Wine Education

This past holiday, I made the decision to share special bottles with our kids.

Most nights we have a nice bottle of wine with our dinners. It is always good wine but we tend to drink a lot of fresh Beaujolais, young Burgundy or a fairly young Italian Barbera, Nebbiolo or a Chianti.

So, wine has been an essential accompaniment to our meals but most often served like a condiment or seasoning. This time, I wanted to break out special bottles with age to show some benchmark wines, from different regions of France and beyond, to give them reference points. Whether they were interested in learning or not, they would learn through tasting.

As evidenced in the photo below we traveled over a few days to the essential wine producing regions of France - Champagne, Rhone, Burgundy, Alsace, Burgundy again, the Loire, back to Burgundy, Burgundy again and one spectacular German Riesling.

I have always considered winemaking as a craft and like any craft, some craftsmen are held in higher esteem than others for the excellence of their work. I therefore shared the greatest artisans and expressions of their work to demonstrate why these wines are so special. So without tasting notes here, I would like to raise a glass with a thank you to Champagne Taittinger, Jean-Marc Roulot, Jean-Louis Chave, Jean-Francois Coche-Dury, Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg, Dominique Lafon, Trimbach, Chateau de Bonnezeaux, Eric Rousseau, Vincent Dauvissat and Von Schubert.

I think the kids are on the path to a good education. Maybe next year during the holidays, we will do a graduate course.

Santé!

Bourgogne Vezelay - An Heirloom Gem of the Burgundy Landscape

June 10, 2021
by Edouard Bourgeois

In France for just over a week now, I have rediscovered the charm of the medieval commune of Vezelay.

Part of the Yonne department, south of Chablis and the Sauvignon Blanc AOC of Saint-Bris, Vézelay is a Chardonnay-only AOC that was recently promoted to village-level classification (like Meursault or Chassagne-Montrachet), in 2017. Red wines produced in the region qualify for only the Bourgogne AOC.

It is in the south of the Grand Auxerrois territory which also includes the Irancy and Saint-Bris villages and other regional appellations such as Bourgogne Épineuil and Bourgogne Coulanges-la-Vineuse.

Vézelay wine is produced predominantly from Chardonnay grapes grown on limestone rich soils. In total there are just 66.5 hectares (164 acres) under vine. A little Melon de Bourgogne (best known in Muscadet), Pinot Noir and the regional specialty César are also grown, though wines made from these grape varieties are classified as Vin de France.

The vineyards are mostly planted on south facing slopes around the four villages, at varying altitudes of 180 to 300 meters (600 to 1000ft). The continental climate here contributes to the fresh, steely style of the white wines in particular. Most of the wines are produced by a Vézelay based cooperative, Cave Henry. However several smaller domaines make excellent wines. Here is a list of some of the best producers:

Domaine de la Cadette, Les Faverelles, La Croix Montjoie, Aegerter, Camille Thiriet and more…

The picturesque village of Vezelay has not lost its medieval heritage

A protected Roman ruin with the proud edifice of the Basilica of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine in the background. The monastery has been one of the major starting points for pilgrims on their way to Camino de Santiago.