The Wines of Burgundy

September 18th, 2009 by discover

The Chateau de Vougeot in Burgundy, France

We spent five wonderful days in Dijon, and took our time driving around to some of the vineyards and wineries of the burgundy area. There were so many places to visit, and so many things to do that of course five days wasn’t enough, and we’re going to “have” to go back. This is an incredibly beautiful area (although there was a bit of culture shock in some places… For example, there was an area where we went to see an old medieval castle – and the vineyard – and it’s located right in the center of a modern part of the city – urban blight – full of car lots, and grafitti and factories – and tenement buildings… so you’ve got the grace, beauty and heritage of something very old and lovely, right next to cement and asphalt and… well, ugliness.

I couldn’t help wondering what archeologists are going to think in a couple of hundred years from now of the things we’re leaving behind us. What will they make of our squat cement buildings, the trash left on the side of the roads, the grafiti that seems to be everywhere these days? Will they find any of it charming, or think it’s beautiful? Or will they be appalled?

One of my favorite things about this trip, besides getting to see some fabulous castles, “discover” some new

Guilhen, Nadie and Alain at Le Savauge in Dijon

wines and get to review some new restaurants, was also getting to spend some time with Guilhen, Alain’s oldest son. He’s got a wicked sense of humor, and he’s funny and really a nice guy. Sadly we didn’t get to spend as much time with Nadie, as she’s incredibly busy at the hospital, and was working on a paper as well. But I enjoyed the time we did get to spend with her. She’s working very hard, and is under a lot of stress. I think she’s really amazing. This restaurant, by the way, is one I highly recommend if you’re in Dijon. It’s reasonably priced – they have great lunch and dinner specials during the week – things are a little more expensive on the weekends or holidays, of course, like most restaurants in France – and the food is fabulous! I had the best steak I’ve eaten since leaving the states! It’s called Le Sauvage, and it’s one of those secret places that you wouldn’t expect to see from the outside. To get to it, you have to walk through a big door, down an archway, and out into a hidden courtyard. We ate on the terrace, under the shade of plane trees, and there was a lovely stone well in the center of the courtyard, with stone buildings all around – as you can see in the photo. It’s also a hotel, and some of the rooms are reached by climbing steps made of the same stones, and going into private entrances. It’s one of those places that instantly charms and relaxes.

Oldest working wine press from Chenove, Burgundy area

Now here’s an interesting photo. This is from one of those places that is surrounded by all things modern, and yet it’s history is absolutely fascinating. (In fact, look for an article soon about this one, because it’s a story worth telling.)

What you’re looking at is one of the oldest working wine presses in France. And as I said, it has a fascinating history – there are two of them (the other one doesn’t work any longer), but they were both stolen by the French government in the 1700s! Just look at how huge this thing is.

And every year after harvest (le vendage), the entire village gets involved in a wine making and tasting festival. They make the wine the old fashioned way (including using bare feet to mash the grapes…) and then they are put into this huge press… There is a circular cavern underneath the main part of the press, and the grape juice goes down there. Although they don’t make a huge number of bottles, we bought a couple, because it will make such an interesting story when we open them and share it with friends and family in a few years from now, don’t you think?