5.5.10

Burgundy

We will leave Paris for a little while. I will make some posts about Burgundy, starting with what it perhaps is most famous for, its wine districts. Before the photos maybe a little bit of geography?
Burgundy wines include Chablis, Tonnerre, Auxerrois, Côte Chalonnaise, Maçonnais and normally Beaujolais is also included. This post will concentrate on Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune, where you will find some of the most well known labels, often corresponding to a village name. I guess you will have heard of a few that are marked on the map above.

Wines have been produced here since maybe 2000 years. The Church played a great role in developing the wine culture and the nearby Abbeys of Cluny (Bendectines) and of Cîteaux (Cistercians) became important vineyard owners. There are a number of old Roman churches around.

The landscape is beautiful, all villages seem so calm and peaceful, you don’t feel any commercial aggressiveness…

Let’s start from the north with the Côte de Nuits.
If you leave Dijon towards the south and follow a small departmental road (leave the highway!) for some 25 km (= 15 miles), you will cross most of the villages you would like to visit. Almost every village will have a name that is known by somebody who likes wine. The “grands crus”, the highest appellation, can basically be found at Gevrey-Chambertin, Morey-Saint-Denis, Chambolle-Mussigny, Vougeot, Flagey-Echézaux and Vosne-Romanée, mostly red.

Maybe the most famous vineyard here is Clos de Vougeot (see top picture), created by Cistercian monks around the 12th century. The Château dates from the 16th century. After the Revolution it became private and has today some 80 owners. Since 1945 it serves as headquarters for the "Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin".

So, let’s continue with the Côte de Beaune.
The vineyards are partly situated just north of Beaune, but most of them more southwards. The “grand crus” here are referred to as “Cortons” and the “Montrachets” which are produced at Aloxe-Corton, Ladoix-Serrigny, Pernand-Vergelesses, Chassagne-Montrachet, Puligny-Montrachet… but you will of course here also find names like Volnay, Pommard, Meursault, Monthélie…. More white wine is produced here compared to the Côte de Nuits region, especially in the more southern vineyards.

I will revert to the cities of Dijon and Beaune.

38 comments:

Rakesh Vanamali said...

I've heard so much about Burgundy and the famous Chardonnay vineyards...... now, your post gives me a glimpse of this wonderful place which can indeed be heavenly!

Brilliant, as always!

Virginia said...

Lovely. Well of course you have opened another place I want to visit. Obviously you had a very nice holiday here. Just beautiful photograhs Peter.
V

Shionge said...

Hey you lucky man :D You get to see almost the whole of France :) Apart from Paris...the furthest south I went is Bordeaux and Calai ok course.

You have a great time and drink on my behalf...CHEERS!!!

Olivier said...

"il est des notres, il a bu son verre comme les autres...." c'est un endroit sublime et la region reine pour les vins...je pense que tu as du faire de beaux achats

Adam said...

You seem to know your wines! You certainly chose the right moment for a visit as well.

You say that all the villages seem calm and peaceful, but my first memory of the region is a little different. When I was 21, I worked for an English camping company who had tents pitched on campsites all around France which visitors used like hotels. Generally, people stayed on only 1 or 2 campsites during a holiday, remaining for a week or two at each. I worked at several campsites around the country, and found myself for a couple of days at a campsite in Mersault. It was a lovely site, but for the English company there it was a really strange one. All the tents were lined up right next to each other like terraced housing with very little personal space, but the reason for that was soon obvious. Nobody actually stayed on the campsite for more than one night, but they just used it as a convenient overnight stop before continuing their journey down to to the campsites on the South coast!

Catherine said...

Sommelier ! La carte des vins illustrée, je vous prie......

Des souvenirs embouteillés à patager ? J'ai un tire-bouchon en ma possession.

Nathalie H.D. said...

Tiens, tu as fait un voyage pour remplir ta cave on dirait! Nul doute que tes séances photos ont été entrecoupées de séances de dégustation. Si Catherine a le tire-bouchon, on n'a plus qu'à tendre nos verres !

ferais-tu des infidélités au champagne?)

Les vignes sont bien telles qu'elles étaient ici il y a dix jours : encore très nues avec à peine quelques amorces de feuilles. Ca a beaucoup changé, maintenant ça pousse à toute vitesse. Mais la tempête d'hier nous a ramené le froid et la pluie. Je veux du soleil !!!!

SusuPetal said...

Oh, wine tastes always so good. Thank you, Peter.

Ruth said...

Ohh, thank you for the heart-stirring drive through vineyard, stone, tile roofs, orchards, castles. And wine. Heavenly.

Cergie said...

Tu dis beaucoup mais pas qui sont ces "we" mis à part toi ? Nous inclurais tu dedans ? Cela me semble probable. Mais je pars moi aussi dans une région de vignoble ce WE tu n'es pas sans savoir que ma fille habite ainsi que sa famille en plein dans le beaujolais. Sais tu aussi que mon fils travaille à présent au dessus de Mâcon à l'IVF (institut du vin français) ?
Tu ignores que j'ai fait des vendanges en Champagne et en Bourgogne. Voilà tu sais tout sur moi.
Les régions de vignobles offrent cependant de magnifiques possibilités de photos car la lumière est spéciale, l'architecture aussi ainsi que les vignobles, les vergers... Nombre de tes photos sont superbes.
Enjoy Peter ! Let us enjoy !

Simony said...

Beautiful country side! It really looks peaceful there. Imagine waking up every morning to all that vineyard view, how nice!

alice said...

Moi, je ne bois que du bordeaux de toute façon (et ça m'est bien égal que certains se baladent pendant que je me débats avec les gravats, la poussière, le plâtre et le ciment!)
Bon, c'était bien, ces vacances?

Thérèse said...

Des photos superbes.
Je tiens quand même à mes origines et ne bois pour ainsi dire que du Bordeaux mais je suis prête à me balader dans les vignes où qu'elles soient!

Catherine said...

wine country - how beautiful and so very close to my heart...gorgeous photos..

Starman said...

Great photos as usual.

Jeanie said...

During my visit, my friend really wanted to take me to Burgundy. I really wanted to go to Normandy, so we did. It was great -- but I think I know where I'm going when I return!

Harriet said...

Thanks for this glimpse into an area of France I have not visited yet. Beautiful!

Mervat said...

With such an idyllic setting, who could ask for more? Pure heaven on earth. Thank you for sharing.
Mervat.

hpy said...

Il ne manque qu'un petit robinet à coté du post pour qu'on puisse goûter!

joanna said...

Peter:

Is there any part of France that is not beautiful-- it seems unlikely -- and if there is please do not tell me and ruin the illusion. All of the photos are of the highest quality -- but there are a few I would like to know more about like the step rock face cliff side formation.

The timbers and condition of that chateau dating back to the 16th century are amazing. The roof tops of a few buildings with the zig zag patterns are intriguing too.

Cezar and Léia said...

Wonderful trip Peter, thanks so much for sharing these beautiful pictures.Outstanding places and you gave us great ideas for trips!
Hugs
Léia

arabesque said...

i have never been to a wine tasting before, nor have i seen a large vineyard like those in your fotos,
thanks for sharing, another gr8 insight and info. ^0^
next time you'll be visiting burgundy, don't forget to include me in your trip okay?! ^0^

JPD said...

I love this post !
I am half pissed lol !

Trotter said...

Hope you made a decent collection of «grand cru» for the next time in Paris... ;)

Mona said...

Amazing! each one of those pictures!

PeterParis said...

V Rakesh:
Yes, it's heavenly. I like to visit now and then! :-)

Virginia:
You are again preparing an overambitious list! :-)

Shionge:
Cheers! :-)

PeterParis said...

Olivier:
Quelques petits achats, en effet! :-)

Adam:
With the age, like mine, some nice hotels is of course a more comfortable solution! :-)

Catherine:
D'accord, j'amène une bouteille et on l'ouvre! :-)

PeterParis said...

Nathalie:
Quelques verres de dégustation, en effet. ... et pas de champagne, exceptionnellement! :-)

SusuPetal:
Yes, a (moderate) consumption is defintiely recommended! :-)

Ruthe:
A pleasure, even nicer when shared with others! :-)

PeterParis said...

Cergie:
Le "we" est pour tous les amis blogueurs, bien sur! Je commence en effet de savoir "tout" sur toi! :-)

Simony:
Defintiely nicer than an industrial area, but they are of course needed also! :-)

Alice:
Un peu de jalousie? :-)

PeterParis said...

Thérèse:
Les bourgognes sont aussi excellents! Quelques infidélités? :-)

Catherine:
How about the local wines over there? :-)

Starman:
Thanks! :-)

PeterParis said...

Jeanie:
Difficult when you have to choose! :-)

Harriet:
Not yet! :-)

The Writing Instinct:
Pure heaven indeed, especially when you just visit for your pleasure! :-)

PeterParis said...

hpy:
Toujours soif! :-)

Joanny:
I will not mention where it is less beautiful; I may lose some friends! :-)

Léia:
Many thanks for you always kind words, dear friend! :-)

PeterParis said...

Arabesque:
Looking forward to make the trip with you! Don't forget! We must do it one day! :-)

JPD:
So, are you pleased or not? :-)

Trotter:
OK! No problem, I will open a bottle for you, with pleasure! :-)

PeterParis said...

Mona:
Thanks, dear Mona! :-)

Parisbreakfasts said...

I hope you got a tastevin for all your galavanting around..
At the big tasting place..can't remember the name.
Burgundie is a wonderful place :)
Miam!

PeterParis said...

ParisBreakfasts:
Yes, I got (bought) one! Tasting places, there are many! :-)

sonia a. mascaro said...

Thank you Peter for another great post with gorgeous photos! Visiting your blog is really a nice pleasure.

PeterParis said...

Sonia:
Nice that you appreciate! :-)