Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
On Monday in Dijon, I signed up for a wine tour through the Cote de Nuits which is a well known wine growing area in the greater region of Burgundy. (Like Sonoma Valley is to Northern California). One of my larger intentions during this trip to France was to gain a better understanding and appreciation for French wine. Their wine labels have always intimidated and confused me - I never know what I'm ordering because they don't indicate the type of grape on the label (as they do in CA) so how would I ever know what I'd like? I was determined to get to the bottom of this.
The rain was coming down pretty hard by the time I hopped into my tour van for the afternoon, with my guide and one other companion, a blogger from Toronto who was writing a feature on understanding French wine. Perfect!
Our guide, Christopher, was super helpful in breaking down the region of Burgundy by identifying some of the different villages, the grapes that are grown there and the classification system used for placing a label on a bottle of wine. He also reminded us that the overall quality of the wine depends on 4 major factors no matter where you are: the type of grape, the soil, the climate and the skill of the human making it. In his opinion (which seems to match most wine makers) the last is most important.
Burgundy only produces 4 types of grapes- 2 red and 2 white. Of these, 2 of them - Chardonnay and Pinot Noir - are the primary ones used in the "quality" drinking wines.
It seemed to me that only using 2 grapes would make the process less complicated, but for the Frenchies, it's not about the type of grape, but rather, what field it came from. And there are a whole lot of fields…
Let's just say the French are very traditional in their methods and formalities. Whereas California methods seem more progressive and ever changing, the French seem place a high value on keeping things the same over time. It's highly unlikely that any new wineries open up in the area because the price of land is so expensive. One hectare goes for 10,000,000 Euros. It's rare to have property change hands or fall under new ownership so wineries stay in families for many generations.
As we drove towards our winery, about 50km south of Dijon, our guide filled us up with juicy details about growing wine in the area and even took us by a few of the more "prestigious" fields in Burgundy. I had never heard of Romanee Conti before my trip, but now I am intrigued. We got to see the fields that grow this 10,000 Euro bottle of wine. The waiting list to get one of these bottles is upwards of 10 years and once you commit, you have to buy one every year for the rest of your life. (and I thought marriage was a huge commitment!)
When we arrived in the village of Nuit Saint George, we popped into Marchand Tawse, a small wine cave/tasting room, in a very unassuming building. The owner gave us a pretty thorough background on their wine making process from harvest to bottling, showed us around the cellar and concluded our visit with a tasting of several of their best wines. We learned a little more about the labeling of wine and why some wines earn different classifications like Grand Cru, Primer Cru or no cru at all.
By the end of the 3 hours, there were a few things I knew for sure. French wine is delicious, understanding it IS complicated (but graspable) and the people who make it are very proud.
The following day, with a few recommendations from my guide, Mark, Andrew and I did a little wine tour south of Dijon so I could continue my education. We visited 3 wineries south of Dijon in the Cote de Nuits and Cote de Beaune: Moillard, Chateau De Savigny Les Beaune and Comte Senard. We had great hosts and tried some very tasty wines at each place. If Andrew wasn't sleeping, he was very content with the surroundings in these classic old towns.
So with a little more understanding about what makes a French wine so unique, am I ready to shift from California to French wine only? Probably not, but I will certainly pay a little more attention to the wine menu especially if the wines are from Burgundy. Wherever it takes place, the art of winemaking is a fascinating process and despite a few differences, the process is the same throughout the world.
- comments