Nuits-Saint-Georges is the working capital of the Côte de Nuits, a town of about five thousand people that has made its living from wine for centuries, and it feels less like a museum than the pretty villages around it. Behind the main street, the old streets are full of cellars, wine merchants and négociants, the firms that buy grapes and ferment, blend and bottle them. The wines are mostly red, made from Pinot Noir, and are known for being structured, earthy and long-lived, with a firm backbone that rewards patience. There are no grands crus in the appellation, but there are many outstanding premiers crus, such as Les Saint-Georges, regarded by many as the equal of a grand cru.
The town also holds a charity auction of its wines every spring, the Hospices de Nuits sale, a smaller sibling of the famous Hospices de Beaune event in November. The proceeds fund the care of the sick, as they have since the eighteenth century. In a more modern turn, Nuits is also the centre of the Burgundy blackcurrant trade, and a visitor centre called the Cassissium explains how the fruit is turned into crème de cassis, the liqueur that, mixed with white wine, gives the drink called kir.
The Route des Grands Crus runs through the town on the D974, and on a bike it is a calm, scenic ride rather than a technical one. The road follows the slope of the Côte, with vineyards rising to the west and the plain of the Saône to the east, and the traffic in summer can be heavy and slow. Early mornings in May, June, September and October are the best times, with soft light and cool air. In the harvest, from September, tractors and trailers fill the lanes, and the smell of fermenting must hangs in the air.
Vineyard tracks lead up into the combes, the little valleys that cut into the limestone escarpment, where oak and box woods give way to scrub and rocky outcrops. Above the vines, the plateau is mostly forest and farmland, and the hills are riddled with caves.
As a proper town, Nuits-Saint-Georges has everything a rider needs: fuel stations, supermarkets, banks, bakeries, and a good range of restaurants and cafés. It is also a convenient overnight stop, with a selection of small hotels and guesthouses. Try local specialities such as jambon persillé, ham in parsley jelly, and a glass of Aligoté or a local Crémant de Bourgogne.