The festival of St Vincent falls at a quiet time
in the viticultural calendar. The last week of
January is usually bitterly cold and often
snowy, yet the Fete St Vincent Tournant attracts
several thousand people from across Europe to
whichever is the hosting village. The "Tournant"
part of the title refers to the way the fete
rotates around the villages so that year by year
different parts of Burgundy have their chance to
host the event. This year it was the turn of
Nuits
St Georges to decorate itself with paper
flowers, display in the streets pieces of
ancient wine memorabilia that had been pulled
out of sheds and tidied up for the occasion and
for the viticulteurs who have their Domaines
inside the town to prepare to greet waves of
visitors.
The day opened with a huge procession that wound
its way through the streets, culminating in a
church service in the town centre. Each of the
winegrowing villages was represented in the
parade by a number of their vignerons, one
holding their banner and others carrying a
carving of their patron saint. This year there
was not one band but at least two and from early
morning until the service at 11.00 the town was
packed with visitors following the parade. Any
visitor wishing to sample wines buys a glass at
one of the official tents and is given several
vouchers, one of which is surrendered at each
tasting. Armed with your glass and your vouchers
you are then free to visit any of the Domaines
whose doors are open (which is most of them) and
try chilly reds and whites in a chilly street.
The atmosphere at
Nuits
St Georges was enhanced by the train which
ran regularly between the centre of Nuits and
the adjoining village of
Premeaux.
When we made the return journey, one of the
bands was on the train with us which made for a
jolly if extremely cold trip through the frozen
vineyards.
Nuits was crowded all day. We however arrived
early and left soon after mid-day, as
Michel
Prunier had organised a not-to-be-missed
lunch at
La
Cremaillere. The photographs I took are
probably a better record than any words...
