Fun Facts about Burgundy
When we think about French wine, Burgundy is in everyone’s thoughts. It's known that this region offers some of the most expensive and quality wines but what else do you know about it?
Burgundy produces a tiny amount a wine in comparison to its reputation. Making up only 3% of France’s overall wine production.
This region produces twice as much white wine (Chardonnay) than red wine (Pinot Noir), but that’s not all, some other varieties are produced like Gamay, Crément de Bourgogne, Aligoté and a small amount of rosé.
TAligoté was used by the Burgundians to create a cocktail named ‘Kir’. Tipically served as an aperitif, it is made with crème de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur) and topped up with Aligoté or with sparkling wine.
Chateaux vs Domaines?
While people often use these words interchangeably, Château and Domaine don’t have the same meaning in France. A château would refer to a single estate surrounded by vineyards, while a Domaine is when a single winemaker owns small parcels of vineyards scattered around different villages. Our tip is, Burgundy’s best wines will be Domaines while Chateaux will be Bordeaux’s best wines.
You will often hear terroir is the essence of Burgundy. Terroir can best be described as the recipe of different ingredients resulting from millions of years of geological evolution. Comprising of the top soil, elevation, angle the vines are planted, micro-climate and lastly but most importantly the underlying subsoil and rock with its multi layers.
Burgundy has it all, perfect weather, rich soils, exceptional geographical location without forgetting the expertise of its winemakers.
For these reasons, Burgundy wines can sometimes be the most expensive ones, but lucky for us, we have a range of affordable and great quality Burgundies. Here are couple of our picks for you to enjoy over the weekend.
Gachot Monot Cote de Nuits Villages 2015
A classic Bugundian Pinot Noir from a beautiful vintage, this is very well put together with gorgeous fruit rounded out with a solid but not overpowering backbone. Silky and seductive, enjoy with duck or pork.
Stylish and drinking beautifully now, this Chardonnay is fresh and supple will go nicely with salads and seafood.
