Burgundy
I’ve always been intrigued by Burgundy. I like wine. I am no expert but I think visiting one of the most famous wine sites is too good an opportunity to pass. So when a friend asked us to come along for the trip, we readily agreed.
I’ve not tasted Burgundy wine prior to being here. I’ve heard a lot of remarks made about this wine. One that I particularly remember is this: Bordeaux is masculine and Burgundy is feminine. I sure didn’t know what it means. Burgundy wine is supposed to be smooth yet, I guess, lethal. Anyway, we tried a glass of Santenay in Lenotre and were so enchanted by its smooth yet structured burst of dark fruit flavours that we bought a bottle home.
We were determined to find the winery and brought some more bottles home. Santenay actually is not the classically famous area for red wine. However, given the exorbitant price that Burgundy wines command nowadays, a lot of proprietors are looking for good value wines and, thus, these areas come into play.
The Burgundy we visited is a stretch of hilly plain called the Cote d’ Or or the Golden Hills which runs from Dijon all the way to Santenay. Upon research in the internet, I found out that the name came from the vines that turn golden during autumn and give the whole hills a golden look. I disagree. Given my finance background, I have a different thought: The Burgundy Grand Crus come from these very hills! Imagine the value of this area. Of course it’s golden!
Burgundy is divided into several, I don’t know the term for it so I call it, regions. One of the more familiar name, Chablis, is located not in this Cote d’ Or but in Yonne region, northwest of Burgundy. Burgundy Red is Pinot Noir and the Whites are Chardonnay and Aligote. Aligote is not a famous grape by any mean but it is a native grape of Burgundy. It is normally served young and is fresh and a little acidic. We bought some for variety.
Cote d’ Or is divided further into two regions: Cote d’ Nuit (Dijon – Nuit St. George) and Cote d’ Beaune (Pernand-Vergelesses – Santenay) . The more well-know appellations are Meursault (on Cote d’ Beaune for white wine) and Nuit St. George (on Cote d’ Nuit for red). Apparently, the tastes for each appellation are so varied: from meaty to light, from solid to smooth. I am not yet able to identify (or care) about these details, unfortunately.
Burgundy wines are divided into, in ascending order of quality: Bourgogne Rouge/Blanc, Village Wines, Premiere Crus, Grand Crus. I find Grand Crus unaffordable. Simply unaffordable. With that label, a bottle can cost EUR 60 and more. Furthermore, we are not keen on storing wines for tens of years and we lack the facility to do so. Thus, we tend to go more for selective Premier Crus or the AOCs. Again, in modern time, Grand Crus are sometimes just a matter of labeling and not necessarily indication of quality. Part of the fun is to hunt down affordable wines without the weight of the labels.
We don’t have such deep knowledge of wine so we didn’t bother going to wineries for the ‘taste and spit’ trips. Rather, we went to the village stores and ask for recommendations and, when available, tasting. We found some good stores with the best in Meursault. Despite the popularity with tourists, I am quite surprised that English is not widely spoken here. But we managed to communicate fine with combination of hand gestures, key words recognition, and acute sixth sense.
The food was good. It’s the typical French way of serving: a fix price for an entrée, a main course, and a dessert and/or cheese. The typical Burgundy cuisines are slightly heavier than her southern counterparts but not as heavy as the Alsatian meals. Must try dishes include Boeuf Bourguignonne - beef braised with onions, mushrooms and other vegetables in red wine, Escargots a la Bourguignonne - snails served in their shells with garlic-infused parsley butter, Coq au vin - rooster braised in wine, and Oeufs a la Bourguignonne - eggs poached in red wine.
We pronounce the trip to be excellent: good food, good wine, good company. It was educational, too. It’s rather useless talking about wine without seeing the place. We find it much easier to comprehend the sacred codes of wines after seeing the place.
*written in Aug 2006
