiers, and the Beaune Agricultural Committee formalised a classification in 1861. These maps became the skeleton of the later Grand Cru and Premier Cru hierarchy.
The Burgundy wine reference and the Climats de Bourgogne dossier both record the 1855 Lavalle ranking and the 1861 Beaune committee classification of the Cote d'Or.
Napoleonic inheritance law fragments the vineyard, 1804
1804 onward
The 1804 Napoleonic Civil Code required estates to be divided equally among all heirs, breaking large monastic and noble holdings into ever smaller parcels.
The Burgundy wine reference and the Bourgogne wine board both attribute the extreme parcel fragmentation of the Cote d'Or to the Napoleonic equal-inheritance code.
Phylloxera reaches Burgundy, 1878
1878 to 1900s
The phylloxera louse was confirmed in the Cote d'Or around 1878, devastating vineyards over the following two decades. Recovery came through grafting Pinot Noir and Chardonnay onto resistant American rootstock, the practice that still underpins Burgundian viticulture.
The Burgundy wine reference and the Bourgogne wine board history both record the late-1870s arrival of phylloxera and the rootstock-grafting recovery.
Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin founded, 1934
1934
Facing the Depression and collapsing demand, growers Georges Faiveley and Camille Rodier founded the Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin in 1934 to promote Burgundy.
The Burgundy wine reference and the Climats de Bourgogne dossier both record the 1934 foundation of the Confrerie and its base at the Chateau du Clos de Vougeot.
Burgundy AOC system created, 1935 to 1937
1935 to 1937
France created the Appellation d'Origine Controlee framework in 1935 under the new INAO, and Burgundy's leading appellations including Chablis and the Cote d'Or grands crus were defined across 1936 and 1937, giving legal force to centuries of climat mapping.
The Burgundy wine reference and the AOC reference both confirm the 1935 to 1937 creation of Burgundy's appellation framework under the INAO.
The Trois Glorieuses weekend takes shape, 1932 to 1947
1932 to 1947
The November festival weekend known as the Trois Glorieuses joined the Saturday Tastevin banquet at Clos de Vougeot, the Sunday Hospices de Beaune auction and the Monday Paulee de Meursault into a single three-day celebration that anchors the Burgundian wine calendar.
The Beaune tourism office and the La Paulee de Meursault reference both describe the Trois Glorieuses weekend linking the banquet, the auction and the Paulee.
The rise of domaine bottling, 1930s to 1950s
1934 to 1950s
Encouraged by American importer Frank Schoonmaker and growers like the Marquis d'Angerville and Henri Gouges, Burgundian estates began bottling their own wine rather than selling in bulk to negociants, establishing the grower-domaine model that defines the region today.
The Burgundy wine reference and the Bourgogne wine board both record the inter-war shift toward grower domaine bottling led by figures such as d'Angerville and Gouges.
Cremant de Bourgogne AOC created, 1975
1975
The Cremant de Bourgogne appellation was created in 1975 for traditional-method sparkling wine made across Burgundy, with the Chatillonnais in the far north emerging as its heartland.
The Bourgogne wine board Chatillonnais page records Cremant de Bourgogne as the regional traditional-method sparkling appellation centred on the Chatillonnais.
The organic and biodynamic shift, 1990s to 2000s
1990 to 2010
Leading estates converted to biodynamics from the 1990s. Domaine Leflaive in Puligny-Montrachet trialled biodynamics from 1990 and converted fully, helping make Burgundy a reference point for low-intervention fine-wine farming across the Cote d'Or.
Domaine Leflaive's own site and the Biodyvin association both document the estate's biodynamic conversion, anchoring the regionwide shift.
The premature oxidation debate, 1996 to 2010s
1996 to 2015
From the 1996 vintage onward many white Burgundies began oxidising years earlier than expected, the premox crisis. Growers responded with tighter cork sourcing, reduced batonnage and higher sulphur at bottling, reshaping white-winemaking practice across the Cote de Beaune.
Decanter and Wine Spectator coverage both document the premature-oxidation problem in white Burgundy from the late 1990s and the trade's response.
The Climats inscribed by UNESCO, 2015
2015
On 4 July 2015 UNESCO inscribed the Climats du vignoble de Bourgogne on the World Heritage list, recognising 1,247 precisely delimited plots from Dijon to Maranges as a cultural landscape that pioneered the very idea of terroir.
The Climats de Bourgogne foundation and the Bourgogne wine board both record the 4 July 2015 UNESCO inscription of the climats.
Cite des Climats et vins de Bourgogne opens, 2023
2023
In 2023 the Cite des Climats et vins de Bourgogne opened across three sites at Beaune, Chablis and Macon, a network of visitor centres explaining the climats, grape varieties and geology and anchoring modern Burgundian wine tourism.
The Cite des Climats et vins de Bourgogne site and the Burgundy tourism office both record the 2023 opening of the three-site visitor network.
Tenth anniversary of the UNESCO Climats, 2025
2025
In 2025 Burgundy marked ten years since the UNESCO inscription of the climats, and the 165th Hospices de Beaune auction took Climats of the Burgundy Vineyard as its theme, reaching 18.75 million euros, the third highest total in its history.
Wine Spectator coverage of the 2025 Hospices auction and the Beaune tourism office both record the tenth-anniversary theme and the auction result.
