Wine Accomodation in Burgundy and Dijon

Tasting & enjoying... in Burgundy

Burgundy is a strange place in the world of wine, one of the fewest places where we find that white wines can be as expensive, or more, than red wines. In Burgundy we cannot find very extensive vineyards. After the French revolution the land was given taken away from the Church and split in small portions.

The proximity to Paris, center of the Revolution, explains that this was the case here and not in other parts of France. What is special about Burgundy? The size of the vineyard is an important first thing. Small vineyard normally means family, proximity and care. A second thing we can highlight is that, alike in many other wine regions, wines produced here are pure varietal wines. Pinot Noir wines are 100% Pinot Noir, and the same happens with the Chardonnays. Any person who may want to discover the real character of these 2 grapes find this expression in wines produced here.

Burgundy is also a continuous search for a wine lover, which is the ultimate outcome of the nature of its vineyard fragmentation. In Burgundy we find continental weather and limestone and clay soil. Winters are cold and Summers hot, which help the ripening processes. There are 5 districts, all of which are worth visiting during your stay (and we hope this is at a hotel next to a winery to get the most out of the experience!) Cote D or, Cote Chalonnais, Chablis, Macon and Beaujolais. Chablis and Macon are mainly white wine regions, chardonnay. Beaujolais offers red wine made out of Gamay, and despite beujolais might be worldwide famous for Beaujolais Nouveau, there is much more than Nouveau here, and much better too… (despite we enjoy Nouveau when it is good). Cotes D Or has the chance of accumulating 32 out of the 33 Grand Crus in Burgundy (the remaining one being in Chablis) All these Grand 33 Cru appellations account for only 2% of all the wine in Burgundy though! And with as many as 600 appellations only for Gran Cru and premier Cru wines… you can understand that being an expert on Burgundy wines may take a lifetime… of enjoyment, of course.

Burgundy, beyondGrand and premier Crus

A What do we find beyond Grand Crus? We get some 560 1er cru, which account for some 12% of all wine. The “rest” are Communal appellations without 1er Cru consideration and regional appellations. This last category accounts for around 60% of all Burgundy wine and it is also the most affordable type of Burgundy wine. Your stay in Burgundy will for sure cover Cote d Or, which is the small area where most famous names gather:

Marsannay, Vougeot, Vosne Romanne, Puligny-Montrachet, etc. It is not very likely that you will be able to indulge in consumption of Gran Cru Burgundy everyday (congratulations if you are the exception) but if this is not the case you should not worry, since there is lots of excellent wine at “ affordable” prices. Red Burgundy is very good with most types of food, and you do not need very heavy food to enjoy it. You may find reasonable prices in Cote Chalonnaise, where Mercury for reds or Montagny for whites offers normally high value for money.

Macon is also a good option for whites, and a good alternative to Chablis. We need to also reinforce the fact already mentioned that Beaujolais offers much more than Nouveau, which is only one side of what this district offers. The north part of it offers Cru Beaujolais, with an interesting price and interesting taste. We hope this small guide serves as a first introduction to wines in Burgundy. The landscape in this region is special, as well as the atmosphere and attitude of many of the people dedicated to wine production. We hope you enjoy your wine days in Burgundy, and that you find in our recommendations the hotel you dreamed of to discover and learn from the wines of this great piece of land.