
Today were we’re taking you to Nuits-Saint-Georges where you can find a winery that funds a hospital through the sale of its wines – a rarity in the world of wine. This is the only such example of this set-up in the Côte de Nuits and the winery does not sell its wine in bottles as you may expect, but in barrels sold once a year at a specially organised auction. Jean-Marc Moron has been at the head of the Domaine des Hospices de Nuits-Saint-Georges for 30 years and helps us shine a light on this subject.
Origins that date back to 1270

The history of the Hospices de Nuits-Saint-Georges goes all the way back to 1270 with the opening of the leper house at the end of the reign of Saint-Louis and the Capetian House controlling Burgundy. Later in 1443, the famous Hospices de Beaune was created nearby. The Nuits-Saint-Georges hospital fell into disrepair after being destroyed during the French Wars of Religion. It was later moved to a more spacious site at the end of the 17th century. In 1692, under the orders of chaplain Antide Midan (who is honoured with one of the estate’s wines bearing his name), the Saint-Laurent room was furnished with 10 beds. Over time, the other medical institutions in neighbouring villages became attached to the establishment, whose future and the care of sick people was ensured through donations. These were mainly vineyards which slowly built a wine estate.
The hospital still on its feet
Nowadays, the Hospices de Nuits-Saint-Georges is a public health establishment that was amalgamated with the Hospices Civils de Beaune in 2016. In 2018, a modern building known as Saint-Laurent, opened its doors with the facilities to care for 80 elderly people. Its infrastructure, financed partly by the winemaking business, offers the patients specialised care, while still having the capacity to offer more traditional healthcare for those who do not fall into the hospital’s specialised area. The historic buildings are still a symbolic place in the centre of the town of Nuits-Saint-Georges.
An excellent wine estate in the aid of health

Since 1633, the Hospices has benefited from donations and bequests of vines, which form the 12.4-hectare winemaking estate today. Managed by Jean-Marc Moron (for the past 30 years) and his team (4 people year-round which grows to about 40 people during the harvest), the vines are tended to in an environmentally sustainable manner. No insecticides have been used in the past 20 years and herbicides were last used 15 years ago.
The grapes are harvested by hand and placed in small crates to preserve their quality. After being sorted at the vine, the berries are sorted again when they arrive at the winery. Vinification takes place with as little intervention as possible in the winery constructed in 2002 and the wine settles quietly in the barrels. Maturation takes place at a wine ager chosen by the person who places the winning bid on the barrel at auction.

The vines belonging to the Hospices de Nuits are mainly located in the Nuits-Saint-Georges appellation (in Nuits et Premeaux-Prissey) as well as in Gevrey-Chambertin and Vosne-Romanée. It crafts 19 different wines, reflecting the diversity of its terroirs (nine are classed as premier cru) which includes a parcel that is solely owned by the estate – Les Didiers Premier Cru – and a rare white Nuits-Saint-Georges called Les Terres Blanches which became a premier cru in 1990. One of the parcels where the estate owns vines is the famous Saint-Georges which became the second part of the town’s name in 1898 and is currently being considered for a grand cru classification.
An auction to finance the hospital
Since 1961, the wines produced by the Hospices de Nuits-Saint-Georges have been sold at auction, a tradition that honours the generosity of those who donated the vines in the first place. The auction takes place the second Sunday in March at Château du Clos de Vougeot and bidder buy pièces, 228-litre Burgundy barrels. For the 2025 auction, iDealwine was selected as the auctioneer to organise the sale of the 2024 vintage. The profits finance the work of the winemaking estate and necessary investments in the Hospices de Nuits-Saint-Georges and establishments belonging to the Hospices Civils de Beaune, contributing to improving patient care. At the same time, a charity pièce is sold in aid of another humanitarian or medical association, which changes each year.