Hautes-Côtes de Beaune is a subregion of the Burgundy wine

Burgundy wine

Burgundy wine is wine made in the Burgundy region in eastern France, in the valleys and slopes west of the Saône River, a tributary of the Rhône. The most famous wines produced here - those commonly referred to as "Burgundies" - are red wines made from Pinot Noir grapes or white wines made from...

 region located to the west of the Côte de Beaune

Côte de Beaune

The Côte de Beaune area is the southern part of the Côte d'Or, the limestone ridge that is home to the great names of Burgundy wine. The Côte de Beaune starts between Nuits-Saint-Georges and Beaune, and extends southwards for about 25 km to the River Dheune...

 subregion. While Côte de Beaune consists of vineyards located on or close to the main Côte d'Or

Côte d'Or (escarpment)

The Côte d'Or is a limestone escarpment in Burgundy, France that lends its name to the department which was formed around it...

 escarpment, Hautes-Côtes de Beaune covers the area on top of the escarpment, and the adjacent area of various valleys and slopes. Only one appellation d'origine contrôlée

Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée

Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National...

(AOC), Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune, covers the entire subregion; there are no specific AOCs named after villages in this subregion, and also no Premier Cru vineyards. This AOC may be used for red and rosé wines with Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir

Pinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...

 as the main grape variety, as well as white wines with Chardonnay

Chardonnay

Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...

 as the main grape variety, and was created in 1961.

The AOC extends into two departments:

• In the Côte-d'Or
  Côte-d'Or
  Côte-d'Or is a department in the eastern part of France.- History :Côte-d'Or is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was formed from part of the former province of Burgundy.- Geography :...
  
   department: 12 communes situated above the escarpment (the actual Hautes Côtes), and the top parts of 10 communes that are mainly situated in Côte de Beaune.
• In the Saône-et-Loire
  Saône-et-Loire
  Saône-et-Loire is a French department, named after the Saône and the Loire rivers between which it lies.-History:When it was formed during the French Revolution, as of March 4, 1790 in fulfillment of the law of December 22, 1789, the new department combined parts of the provinces of southern...
  
   department: four communes situated above the escarpment, and the top parts of three communes that are mainly situated in Côte de Beaune.

The border between Hautes-Côtes de Beaune and Hautes-Côtes de Nuits

Hautes-Côtes de Nuits

Hautes-Côtes de Nuits is a subregion of the Burgundy wine region located to the west of the Côte de Nuits subregion. While Côte de Nuits consists of vineyards located on or close to the main Côte d'Or escarpment, Hautes-Côtes de Nuits covers the area on top of the escarpment, and the adjacent area...

 to the north passes through Magny-lès-Villers

Magny-lès-Villers

Magny-lès-Villers is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France.-Population:-References:*...

.

Production

In 2008, there was 814.36 hectares (2,012.3 acre) of vineyard surface in production in the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune, and 39,496 hectoliter of wine was produced, of which 32,500 hectoliter red wine (including a small amount of rosé) and 6,996 hectoliter white wine. The total amount produced corresponds to close to 5.3 million bottles, of which slightly over 4.3 million bottles of red wine and just over 900,000 bottles of white wine.

AOC regulations

For white wines, the AOC regulations allow both Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc to be used, but most wines are 100% Chardonnay. The AOC regulations also allow up to 15 per cent total of Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc

Pinot Blanc

Pinot blanc is a white wine grape. It is a point genetic mutation of Pinot noir. Pinot noir is genetically unstable and will occasionally experience a point mutation in which a vine bears all black fruit except for one cane which produced white fruit....

 and Pinot Gris

Pinot Gris

Pinot gris is a white wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. Thought to be a mutant clone of the Pinot noir grape, it normally has a grayish-blue fruit, accounting for its name but the grape can have a brownish pink to black and even white appearance...

 as accessory grapes in the red wines, but this not very often practiced. The allowed base yield is 50 hectoliter per hectare of red wine and 55 hectoliter per hectare for white wine. The grapes must reach a maturity of at least 10 per cent potential alcohol for red wine, 10.5 per cent for white wine and wine.