Many of the communes in Burgundy added their best parcel to their name at the end of the 19th century; “Saint Georges” was thus attached to the village “Nuits” in 1898. A small town with around 5000 inhabitants, Nuits-Saint-Georges proudly claims a number of classified Premiers Crus in their communal appellation – the most southerly in the Côte de Nuits region. The latter covers 318 hectares, of which 143 produce classified Premiers Crus (numbering 42 in total).
It was in this commune that the infamous Confrérie des Chevaliers de Tastevin was founded, first meeting in 1934. The fraternity’s growing popularity forced them to move their meetings to a different premises, relocating in the Château du Clos-Vougeot. The village of Nuits is also home to an almshouse which was founded at the end of the 17th century; an auction takes place here every year on the Sunday before Palm Sunday. Less well-known than the Hospices de Beaune, this event allows the almshouse’s own wine production (principally from the commune’s Premiers Crus) to be auctioned off to raise donations.
Very few Nuits-Saint-Georges white wines are produced from Chardonnay or Pinot Blanc; these are exceptionally rare, representing just 2% of the overall production, making them enormously appealing to wine enthusiasts.