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.
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