The cellars around Dijon pour all year, so the season changes what you see around the glass, not whether you get one. Spring and summer bring long hours and green vines. Autumn brings the harvest and the Hospices sale, and winter the quietest cellars. Set the dates below against your Dijon Wine booking.
The table sets each season's weather in Dijon beside what it changes for you. The figures are Météo-France's 1991-2020 averages for Dijon-Longvic.
| Season | Average high in Dijon | Rain | Sunshine | For your wine day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring: March–May | 16.2 °C | 182 mm | 569 h | The Clos de Vougeot's long hours from 1 April; the Cité's from 1 May |
| Summer: June–August | 25.7 °C | 193 mm | 737 h | The hot days; ride and walk the vines in the morning |
| Autumn: September–November | 15.8 °C | 208 mm | 375 h | The harvest, the leaves, the Hospices sale on 15 November 2026 |
| Winter: December–February | 6.4 °C | 161 mm | 209 h | Short hours, frost on about half the nights, quiet cellars |
Late spring and early autumn are the easy months. From May to September, highs run from 20 °C to nearly 27 °C, and every desk keeps its long hours.
The Clos de Vougeot moves to long hours on 1 April, open until 6 pm. The Cité's ticket desk follows on 1 May. The vines come into leaf through April and May.
May is the wettest month of spring in Dijon, with about 76 mm of rain on 10 days. Pack a waterproof for the walk in the rows. The estates are calm before the summer, so you get time with the person who pours.
July is the hottest month, with highs of 26.7 °C, and about seven or eight days reach 30 °C. August is close behind. The record at Dijon is 39.5 °C, set on 24 July 2019.
In a minivan, the heat matters less: most vans are air-conditioned, as listed, and the cellars are cool. On an e-bike it does. The e-bike days ride in the morning and break for lunch, so you pedal before the worst of it. Take water: neither bike day puts a bottle in the fare.
There is no fixed harvest date on the Côte. Each estate picks when its own parcels are ripe, so the start moves from year to year. It is the busiest time of the year for the growers you will meet.
The tours still run, and the tastings still pour. But the person who pours may be short of time, and a cellar may be busy with the new wine. If a cellar visit matters to you, ask the operator when you book. After the picking, the leaves turn gold and red, and the slope is calm again.
Every year, the Hospices de Beaune auction the wine of their own estate, 60 hectares of vines. By tradition the sale falls on the third Sunday of November.
The sale: the 166th, on Sunday 15 November 2026. Who bids: professionals only. The weekend: festivities from Friday 13 to Sunday 15 November, with tastings open to everyone. From Dijon: the lunch day's Beaune option meets at the Hospices de Beaune at 11 am, and the e-bike day's at 2 rue de l'Hôtel-Dieu at 10:15 am.
If you plan to stay in Beaune that weekend, book your bed early. If you prefer quiet cellars, come the week before or after.
From 1 November the Clos de Vougeot closes at 5 pm, and the Cité's desk at 5:30 pm. The vines are bare, and the days are short: December averages 53 hours of sun in the month.
The cellar is the best place to be on a cold day. The seated tastings in the centre run all year, 1 to 1 hour 30 minutes, and they are all wine tastings in Dijon. Dijon averages 16 frosty nights in January and 14 in February, so bring gloves for the vines.
Three places set your day's hours. Two switch with the season; the tourist office does not.
| Place | Long hours | Short hours |
|---|---|---|
| Clos de Vougeot | 1 April to 31 October: 9:30 am–6 pm | 1 November to 31 March: 10 am–5 pm |
| The Cité's ticket desk | 1 May to 30 September: daily 9:30 am–7:30 pm | 1 October to 30 April: from 11 am on weekdays and 10 am at weekends, to 5:30 pm |
| Dijon tourist office | All year: Mon–Sat 9:30 am–6:30 pm; Sun 10 am–6 pm | 4 pm closing on 24 and 31 December |
A day tour drives you between the estates, so short hours cost you nothing in the cellars. The shared days leave between 9 and 9:45 am.
The tourist office opens on Sundays and public holidays from 10 am to 6 pm. It closes at 4 pm on 24 and 31 December, and all day on 25 December, 1 January and 1 May. The Cité closes on those three days too.
Tours set their own calendars, so check your date when you book, above all on 1 May and over Christmas and New Year.
Book as soon as your dates are fixed. The shared days take eight guests at most, and the vintage van six, so a date can fill weeks ahead in summer.
Most fares refund in full up to 24 hours before, so booking early costs you little. Two do not. The city ride to Lac Kir cannot be refunded, and the two-day tour refunds in full only up to 6 days before. For those, fix your dates first. See the day's own planning on the visitor guide.
The sale comes from the Hospices' estate and Beaune Tourisme, the hours from the Clos de Vougeot, the Cité and Dijon's tourist office, and the climate from Météo-France. Verify before you travel.
Join at Saint-Bénigne at 9:45 am or at the Hospices de Beaune at 11 am: photo stops on the Côte de Nuits, a winery lunch, a village walk and eight wines, back in Dijon at 5 pm.
From $250 per person
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From Saint-Bénigne at 9 am: a minivan to Meursault, two hours on an e-bike through the vines, a charcuterie and cheese lunch, and seven wines at a family winery. Back about 4:30 pm.
From $250 per person
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Your own minivan from your hotel, Place Darcy or the Beaune tourist office car park at 9:30 am, across both côtes, with 10 to 15 wines including Premiers Crus. Lunch costs about EUR 25-40.
From $492 per person
Check AvailabilityNext: see each month in detail on the weather page, choose a quarter on where to stay, or compare every tour on Dijon Wine Tours.