In 1794, the harvest was put up for sale by means of billposting. The wine merchants deposited an envelope containing the price they were offering on the site of sale itself. The highest offer received the market under the sine qua non condition of having respected the lower price limit fixed by the administration. If this price was not reached, the auction was simply postponed.

1820 : the institution decided to proceed by public auctions. Although this system was valid, it took several years to become successful... and required the energy of a man called Joseph Pétasse, steward from the Hospices de Beaune, who largely contributed to the fame of the Burgundy wines.

Pétasse, an untiring ambassador of the Hospices, a wine merchant and a man of letters, toured Europe proclaiming the virtues and the quality of the Burgundy wines to potential buyers. His exhausting actions were crowned with success: in less than two years, Pétasse sold the entire stock of the Hospices to wine merchants! This man was duly proud of his feat and rightly declared to the administrators: "Gentlemen, you may resume public auctions this very year. We no longer need to bother: the clientèle is assured, our wines are known and from now on the wine lovers will come to us!". The future confirmed these daring words.

1924 : the date of wine auction is definitely fixed on the third Sunday of November. At the outset, it took place in the courtyard of the Hôtel-Dieu, and was later transferred to the fermenting facility between 1925 and 1958.

The Hospices were again very successful. Indeed, the following year the merchants had to come to the Halle de Beaune, larger and more accessible. The success of the annual auction did not mislead the administrators, who tolerated no concessions as to the quality of "their" wines: the 1956 and 1968 vintages were not put up for sale, and the corresponding auctions were canceled, since the production was judged to be "mediocre".

The flame is solemn

On the big day, the Mayor of Beaune in his quality of president of the board of directors, along with the administrators, the director and his collaborators, as well as the auctioneer receive an important person: the president of honor.

Chosen among the members of the highest royal families in Europe (Otto of Habsburg, the Duke of Kent...),

or in more recent times, among the most prestigious persons in the fields of arts and letters (Catherine Deneuve, Barbara Hendricks, Lino Ventura, Rostropovitch), this patron - or matron - receives a cask of wine of some 300 bottles, which are immediately put up for sale. The benefits from the sale of the cask are donated in their entirety to a charity organization of his - or her - choice.

The impassive officers seat themselves at the gallery. The buyers also take their places. The noise ebbs. The bidding can begin. Lower price limit: 1,000 Francs. The procedure is always the same: bidding proceeds with candlelight, under the attentive eye of the auctioneer.

During two lights, that is while two candles burn, the buyers make their offers. The size of the candles is determined by the initial offer. This solemn and highly symbolic procedure has no true influence on the sale : however, it grants the potential buyers time to think.

With the exception of the charity cask, all vintages are sold as lots. The French and foreign wine specialists give special attention to the prices. If they are higher than the market ones, they nevertheless reflect the first rate of the production.

"Covered" by the media of the whole world, the auction is also the occasion for wine merchants to gain publicity profitable to their brand image. This reputation is not only due to the television coverage : in order to have their name printed on the labels of the Hospices de Beaune, the buyers must respect a severe list of obligations, particularly to grow their wine in the wine-growing region of Burgundy and to use traditional bottle formats (75 cl).

Lastly, the art of wine being equaled only by the art of the table, the bidding ends around a large table, as a candle-lit gala feast illuminates the Bastion of the Hospices and its medieval stones.

Traditional Auction, a brief description:

Since 1931, directed by an auctioneer commissioner

The atmosphere in the Auction Room may be described by three words

Serious
Quiet
Focused on the event

The auctioneer commissioner starts the session by announcing the different legal issues and briefly describes the different lots (a set of barrels).

The auctioneer commissioner gives a precise description of each lot (number of pieces, vintage, mark guaranteeing the quality of the wine).

An initial amount is fixed for each lot.

The "crieur" (crieur, the man who shout the current bid), seated just near the auctioneer commissioner, is a man whose role is to stimulate and motivate the bidders.

In the room, for each row, "rabatteurs" will broadcast the bidder's auctions . Those will be shouted by the "crieur".

For each lot, a starting candle is lit up, thus phasing the auction. The phase for one lot is based on the use of three candles which will be light up and blow out (successively).

At the end of the last candle (the third), the auctioneer commissioner will take again speak. He will announce the end of the auction for the current lot and prepare the bidders to knock down (going, going, done !). Bidders are required to close their last offers, and the lot is sold for the best auction.

A "rabatteur" will transmit Bidder's Identity to the auctioneer commissioner who will announce it in the microphone.

The following auction could now start.

The average cycle for one lot is about 5 minutes.