Burgundy
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Burgundy is famous for its wines. The Region has the following Departments: [71] Saône et Loire, with Macon as its capital; [58] Nivère, with Nevers as its capital; [21] Cote d'Or with the capital city of Dijon - well worth a visit; [89] Yonne with the city of Auxerre as its capital. More than 150 produce wine bearing the A.O.C. designation. The most famous Burgundies come from the Côte-d'Or with its two great vineyards, the Côte de Nuits and the Côte de Beaune. Wine we did enjoy but the towns and overall scenery make this a very pleasant region of France to tour. |
Beaune
If you want to feel like you are having the "wine experience" go to Beaune. Located about 316 km from Paris, this is a town of wine. It is the wine-trading centre of Burgundy and rightfully does hold the distinction of being one of the "most charming towns" in France.
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The Hôtel-Dieu dominates the centre of town, it is a mediaeval infirmary, and has been in continuous use as a hospital from 1443 to 1971. Part of it stills has a healthcare connection, being a home for the aged. There is a wonderful courtyard and the gazed-tile roof just stands out and you will recognize this building as one of the regularly photographed buildings of Burgundy.
We have some great meals are various restaurants on the various times we have stayed here. Beware of the wine tours. They are great, you will get to taste some very good French wine, but it wiped out a day, and even more than that. After one tour, we went back to our hotel passed out, and as we drove out of the town the next day heard ourselves saying: "we will have to come back and see more next time!".
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There are restaurants everywhere, and if there is one in your hotel, check out where your room is. On one night in Beaune we could hardly sleep as they threw out bottle after bottle of empty wine bottles into the recycle area.
Dijon
Endless green - the vineyards of the Cote du Nuits. |
On one of our trips through this area we drove from Beaune along the N74 towards Dijon. This was so that we would drive the Côte des Nuits. But a few words about Burgundy and the wine appellation system as I have never really been able to follow it. But as we have traveled in France, and difference aspects become better known, some sense seems to be emerging! Within Burgundy are areas for Chablis and Côte d'Or and of course the highest the Grands Crus. But across the Region there are different appellations and this get compounded with the terms Grands and Premiers Crus. Any individual vineyard can market many different wines. Part of this flows from the inheritance law of France. As when the owner of an estate dies, the law requires the estate to be divided between the beneficiaries, rather than passed on to one person. So this results in a number of new different estates all producing wine of different quality, but with a similar producer's name. |
For wine from Burgundy the Grands and Premiers Crus make up about 12% of all the wine produced. The Grands Crus vineyards which can make some of the best wines are about forty in number and all are located in Chablis and the Côte d'Or. Only wines from these regions and the Côte Chalonnaise can carry the Premier Cru designation.
So getting on with the Côte de Nuits. The Côte d'Or has two main regions with the Côte de Nuits being in the north just south of Dijon -- ah you knew I was getting to Dijon!
So bring a little knowledge of wine to the area, and bring a camera, as if you are in Region in September, as we were, you will find your self-stopping for photos every fifteen minutes.
The town of the area is Nuits-St-Georges and this is a town know for its red wines. The appellations system for the Côte de Nuits is: Grands Crus are wines not required to bear a village name. For example, the wine from the Grand Cru Chambertin Clos de Bèze would not include the actual village name of Gevrey-Chambertin. A wine blended from several sites will be labeled as Premier Cru (versus Grand Cru). And a wine from an individual vineyard has the vineyard name -- Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru Clos Saint-Jacques.
The Dukes of Burgundy kept an estate in this area and the Cuverie des Ducs has two huge wine presses that date from the 13th to 15th Century. The Gevrey Château is open for visits in the morning and afternoon. The Château Clos de Vougeot is also open for visits in the morning and afternoon. Remember, everything shuts down around noon until after two in the afternoon - that that time for a great lunch with a bottle of wine.
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| Château Clos de Vougeot | Gevrey-Chambertin | Nuits St-George |
Vougeot.is one of the villages along the route. There is a great château with an endless vineyard - this one is one of the note in the area. The Cîteaux Monks originally stated the Château Clos de Vougeot. In 1551 the chapel and buildings were rebuilt and enlarged to form the current Château. You will be impressed with the well, the area around the well is quite wide, wide enough for mules and houses to enter and carry water to the vineyards. Although the château has its own vineyard, we were told that 86 vineyards were allowed to use the Château du Clos Vougeot name.
We will have to go back as we drove over to see the Abbey du Cîteaux, as cloisters are a passion, but they were closed for the mid-day and we just never made it back. Always have a reason to return.
We stayed at the Hotel Les Grands Crus in Gevrey-Chambertin and in the early evening all the bike tours would return, some looking quite exhausted, but what a way to spend the day -cycling around the vineyards. At dinner that evening, at a restaurant in town, I learned the hard way about pointing to your wine selection on the menu. Be exact, and read back the name no matter how you make it sound. The prices vary. You can be looking at a $50 bottle on one line and a $150 bottle on the next line - they don't typically list their wines in price order! Well of course, I just pointed, and the waited must have thought I pointed to a different line. Well it was great wine, but it jack up the price of the evening considerably.
After a couple of evenings along the Côte des Nuits we did get to Dijon. It is a scenic town and the inner core has well preserved buildings. If you are in this area on a Monday you might as well use that day for traveling the in the country and the town is very closed on that day.
Well, this is the area of wine. On our last trip to this region Karen was ill and we went to a pharmacy in Brochon, as we were leaving Dijon on our way to Paris. When asked if it would be okay to drink with the medication, the pharmacist looked us right in the eye and said: "Of course, as long as it is good wine." Well that it was!
Semeur-en-Auxois
Located about 81 km from Dijon, and 250 km from Paris, we went to Semeur-en-Auxois as it was yet another "most attractive town in France" nominee and it was attractive. The best view os from the highway on the hill above the town. Once you are in the town there are numerous medieval-timber homes and cobblestone streets everywhere.