Burgundy is divided into five wine areas:

Chablis and Auxerrois – mainly white wines around the village of Chablis with reds near the town of Auxerre

Côte de Nuits – mainly reds from world-renowned villages such as Gevrey Chambertin, Chambolle Musigny, Vosne Romanée and Nuits St George. Here we find many of the great red wines of Burgundy.

Côte de Beaune – a mixture of red and white wine from villages such as Savigny-les-Beaune, Pommard, Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet. Here are some of the greatest white wines.

Côte Chalonnaise – red and white wines and the “hidden secret” of Burgundy. Wines from villages such as Rully, Givry and Mercurey.

Maconnais – mainly white wine such as Pouilly Fuissé, St Veran and Macon villages.

1st and 2nd centuries AD represent the beginning of the vineyards under Gallo-Roman influence

4th century – first written evidence that vineyards exist in Burgundy

11th century – the Cistercian monks from Citeaux and Cluny develop methods and understanding to cultivate the vines

15th century – The Dukes of Burgundy spread knowledge of Burgundy wines through France and Europe

20th century (1936) – Creation of the first Appellation d’Origine Controlee

21st century – 20,000 men and women work in the Burgundy wine region.

The essentials

27,600 hectares (69,000 acres) of vines cultivated

200 million (approx) bottles produced each year, just 0.3% of the world’s wine production

4,000 winegrowers

250 Négociants

23 Caves co-operative

The grapes varieties

Burgundy wine is usually produced from a single grape variety (called mono-cépage) and is with very few exceptions:

Chardonnay for white wine

Pinot Noir for reds

Aligoté a white grape variety found mainly in Burgundy

Gamay, while the predominate variety for Beaujolais, is also grown here.

61% of Burgundy wine is white, 30% red, 8% is the sparkling wine of Burgundy, Crémant de Bourgogne and 1% rosé.

Appellation system

Burgundy has 100 different Appellations d’Origine Controlée (AOC) wines. Think of this as an address label, indicating the place where the grapes have been grown.

Burgundy wines are divided into four classifications, as depicted by this pyramid.

52% of production is Regional Burgundy wine, which means the wine can come from a number of different plots carrying Regional classification

35% of wine is classified as Village which means the grapes must be grown in and around the village name on the bottle; e.g. Nuits St George, Meursault, Mercurey.

12% is Premier Cru which means the grapes will be grown in one single vineyard within the village. Both the village and vineyard name appear on the bottle; e.g. Vosne Romanée 1er (Premier) Cru Les Suchots

2% is Grand Cru where just the vineyard name appears on the bottle (e.g. Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru)

Terroir – the essence of Burgundy

Terroir is the essence of Burgundy – and most European wine. Terroir can best be described as recipe of different ingredients: the top soil, elevation, angle the vines are planted, mirco-climate and lastly but most importantly the underlying rock with its multi layers

On our Burgundy Discovery wine tours we expand on this information, take you into the vineyards, meet the growers and taste the wines in an informative and fun manner. Click on Wine Tasting Tours on the top bar or email david@burgundydiscovery.com