Location: East-Central France
Burgundy is located in east-central France, about a 2 hour train ride southeast of Paris. It is home to the cities of Dijon, Beaune, and Chalon-sur-Saone. The rolling hills of the Cote d’Or sit on a slope that runs from northwest to southeast, providing varying exposures and microclimates. Soils are primarily limestone and clay with some marlstone present. The region has many forests and lakes which contribute to its cool, continental climate.
While the climate can be harsh on vines during spring months when weather is volatile, it provides warm summer days followed by cool nights with high diurnal temperature variation (the difference between daytime highs and nighttime lows). This allows grapes to ripen slowly while retaining acidity for balance.
History: famous for centuries
While Burgundy was not the first area of France to produce wines, it has a history that dates back to Roman times. Monks have been making wine in Burgundy for centuries and the wines of Burgundy have been famous for more than a millennium. In fact, the vineyards of Burgundy are so prized that they are said to be worth more than all of the vineyards in Bordeaux combined.
White varieties: Chardonnay, Aligote, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris
Chardonnay is the most popular of the white varieties, with 13.5 percent of plantings. Almost all the Chardonnay in Burgundy is made into dry wines and it is one of the few French appellations where oak aging is not mandatory. The best examples are usually oak-aged, however, and have high acidity and a long finish. Aligote (1.6 percent) thrives on poor soils and is mainly blended with Chardonnay to add freshness to medium-bodied wines. Sauvignon Blanc (0.2 percent) grows well in the south of Burgundy near Macon, but only makes a limited contribution to the local style because it tends not to ripen too well at northern latitudes. Pinot Gris (3 percent), another local variety, produces light-bodied wines under its Burgundy synonym Pinot Grigio
Red varieties: Pinot Noir, Gamay
- Pinot Noir: The most important red grape of the region, this is a medium-weight wine that has a lot of variation in weight and style. A good bottle of Pinot can be found for less than $20, but some of the more famous wines can cost over $1,000!
- Gamay: This is the grape used to make Beaujolais. It’s a light red wine which rarely spends any time in oak barrels before it goes into bottles. It’s inexpensive and easy to drink, but not very complex in its flavours (which is why you’ll find it served with baguettes and cheese instead of steak au poivre).
Red appellations: Cote d’Or, Mercurey, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Beaujolais
While the really famous Chablis wines are in the Cote d’Or, Burgundy’s most famous red wine is a little less well known. In fact, when most people hear about Beaujolais or “Burgundian” wine, they think of a sweet white from the vineyard’s best grapes, which have been harvested early and before the grapes have begun to turn red. That doesn’t mean that those wines aren’t great, because they certainly are—but those fantastic sweet white wines of Burgundy don’t represent what makes Beaujolais so interesting.
Beaujolais was never meant to be a cheap wine. The appellation was originally named after its chief city, Beaujeu (the region also includes Vosne-Romanée), and even though all winemakers in Beaujeu follow strict rules to make their amazing dry reds and whites (and now rosés), there are still many producers outside the appellation who take risks with their sometimes odd selections! It’s like Burgundy but not quite: you can still get some very good Beaujolais for your money if you know where to look.
So if you want to embark on your first voyage into Beaujolie culture without spending an arm and a leg—or if you’re looking for an excuse to buy more than one bottle of wine at once from someone who just might surprise you . . . then read on!
Famous wines: Romanee Conti, Macon-Villages (white)
- Romanee-Conti is the most famous wine in Burgundy, and one of the most famous in the world. It comes from just 1.8 hectares (4.4 acres) of vines and only 10,000 bottles are produced each year. If you can find a bottle, you’ll need about $10,000 for it.
- Macon-Villages is a white wine that comes from the southern part of Burgundy. It’s made from Chardonnay grapes and is similar to a Chablis. To be labeled Macon-Villages, wines must come from any one of 38 villages that have been judged by local authorities to make good quality wines. The region produces more than 13 million bottles annually and nearly half are exported out of France! This makes Macon-Villages one of the best values in French white wine; prices are generally under $20 per bottle.