Wine tourism in Burgundy has a reputation problem: the region's finest domaines are famously hard to reach, and a cold call to a legendary producer rarely gets you past the gate. Milena Berman is trying to change that, one DJ set at a time.

Berman, a California-born former art historian who moved to Beaune nearly 15 years ago, runs Hautes Côtes, an events agency that fuses fine wine with music and art. Her flagship event, Vin et Hip Hop, just held its fifth edition at the Clos de Vougeot — a historic walled vineyard that doubles as one of Burgundy's most atmospheric venues. The pairing sounds unlikely but works: Mike D of the Beastie Boys and DJ Gilles Peterson on the decks, with pours from heavyweights like Domaine Dujac, Charles Lachaux and Domaine Comte Liger Belaire. The formula has already spawned editions in Champagne and Los Angeles, where a private session at Larrabee recording studios matched vintages of Château d'Yquem to records from the same years. Hautes Côtes also co-founded the Montrachet Jazz festival with the COMO hotel group.

Berman's pitch is simple: wine doesn't have to be the front door. "Come to see some hip hop, or some jazz, in a private château" — and wine becomes part of the experience rather than an intimidating exam. She calls Burgundy "the warmest, friendliest region" despite its guarded reputation; the door is just heavy, and knowing which one to push is everything.

Beyond the music, the agency runs Terra, a three-week visual arts programme across Burgundy, co-created with curator Jenn Ellis of Apsara Studio (whose clients include the Tate and Frieze). This year's edition placed an ice installation by Singaporean artist Dawn Ng at the Hospices de Beaune and a sculpture by South Korean artist Lee Ufan among the Clos de Vougeot vines. Some works are free to visit on a self-guided walking tour; others require an appointment via info@terraexhibition.com. Terra is timed around Frieze London and Art Basel Paris to draw an international crowd of collectors and gallerists — people who, Berman notes, may spend six figures on art yet feel lost approaching a Burgundy winery, while seasoned wine buyers in turn discover galleries for the first time.

The concept is going transatlantic. The first Vin et Hip Hop Brooklyn runs March 10-12, with events planned for LA, Napa, Bordeaux and Piedmont from 2027.

For travellers, this is a genuinely different way into Burgundy: instead of emailing wineries that politely decline, you can experience top domaines' wines in settings — a Cistercian cellar, a vineyard sculpture trail — that money usually can't buy. If your trip leans more culture than cellar, Terra's public works make an easy self-guided day around Beaune. Keep an eye on Hautes Côtes' calendar if you want in; the Brooklyn debut in March is the most accessible entry point yet for anyone outside France.

Original reporting by Elite Traveler.