{"id":5811,"date":"2014-10-30T20:07:55","date_gmt":"2014-10-30T20:07:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/winecountrygetaways.com\/?p=5811"},"modified":"2014-10-31T13:51:13","modified_gmt":"2014-10-31T13:51:13","slug":"traveling-burgundy-wine-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/winecountrygetaways.com\/traveling-burgundy-wine-country\/","title":{"rendered":"Traveling Burgundy Wine Country"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"traveling<\/a>
Growers in the field<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Traveling Burgundy Wine Country<\/h1>\n

Burgundy is like no other wine region I have previously visited. Our one-week stay in Burgundy sadly was not enough; there was much we did not see. We never made it to many of the villages we had hoped to visit. Most of our activity was centered near our rental home in the village of Puligny Montrachet and around Beaune, the main city of the Burgundy wine region.<\/p>\n

Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are the only grapes that are widely grown in Burgundy. There is a decent amount of the grape Aligot\u00e9 that is grown, but that is secondary to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. There are four distinct AOC\u2019s or appellations in Burgundy and it is important to know about this if you want to learn about Burgundy wines.<\/p>\n

Four distinct appellations \u2013 lowest to highest<\/h2>\n

Bourgogne<\/h5>\n

This is a wine made from grapes grown in the flat lands of Burgundy and they border the area just below the villages. Here there is less sun, less rocky soil, but more water. A Bourgogne can come from vineyards in one village or from several village vineyards. These wines are less in price and quality, but nonetheless there are some very good wines made from these vineyards. We tasted many for about 12 to 15 Euros.\u00a0 Here in California, my wine shop carries Bourgogne wines for about $20.<\/p>\n

Village<\/h5>\n

The wine is named after the village where the grapes are grown, such as \u00a0Chablis, Pommard or Gevrey Chambertin. The grapes must all be from vineyards located within the particular village. These vineyards are at an elevation slightly higher than the Bourgogne, and with more complex soils.<\/p>\n

Premiere Cru<\/h5>\n

These vineyards are located higher up and the soil is rockier with fewer nutrients. The vines must struggle more and the roots grow deep.<\/p>\n

Grand Cru<\/h5>\n

These are the best vineyards in Burgundy. There are only 33 designated Grand Cru vineyards in Burgundy. These vineyards produce exceptional quality wines. These wines command very steep prices. The wines of Romanee Conti sell for more than $2000 per bottle.<\/p>\n

In Burgundy you will not see the word Chardonnay or Pinot Noir on the label. The label will tell us the village and the vineyard where the grapes were grown. It will also show the producer’s name and the appellation.\u00a0 There is said to be more than 4000 producers in the Burgundy region, an area that stretches 88 miles from the north to south. Most of these producers are very small, and they grow and make the wines. Most are family-run operations and the wine is made in their homes with small underground caves. <\/p>\n

How to read a Burgundy wine label<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Yield of grapes per appellation<\/h2>\n

A hectare vineyard is equal to a 10,000 square-meter area and planted with 10,000 vines<\/p>\n