Outside, frost etches its lace patterns on dormant vines. Winter wind sweeps across the Climats, UNESCO World Heritage sites. In the vineyards stretching endlessly around Beaune, the vines slumber - millennial patience etched into gnarled wood.

But underground, in the heart of Burgundy's wine capital, an entirely different world awakens. At Caves Patriarche, Burgundy's largest cellars with their 5 kilometers of underground galleries, January is no month of rest. It is the silent theater of an alchemy that has been unfolding since 1780, in the protective darkness of vaults that have traversed centuries.

Benefiting from constant cellar temperatures, hundreds of thousands of bottles continue their slow metamorphosis. Oak barrels whisper their secrets. Vintages wait patiently, gaining depth, adorning themselves with nuances that only time can reveal. Our cellar masters watch over them, tasting, adjusting. Their expert eye deciphers the imperceptible language of wine as it refines.

January in the vineyard: the gesture that shapes the year

While our cellars shelter this precious maturation, another equally essential work unfolds in the open air. January is pruning time. In the biting cold of Burgundian winter, winegrowers traverse the parcels, pruning shears in hand.

Each cut is no accident. It is the culmination of centuries of know-how, intimate knowledge of terroir, constant dialogue with the vine. The Guyot pruning method, practiced in our Burgundian vineyards, demands surgical precision and intuition forged by experience. Which cane to keep? How many buds to preserve? How to balance vigor and yield to achieve the exceptional concentration that makes Burgundy wines great?

These decisions made in January will determine the quality of next August's harvest. They will influence the vine's balance, grape maturity, the pure expression of terroir in the glass. In Burgundy more than anywhere, each parcel, each climat possesses its own identity. The winegrower's work consists of revealing this singularity - and it all begins with this ancestral gesture of winter pruning.

Saint-Vincent Tournante 2026: the Maranges in the spotlight

On January 24-25, 2026, Burgundy's entire wine region will celebrate the 82nd edition of the Saint-Vincent Tournante in the villages of Maranges: Cheilly-lès-Maranges, Dezize-lès-Maranges, and Sampigny-lès-Maranges. This appellation, the southernmost of the Côte de Beaune, will host this great Burgundian wine festival for the second time - nearly 30 years after its first edition in 1997.

This centuries-old tradition, dating back to the Middle Ages, embodies the deep soul of our terroirs: respect for the work of the vine, transmission of know-how from generation to generation, celebration of the winegrowing community. Saint Vincent of Saragossa, patron saint of winegrowers, is honored each year in a different village - the name "tournante" (rotating) reflecting this rotation that showcases the exceptional diversity of Burgundy's vineyards.

The Maranges weekend promises to be exceptional: on Saturday morning, at dawn, the traditional procession of Saint Vincent statues will bring together 82 mutual aid societies from across Burgundy. Nearly 700 people, accompanied by 4 brass bands, will progress along a 7.8-kilometer route linking the three villages. Solemn masses will follow, inductions orchestrated by the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin, and of course, tastings in the 15 cellars open for the occasion.

On Saturday evening, the Palais des Congrès in Beaune will host an exceptional gastronomic banquet for 1,000 guests, orchestrated by three major figures of Burgundian gastronomy including Éric Pras, triple-Michelin-starred chef of Lameloise in Chagny. The wines of Maranges - seven collective cuvées specially created for the event - will be sublimated by this refined cuisine.

At Caves Patriarche, we have perpetuated this spirit since our founding in 1780. Honoring the work of the land. Transmitting the passion for wine. Sharing Burgundian excellence with those who cross the threshold of our galleries. This philosophy transcends ages, immutable as the temperature of our cellars.

5 kilometers of living history beneath Beaune

Descending into Caves Patriarche is embarking on a journey through time and through Burgundy's wine geography. Our 5 kilometers of underground galleries - the most extensive in Burgundy - wind beneath the historic heart of Beaune, a secular cathedral dedicated to the cult of wine.

These 15th-century vaults have witnessed revolutions and wars, great harvests and difficult years, fashions and evolutions. They remain, silent guardians of an exceptional liquid heritage. In the darkness conducive to meditation, every corner tells a story. Every bottle is a testimony.

January amplifies this timeless dimension. While the outside world freezes under frost, while nature imposes its rest, our cellars continue their work. The 2024 wines begin their aging. Earlier vintages refine their complexity. Great vintages mature in benevolent darkness, away from light and thermal variations.

This thermal constancy - approximately 15°C year-round - is one of the secrets of excellence. While outside temperatures can vary from -10°C in winter to +35°C in summer, our cellars offer wines the stable environment they need to reach their plenitude. It is this natural regularity that makes Caves Patriarche a unique place for aging and preserving great Burgundy wines.

Winter, season of long time

In an accelerating world, January at Caves Patriarche reminds us of this fundamental truth: great wines do not rush. They are built in the calm, patience, and rigor of a Burgundian winter.

While winegrowers prune in the biting cold, sculpting the future of their parcels, our cellars shelter the past becoming present. A 2018 vintage finally opening, revealing aromas that six years of aging have shaped. A 2022 barely beginning to express its potential. A 2024 starting its long metamorphosis.

This patience is at the heart of our craft. Since 1780, we have learned to respect the rhythm of wine, to rush nothing, to let time do its work. Each barrel is visited regularly, each evolution is noted, each decision about topping up or racking is carefully considered.

Come discover the secret of viticultural winter

This January, we invite you to discover this silent theater. To walk our labyrinthine galleries where each step echoes in the heart of our cellars. To understand how time and place marry to create these exceptional wines that have made Burgundy world-renowned.

Our guided tours immerse you in the living history of Burgundian viticulture. You will discover during the visit and tastings offered the subtleties of Burgundian appellations. And of course, you will taste a selection of our finest cuvées - liquid testimonies of the marriage between terroir and know-how.

January at Caves Patriarche is a unique opportunity to understand that behind each bottle lies an entire year of work, decisions, and waiting. That the wine you savor today began its story with a pruning shear cut in the January cold, somewhere on the slopes of the Côte de Beaune or Côte de Nuits.

It is also the ideal moment to discover our cellars in their winter intimacy. Far from summer crowds, January offers a more contemplative experience, closer to the very essence of our craft: preserve, transmit, share.

Book your visit at caves-patriarche.com and immerse yourself in the fascinating world of Burgundy's largest cellars.