St Vincent has smiled benignly on wine growers, for whom he is patron saint, throughout France this year. Out in the vineyards of Louis Latour's Aloxe-Corton in Burgundy last week, the sun shone on the world famous Cote d'Or, so-called because the leaves of the vines turn gold in autumn.

Beneath an azure sky, the setting could hardly have been lovelier. Nor, it seems, could the 2009 vintage, widely expected to be one of the best in decades after a sun-filled summer, have been better.

Touring any area of vines around harvest time is a unique experience. But the whole of Burgundy seems to take on a particular allure. Whether it is following the farm cart, crawling along the narrow lanes pulling a container laden with grapes, or sitting in the sunshine with the locals outside a cafe beside Dijon's fabulous market on a Saturday morning, a visit to this part of France at this time of year is a rare treat.

I started in Beaune, where the wealth generated by the business of making Burgundy wines is obvious. Luxury hotels such as the Hostellerie Le Cedre offer a level of comfort to make even those used to pampering feel at home. And given the warm autumn sunshine, breakfast or drinks on the terrace were perfectly possible. The four-star abode offered a double at €179 ($366), decent value for a good-sized room.

Beaune is an intriguing amalgam of old French architecture, spectacular clocks and shops crammed with every artifice associated with the business of winemaking. Some of the wines made in the fields outside this town are renowned the world over. French kings spoonfed their new children tiny droplets of red Burgundies, convinced of the life-giving value of the pinot noir grape which flourishes in the region.

In a splendid setting of understated French historical architecture, Louis Latour's offices can be found in Rue des Tonneliers. Here, after a tour of the vineyards with Anne Charpin, Latour's PR lady, we tasted 12 wines of the company's 2007 vintage.

Whites, ranging from the very drinkable Macon-Lugny Les Genievres 2008 at €7.80 a bottle up to the spectacularly elegant 2006 red, Chateau Corton Grancey at €51.20 a bottle (which will keep for 10 years or more), offer different pleasures at differing price levels.

From Beaune, Dijon is just a short hop to the north, past Nuits Saint Georges. You can whiz up the motorway in no time at all, but it is so much nicer just tootling along the old Route des Vins, the pre-motorway D974 road which links Dijon to the south. You go through villages like Vosne Romanee, Gevrey Chambertin and Chambolle-Musigny, where the smell of wine hangs like perfume in the air.

Grapes are being picked, stored, crushed and fermented. Little sugar is necessary this year, though, for nature has provided virtually all the sweetness required. Outside Nuits, a cafe was bursting at the seams with swarthy locals, their red-stained hands a giveaway as to their profession.

At Vosne Romanee, try stopping off at one of the smaller growers such as Jacky Confuron-Cotetidot in Rue de la Fontaine. He makes all the fine wines of the area and will happily offer tastings and on-site sales.