Burgundy is home to great wines and also a wonderful place to visit (when we can)

For that reason I am planning on staying fairly close to home this year, but, so long as lockdown permits, I might not stay in the UK.

France is not too far away, there are regular flights, boats and trains and the weather is quite often a significant notch better than ours. Taking your own car or hiring one gives you freedom to explore and find quiet places.

One place I have never had to jostle for space in tourist attractions, restaurants or even hotels is Burgundy. It isn’t really a tourist hotspot, although the bars in the centre of Beaune can get rather jolly on a Saturday evening.

One of the great pleasures of Burgundy is exploring the vineyards which are laid out like a wine list on the hillside known as the Cote d’Or – the golden slope. You pass signs for places you may have seen in wine shops, Gevry, Beaune, Meursault, and they all speed by so fast it is easy to understand that this is a place where supply of individual wines is limited.

Most people drive down the main A road which gives a good view of industrial estates and garages, but you need to turn off on to the D road that skirts the base of the slope and allows you to stop, take in the view and even turn off onto the tiny roads that weave across the hillside between vineyards.

Beware if you have a large vehicle, you might get stuck on the tight corners which inevitably have walls on both sides, a Madonna and maybe a road sign. For that reason it is better to get yourself set up in a hotel or gite and then explore the region by bike.

There are bike hire shops in many of the villages and this is an excellent way to discover things that you just can’t find out from a map. Having followed a group of red-faced cyclists in my very small car, from Beaune to Pommard, I now understand the way the land rises in just a kilometre or so.

It is also worth stopping the car alongside one of the more famous vineyards such as Bâtard Montrachet and checking out the limestone pebbles in the soil. Then walk across the road and check out the soil in the lesser vineyard. It is amazing that such a short distance can show remarkable differences.

But the real joy of visiting Burgundy is touring some wine properties and many are open for tastings. Start at the top of the region, just outside Dijon where the grand Ch. de Marsannay welcomes visitors to taste its wines and tour the vineyards.

This is the grand side of Burgundy, with a great house, big vineyards and organised tastings. It is an excellent introduction to the region and the wines, which are sold by Justerini & Brooks and the Wine Society in the UK. Expect elegance, tight fruit and minerality in the wines.

Then, if you have made an appointment, follow up with a visit to the cellar of Domaine Pataille which is difficult to find and involves a steep set of steps into his cellar. This is the small and rustic end of Burgundy’s producers – but Sylvain Pataille makes startlingly good wines.

Starting out just 20 years ago, he has managed to acquire four hectares of vineyard which are cultivated organically. His attention to detail is amazing, and so are the wines with layers of flavour, wisps of oak underpinning fruit and savoury heartiness that shows these wines will age and develop. Sylvain’s wines are available at the Wine Society.

From Marsannay head south, meandering down the D974, have an exquisite lunch at Le Millesime in Chambolle-Musigny and then head for the impressive Clos De Vougeot. This is the former Cistercian monastery to which many landowners in the Middle Ages bequeathed their vineyards in the hope of a better afterlife. Not officially open to visitors, it is still possible to get close to Vougeot and see its importance in the region.

Close by is Ch. de la Tour owned by François Labet, who owns six hectares of the precious Clos de Vougeot vineyard. Organic and with some biodynamics in use, these are extraordinary wines and I wanted to buy every one I tasted here but my pockets are not deep enough. Check out Corney & Barrow to see the range. Visits and tastings here are possible, by appointment.

Beaune is always exciting, with many producers having shops where you can taste and buy. Make sure you head to the tourist office and pick up its excellent En Route guide to cellars and visits. Head to Drouhin where you need to book in advance and get a guided tour of its cellars and taste its wines. Alternatively Patriarche allows you to wander round its cellars tasting as you go. Both cellars charge for visits.

From there, head to Meursault, one of the most lovely villages in the region. The Ch. de Meursault stands beautifully in its parkland and is open to visitors where you can tour and taste. The wines, generally available at Justerini & Brooks are elegant, and come from a wide range of Burgundy appellations.

From there, wander down the main street of the village and call in at the showcase shop of Philipe Bouzereau whose family has been making wine for nine generations. The wines are superb.

Stay at the glorious Ch. de Citeaux which is still being restored but its location is wonderful, and when you have tired of grand wines and huge prices, head south to Mercurey and visit Ch. de Chamirey.

Set in lush countryside, it has elegant wines, and a cottage in the vineyard available to rent.