Day Five and Six - Beaune and the Burgundy Wine Region
The Hôtel des Remparts - our home for the next two nights...
We stayed at the Hôtel des Remparts in Beaune where we were greeted warmly by the owner. We were glad that we had taken heed of Rick's advice to pack lightly, as the narrow staircase to the third floor would have been quite a challenge with anything more than a carry-on bag. The thing about Rick Steves tours is that you can always be guaranteed that your room will be clean, comfortable - and truly unique!
...and a Burgundian Feast at La Grilladine
Be brave! Experience the cuisine - especially these burgundian delicacies: escargots de Bourgogone, boeuf bourguignon, coq au vin, and for dessert a grand mariner soufflé.
Market day in Beaune was incredible. We grew to envy the French people, who have the opportunity to choose such fresh-picked ingredients for their daily meals. There were more cheeses than you can imagine, breads and pastries, fresh Briesse chickens, sausages, mustards, herbs, olives, flowers and even clothes. While we were wandering the market, our tour guide Chris was hard at work filling her market basket for a picnic feast that we would enjoy later that afternoon when we visited the Château de Rully. (Of course there was a wine tasting at the Château!) We could not have asked for a more beautiful day.
And now, about "le vin"...
Burgundy wines don't generally have the varietal on their bottle - but you are pretty safe to assume that if you are drinking a white Burgundy it is the chardonnay grape; a red Burgundy is the pinot noir. Labels are confusing, but here's an overview (in order of quality):
"Vin de Pays" may use "nontraditional" grapes; therefore, these may actually be labeled with the varietal.
"Vin de Table" are table wines and not always a good value.
"Burgundy" is comprised of a number of regions - from north to south: Chablis, Côte de Nuits, Côte de Beaune, Côte Chalonnaise, Maconnais, and Beaujolais (the gamay grape is king here). Within those regions are over a 100 different appellations with growers owning small vineyard parcels for the most part. Although the grape varietals are limited, the mixture of soils and terrain give each a unique identity.
Our favorites here were Pommard and Rasteau, as we generally favor wine with a little more body!
If you want an opportunity to taste through a fabulous variety of Burgundy wines, we would recommend visiting Patriarche Père et Fils. For 13 Euro each we tasted through 13 different wines as we wandered through a series of underground caves at our own pace.
- Grand Cru - it generally has a single vineyard name on the bottle.
- Premier Cru - it has the name of the commune, followed by name of the vineyard(s)
- Appellation Communale - often referred to as "village" wines; i.e., "Macon-Villages"
- Bourgogne - these are the least expensive, but still darn good quality!
"Vin de Pays" may use "nontraditional" grapes; therefore, these may actually be labeled with the varietal.
"Vin de Table" are table wines and not always a good value.
"Burgundy" is comprised of a number of regions - from north to south: Chablis, Côte de Nuits, Côte de Beaune, Côte Chalonnaise, Maconnais, and Beaujolais (the gamay grape is king here). Within those regions are over a 100 different appellations with growers owning small vineyard parcels for the most part. Although the grape varietals are limited, the mixture of soils and terrain give each a unique identity.
Our favorites here were Pommard and Rasteau, as we generally favor wine with a little more body!
If you want an opportunity to taste through a fabulous variety of Burgundy wines, we would recommend visiting Patriarche Père et Fils. For 13 Euro each we tasted through 13 different wines as we wandered through a series of underground caves at our own pace.
Traveler's Tip:
This tour involves a number of hours on the bus. How do you make the best use of those hours and your precious travel time? Well, some people use that time to catch up on their sleep! I use the time to keep up my journal. I have found Rick Steve's Travel Journal to be just the right size for this purpose. In my backpack I keep a small pair of scissors and a glue stick. As we travel through the countryside I am busy writing down my memories, cutting up brochures, maps, etc., etc. that I've collected along the way. When I arrive at the next destination I generally have created a good record of our last stop. I have found the journal very useful when I start sorting through all those pictures. These journeys are so wonderful -the journal helps us to relive the memories over and over again!