The Ultimate NYC Burgundy Winemaker Lunch is coming to Hudson Yards: La Paulée 2026
- EH
- 5 days ago
- 7 min read
A magnum-powered flight of Puligny, Meursault 1er Cru, Corton-Charlemagne, and Clos Vougeot—hosted by Guillaume Lavollée at Locanda Verde.
La Paulée has plenty of headline-grabbing dinners—but if you want the sleeper hit that feels like a collector-level Burgundy masterclass without the midnight finish, this is it.
On Thursday, March 26, 2026, La Paulée de New York hosts the Domaine Génot-Boulanger Lunch at Locanda Verde Hudson Yards (50 Hudson Yards), with a 12:00pm ET reception followed by a 12:30pm ET seated lunch. Tickets are $695 + tax, and the tasting menu is paired to a lineup that travels from Puligny and Meursault to Corton-Charlemagne (in magnum)—then lands, triumphantly, in Clos Vougeot Grand Cru.
And the best part: winemaker & co-proprietor Guillaume Lavollée (who runs the estate alongside his wife, Aude) is the one guiding you through it—so you’re not just drinking great Burgundy, you’re getting the stories behind the bottles, the terroirs, and the decisions that shaped them.
What is La Paulée de New York?
La Paulée began as a traditional Burgundian end-of-harvest celebration—most famously associated with Meursault—where the spirit is generous, festive, and deliciously communal. The modern La Paulée tradition is also known for one detail that still makes wine people smile: everyone brings wine, turning the event into the classiest BYOB culture on earth.
La Paulée de New York is Daniel Johnnes’ homage to that original Burgundian tradition, created to bring the same generosity and camaraderie to American Burgundy lovers. The first New York edition took place in March 2000, and it has grown into a multi-day program of tastings and winemaker-hosted events that reliably draws serious producers and serious bottles.
This 2026 lunch sits right in the center of that weekend—an “anchor” event that’s as much about learning Burgundy as it is about enjoying it.
Domaine Génot-Boulanger: Burgundy’s “Mosaic” Estate (And Why It’s Perfect for a Lunch Like This)
If Burgundy is usually about specialization—one village, a handful of climats, a single narrow focus—Domaine Génot-Boulanger is the opposite in the best way.
The domaine was created in 1974 in Meursault by Charles-Henri and Marie Génot-Boulanger, and from the beginning, the story was about building something unusually wide-ranging: acquisitions first in Mercurey, then expanding into core Côte de Beaune villages like Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet, and ultimately into icons like Corton and Clos Vougeot.
Over time, that became the estate’s signature: a magnificent mosaic of terroirs—with vineyard holdings that stretch from the Côte de Nuits, through the Côte de Beaune, and down to the Côte Chalonnaise.
The modern era: Aude + Guillaume and the “quality-first” reset
A major turning point came in 2008, when the next generation took the reins. Aude (François Delaby’s daughter) and her husband, Guillaume Lavollée, launched what the domaine itself describes as a new era focused on organic agriculture and non-interventionist winemaking.
That wasn’t a marketing pivot; it was a long conversion. The estate notes that after an officially recognized conversion period, the whole domaine became certified organic in 2018.
On the farming side, the domaine emphasizes practices designed to keep soils alive and vines balanced. They employ cover crops, composting, and ploughing. They even use more old-school experimentation like horse ploughing in select parcels including Meursault 1er Cru Bouchères and Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru.
A rare kind of Burgundy estate
By Burgundy standards, Génot-Boulanger’s footprint is simply unusual: 22 hectares across 30 appellations, with the diversity to move from Puligny whites to Grand Cru reds without ever leaving the estate’s own farming philosophy behind.
That breadth is exactly why this lunch works so well: the event isn’t just a single-vineyard deep dive. It’s a guided tour through the domaine’s range, curated to show how their style translates across terroirs.
Why Locanda Verde Hudson Yards Is the Perfect Stage for an NYC Burgundy Winemaker Lunch
A great Burgundy winemaker lunch in NYC needs more than great bottles - it needs a room that feels alive and a kitchen that understands pacing.
Locanda Verde describes itself as a neighborhood osteria serving Chef Andrew Carmellini’s “urban Italian” cooking, and in 2024 it opened its second location on the street-level corner of 50 Hudson Yards, bringing that downtown energy into a sleek new NYC neighborhood.
For La Paulée, that matters: this lunch is built around a tasting menu paired to wines that move from incisive white Burgundy into Grand Cru territory. The event is explicitly paired with a tasting menu from Chef Andrew Carmellini at the Hudson Yards location.
Translation: you’re not just going to “have lunch.” You’re going to sit down in one of Manhattan’s most convenient wine-and-food rooms, and let the kitchen carry you through a Burgundy roadmap—course by course, flight by flight.
Inside the Domaine Génot-Boulanger Lunch: A Burgundy Road Trip in 12 Bottles
La Paulée describes Génot-Boulanger as a mosaic estate farmed organically “with the utmost care,” and the wine selection is designed to prove it—moving deliberately from Puligny to Meursault, then scaling up into Corton-Charlemagne (with magnum-aged depth), and finishing with the muscle and mystery of Clos Vougeot.
Here’s what makes the structure so smart and why it’s the kind of lineup that’s almost impossible to replicate casually in New York:
Flight 1: Puligny-Montrachet “Les Nosroyes” — three vintages, one clear lens
Puligny is where Chardonnay turns into architecture with line, mineral tension, and precision. Starting lunch here sets the tone: this isn’t about flash, it’s about clarity.
You taste the same lieu-dit across three consecutive vintages, which is the fastest way to understand what vintage actually means in Burgundy without changing producer, winemaking, or terroir.
Puligny-Montrachet “Les Nosroyes” 2021
Puligny-Montrachet “Les Nosroyes” 2020
Puligny-Montrachet “Les Nosroyes” 2019
What to look for as you taste:
Where does the wine feel “bright” vs. “broad”?
How does the fruit shift (citrus → orchard → stone)?
What happens to the finish as the vintage changes?
Flight 2: Meursault 1er Cru Les Bouchères — and yes, it’s in magnum
If Puligny is the line, Meursault is the volume with texture, depth, savory complexity. And Les Bouchères is Premier Cru Meursault with the kind of natural authority that makes a lunch feel like a benchmark tasting.
The kicker is format: all three are poured en magnum, which tends to amplify freshness and slow down evolution. This is exactly what you want when you’re tasting older white Burgundy.
Meursault 1er Cru Les Bouchères 2015 en magnum
Meursault 1er Cru Les Bouchères 2013 en magnum
Meursault 1er Cru Les Bouchères 2011 en magnum
This is the moment in the meal where the room usually goes quiet—because you’re tasting how Meursault shifts from youthful generosity into that mature, layered place where the flavors get more savory and the texture turns almost “woven.”
Flight 3: Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru — the white Grand Cru crescendo
Then comes Corton-Charlemagne, Burgundy’s white Grand Cru with shoulders where the wine feels taller, more structured, and more serious.
And again: magnums.
Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 2015 en magnum
Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 2014 en magnum
Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 2009 en magnum
A 2009 Grand Cru white Burgundy in magnum at a seated lunch in Manhattan is…not normal. It’s the kind of bottle you don’t stumble into. It’s the kind of bottle you plan around.
Flight 4: Clos Vougeot Grand Cru — a red finish with real gravitas
Just when you think, “this is basically the ultimate white Burgundy lunch,” the lineup pivots to one of Burgundy’s most famous walled vineyards: Clos Vougeot Grand Cru.
Ending here is a power move. It brings the Côte de Nuits into the story and turns the lunch into a full-spectrum Burgundy experience rather than a white-only showcase.
Clos Vougeot Grand Cru 2015
Clos Vougeot Grand Cru 2012
Clos Vougeot Grand Cru 2010
These three vintages are a particularly fun trio to taste side-by-side because they tend to show very different shapes in the glass—so you’ll get contrast, not redundancy.
Why This Lunch Is a “Can’t Miss” La Paulée NYC Event
There are plenty of wine events in New York City. There aren’t many that hit this exact sweet spot:
1) It’s an intimate winemaker-hosted Burgundy lunch in Manhattan (not a crowded walk-around)
The experience is guided by Guillaume Lavollée, who runs the domaine with Aude so you’re tasting with context, not just reading labels.
2) The lineup is built like a Burgundy masterclass
A three-vintage Puligny flight, a three-vintage Meursault 1er Cru flight in magnum, a three-vintage Corton-Charlemagne in magnum, then three vintages of Clos Vougeot.
That’s not random luxury. That’s structure.
3) Magnum-aged white Burgundy at lunch is rare
Magnums show differently especially for white Burgundy with some age. This is one of those “you’ll remember exactly what the wine tasted like” situations.
4) Hudson Yards makes it surprisingly easy
This is one of the most convenient “destination lunches” in NYC: you’re at 50 Hudson Yards, with a proper reception start, a seated format, and plenty of time afterward to keep your day (and palate) on track.
5) The food is not an afterthought
La Paulée explicitly pairs the wines with a tasting menu from Chef Andrew Carmellini, a chef known for food that’s soulful, flavorful, and built for tables that actually drink.
Event Details at a Glance
Domaine Génot-Boulanger Lunch (La Paulée de New York 2026)
Date: Thursday, March 26, 2026
Time: 12:00pm ET Reception; 12:30pm ET Lunch
Where: Locanda Verde Hudson Yards, 50 Hudson Yards, New York, NY 10001
Price: $695 + tax
Host: Winemaker & co-proprietor Guillaume Lavollée
Note: Venues/winemakers/vintages are subject to change.
Final Thoughts
The best La Paulée events tend to do two things at once: they feel like a celebration, and they quietly teach you Burgundy.
This lunch nails that balance. You get the pleasure—urban Italian hospitality at Locanda Verde, the buzz of a Thursday La Paulée room in Hudson Yards, and wines that are flat-out exciting. But you also get the education: vintage variation, terroir variation, format variation (magnum vs. standard), and the throughline of an organically farmed domaine that’s unusually broad for Burgundy.
If you’re picking a single “premium daytime” event in NYC that feels like a smart splurge—and a memory you’ll replay every time you drink Meursault—this is the one.
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