Wobbling Winos: Day 58 - Dole to Beaune.

Day 58. Dole to Beaune. 91km, 5h05.

We had an easy cycle along the canal on a slightly cloudy morning, with one deviation through two villages which was different to the route marked on the map. The signs were yellow rather than white and green, so this was obviously a new variation. We had a good old reminisce as this is the canal we barged along with the kids and Ouma and Oupa 16 years ago, a year before Oupa passed away.

Three of the "Eurovelo awareness crowd" caught up with us as we reached the Saone River, so we had a cup of coffee with them in St Jean De Losne. Two of them were from the UK and one from Canada. They were bunking the morning reception with the mayor of Dole. Their trip is pretty hassle-free, as they don't need to worry about finding accommodation and most meals, but it comes at the price of sleeping in dormitories, with the orchestra of snorers, mass catering and not being able to stop and visit sights along the way. Our journey has certainly been more work, but perhaps more interesting.

After a short section down the Saone, we broke away from the Eurovelo 6 route and headed along regular roads towards the Côte d'Or wine region of Burgundy. The wheat fields are now gold, and we had our first views of fields of sunflowers just starting to bloom.

At the base of the slopes at Nuits St Georges and along the Côte d'Or there is an abrupt change from gold to green as the vineyards replace the wheat. It is remarkable to see the rapid development of the vines and crops over the past 2 months. When we arrived in Croatia the vines were in very young leaf, and now in Burgundy there are fully-formed bunches of pea-size grapes. We have seen young green wheat mature to golden harvest colour. The effect of the long daylight hours here is dramatic.

After wandering through Nuits St Georges and cycling a circuit through neighboring vineyards, we stopped at Domaine Dufouleur Pere e Fils, one of the oldest wineries in the area. It has been in the same family for 14 generations. Michel gave us a friendly welcome and showed us one of their regional Chardonnays, and three Pinot Noirs finishing with the 2008 Fixin Claude de Chapitre 2008 Premier Cru. We particularly enjoyed the St Georges de Nuit 2011.

As we wanted to get a good view of the Côte d'Or, we decided to take the small high road to Beaune through the villages of Chaux and Villers la Faye, coming down through the Grand Cru vineyards of Corton. So we had a serious climb out of Nuits St Georges and were well rewarded with the views.

The traffic in Beaune was hectic. After a considerable search we found a TI who pointed us in the direction of the Hotel Alesia. Our supper of stuffed tomatoes was from the charcuterie down the road, accompanied by the fine Dufouleur St Georges de Nuit 2011 (WWS 9).

A memorable and enjoyable day. We clocked a good distance without too much strain, and the with the help of a new tub of butt cream bought at some expense in Dole.