Deep in Burgundy's wine country, between Dijon and Beaune, the small town of Nuits-Saint-Georges has a speciality that has nothing to do with Pinot Noir: blackcurrant liqueur. The Cassissium, a museum and visitor centre devoted entirely to cassis, is currently running a competition with France Today offering one reader a VIP experience for two, valued at €450.
The prize is a proper deep-dive into the drink. It includes a guided tour of the Vedrenne facility, where the liqueur has been produced for generations, plus a cocktail masterclass and tastings of cassis-based drinks. To round off the day, lunch is served with both sweet and savoury Burgundian specialities — the kind of meal where Kir, the classic pairing of white wine and a splash of cassis, feels almost obligatory.
Cassis has a long history in this part of France. Blackcurrants thrive in Burgundy's climate, and the crème de cassis made from them became famous across the country, not least as the foundation of the Kir cocktail named after Félix Kir, a mid-century mayor of Dijon who championed the local apéritif. The Cassissium exists to tell that story, and it does so with the help of Vedrenne, a liqueur house founded in 1923 that remains one of the region's best-known producers.
Nuits-Saint-Georges makes a natural base for a Burgundy trip beyond the liqueur itself. The town sits on the Route des Grands Crus, the scenic road threading through some of France's most celebrated vineyard villages, and the Côte de Nuits's cellar doors are minutes away. You can cycle between wine villages in the morning and spend the afternoon learning to mix a proper Kir Royale — a very agreeable way to structure a day.
As for the competition itself, entry details are on the France Today website, and it's free to enter for readers. Even if you don't win, the Cassissium runs tours, tastings and workshops year-round, so the experience is available to anyone passing through the area.
For travellers who like their holidays with a side of food and drink education — and Burgundy is arguably the best place in France for that — this is a neat excuse to build an itinerary around a single, very drinkable theme.
Story via France Today.
