Burgundy Flashcards
Burgundy’s vineyards span which four French départements?
Yonne, Côte d’Or, Saône-et-Loire, and Rhône
Not including the vineyards of Beaujolais, how many hectares does Burgundy cover?
30,000 ha
The Côte d’Or winegrowing region itself— Burgundy’s “golden slope”—is a thin ribbon of vineyard extending roughly 60 km from the outskirts of which city?
Dijon, Burgundy then extends downwards from there
In the cote d’Or, how (where geographically) are the vineyards situated?
On the Eastern and SouthEastern limestone slopes
What is the commercial center of the Cote d’Or?
Beaune
Which département is Chablis located in?
The Yonne département
Name three communes in the Grand Auxerrois
Vézelay, Irancy, Tonnerre, and Joigny
Which departement is the Côte Chalonnaise located in?
In the Saône-et-Loire département
The Côte Chalonnaise lies on the western edge of which valley?
The Saône River Valley
What is the capital of the Chalon-sur-Saône department?
Mâcon
Chablis produces the most white wine in Burgundy, which region produces the second most?
The Mâcon
Where is Rock of Solutré located?
The Mâcon.
It is perhaps the most emblematic site in the Saône-et-Loire
When Beaujolais is considered collectively with Burgundy, what percentage of wine is produced from Beaujolais?
33%
1/3
What latitude does Burgundy sit on?
46-48° latitude; the 47th parallel runs right through Volnay
What climate does Burgundy have?
Its inland, northerly location results in a continental to semi-continental climate with four true seasons
What is the average rainfall for Burgundy
30 inches/yr
Which is burgundy’s most planted grape?
Chardonnay approximately 15,000 hectares under vine
In the Yonne, what is Chardonnay known as?
Beaunois
What is the parentage of Chardonnay?
Pinot x Gouais Blanc
What is the second most planted grape in Burgundy?
Pinot Noir
approximately 10,500 ha under vine
Morillon and Noirien are past names for which grape variety?
Pinot Noir
What is Gamay’s full name?
Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc
What is the parentage of Gamay?
Pinot x Gouais Blanc
Where is Aligoté featured as a varietal?
Aligoté is usually employed for varietal white wines, particularly in the commune of Bouzeron in the Côte Chalonnaise.
Approximately how many hectares of Sauvignon Blanc are planted in Burgundy?
1500 ha Sauvignon Blanc is planted in the Yonne département in the vineyards of Saint-Bris AOP.
Is Pinot Blanc authorized in AOP wines of Burgundy
Yes
What is a synonym for Pinot Beurot in Burgundy?
Pinot Gris
Name three rare varieties found in the Yonne department.
César, Tressot, and Sacy.
César, a tannic red grape of probable German origin, gives strength and longevity to basic Pinot blends and the reds of Irancy, yet it is only permitted as a minor component in AOP wines. Less than 10 ha remain.
Tressot, a red variety dating from at least the 14th century, descends from Duras and Petite Verdot—rare parentage for the Burgundy region. It is commercially irrelevant, as is Sacy (Saint-Pourçain’s Tressalier grape), a variety authorized only for sparkling wines in Burgundy.
Sacy, like Gamay, Aligoté, Chardonnay, and Melon de Bourgogne, is a Pinot x Gouais Blanc progeny. There is a little Melon left in Burgundy, but it has essentially migrated in whole to its new home in the Loire Valley’s Muscadet region.
What is the average annual production in Burgundy in hectoliters?
1.5 million
What are the four-tiers of the Burgundy appellation system?
Grand Cru
Premier Cru (1er Cru)
Village
Régionale
Régionale wine accounts for what percentage of Burgundy wine production?
50%
Grand Cru wines account for what percentage of the Burgundian wine production?
Less than 2%.
Grand Cru wines only come from the Côte d’Or and Chablis
Premier cru, technically, is not a separate class of AOP; rather, these are legally defined geographic designations for village AOP wines.
What does Coteaux Bourguignons AOP cover?
It covers the same region as Bourgogne AOP but includes Gamay.
Inexpensive blended white and rosé wines are also authorized for the appellation.
What style wine does the Bourgogne Passe-Tout-Grains AOP feature?
Field Blends
Red and rosé wines, modeled on the field blends of the past, are produced throughout the Côte d’Or and southern Burgundy as Bourgogne Passe-Tout-Grains AOP.
Pinot Noir and Gamay account for a minimum 30% and 15% of the blend, respectively, and the two grapes must be vinified together.
Red Passe-Tout-Grains is far more common than rosé.
Which are Burgundy’s two sparkling wine AOPs?
Crémant de Bourgogne AOP and Bourgogne Mousseux AOP
What type of wine is produced by Bourgogne Mousseux AOP?
Bourgogne Mousseux is an older and rarer appellation reserved exclusively for SPARKLING REDS produced via the traditional method—in fact, once the first sparkling wines appeared in Burgundy in the 1820s, it was not uncommon to see sparkling red renditions of many of the famous crus, like Clos de Vougeot or Chambertin.
Pinot Noir and Gamay are considered the principal varieties in general, although César is considered a principal variety in vineyards of the Yonne département.
When did Crémant de Bourgogne AOP debut?
1975
Crémant de Bourgogne debuted in 1975 as an AOP for hand-harvested, traditional method white and rosé sparkling wines, principally produced from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Where (in which commune) is Burgundian cremant production concentrated?
Crémant styles may be made throughout Burgundy, but much production is concentrated in and around the commune of Rully in Saône-et-Loire, where Burgundy sparkling wines were born in the early 19th century. There are around 2,000 total hectares—approximately 1/14th of the entire acreage of Burgundy—declared for sparkling wine production annually.
Within the same village, can premier cru Burgundian grapes be blended?
Yes, within the same village
How man grand cru vineyards are in the Core d’Or?
32
Which is the larges and which is the smallest grand cru vineyard in the cote D’or?
Smallest: La Romanée AOP—which, at 0.85 ha, is the smallest AOP in France.
Largest: Corton AOP, comprising 160 ha
Like premier cru wines, can grapes for grand cru wines from the same village be blended?
No.
Grand cru wines in the Côte d’Or must be produced solely from the single, stated vineyard. A blend of Chambertin AOP and Griotte-Chambertin AOP (two neighboring grand cru appellations in Gevrey-Chambertin) could claim neither AOP as its origin on the label, just as a blend of Gevrey-Chambertin AOP and Vosne-Romanée AOP fruit loses the right to display either appellation on the label. In these two cases, the wines would be “declassified” as Gevrey-Chambertin AOP (with the right to a generic premier crugeographic designation) and Bourgogne AOP, respectively.
Which highway runs roughly parallel to the Côte d’Or’s vineyards?
Route Nationale 74—now the D974—a two-lane highway that runs roughly parallel to the Côte d’Or’s vineyards.
Most village vineyards, all but one premier cru vineyard, and every grand cru appellation in the Côte d’Or is located to the west of the Route Nationale 74
What are chevets?
Water Channels
What are murgers?
murgers are piles of rock removed from the vineyards during tilling
What is a climat?
A Burgundian term used to denote “a parcel of vines defined and named to be associated with the wines it produces”; in other words, a single vineyard in Burgundy. But the modern meaning goes a little deeper: as its homonym le climat—also “climate”—signals, the climats of Burgundy draw from the notion of terroir, and become tracts of land whose wines are shaped not only by location, but by other environmental and manmade conditions particular to the vineyard.
What is a parcel?
A parcel is a single contiguous holding within a vineyard, owned entirely by one grower. Often, domaines may hold several different parcels in the same climat; for instance, Domaine Leflaive owns three separate parcels in the grand cru Bâtard-Montrachet.
What does a Clos indicate?
A clos indicates a vineyard enclosed within a stone wall. While there is temptation to assume that these walls were built with foresight of the vineyard’s exactingly prime location, they are basically medieval fences, originally erected to keep animals away from the vines. Today, Clos de Vougeot is the largest and most famous example. In some, like Chambertin- Clos de Bèze, the walls have long since fallen but the name remains.
What do the terms village, commune and hamlet indicate?
The terms village, commune, and hamlet are used throughout this guide. Village is a bit imprecise, indicating one of the many small towns that dot the Burgundy landscape or the wines produced in village appellations. A commune is an administrative unit of local government encapsulating a town and its immediate surroundings. A hamlet is the smallest form of settlement, often included administratively within the commune of a larger neighboring town. For example, Puligny-Montrachet is a village appellation and a commune, whereas Blagny is a village appellation and a hamlet located within the Puligny-Montrachet commune.
What is the Yonne département’s own departmental IGP?
Yonne IGP
How far back does winemaking date in Burgundy?
Over 2,000 years
The 12th century, “Clos de Cinq Journaux”, is which modern day parcel?
Romanée-Conti
Which was the first powerful group of monks to dominate Burgundy?
The Benedictines. The Cistercian Order later eclipsed the benedictines.
In 910, the Benedictines built their motherhouse—the Abbaye of Cluny—near Mâcon, and from there extended their influence throughout Europe. In the 11th century, it was the most richly endowed, powerful monastery in the western world, and its abbots established a network of smaller, subordinate priories—both in nearby Burgundy and as far afield as Italy and Poland.
Who was Philip the Bold to Burgundy?
A Valois Duke that supported Pinot Noir production.
In 1363 the first of four lords of the House Valois, Philip the Bold, claimed the title and took his seat in Dijon. Under the Valois Dukes Burgundy became a powerful, nearly independent state, enlarged through marriage with lands in the Low Countries. To secure his power, Philip the Bold had good reason to promote Burgundy wines—they were a significant economic resource and a symbol of his reign’s prosperity. According to wine historian Rod Phillips (A Short History of Wine), during this period the wines of Beaune “shot from obscurity to being regarded as the greatest wines of France,” and they were shipped from the Côte d’Or to Paris, Italy, and the papal court in Avignon.
His interest in Pinot Noir as the quality red grape of Burgundy is well documented, and in the summer of 1395 he ordered growers to uproot the “disloyal” Gaamez (Gamay), which appeared in Burgundy only a few decades prior, by the following Easter. In the same ordinance, he advocated the planting of Pinot Noir in Burgundy’s ten best vineyards.
When was Hôtel-Dieu founded and by who?
1443, Nicolas Rolin
In 1443 Nicolas Rolin, Chancellor of Burgundy under Duke Philip the Good, founded the Hôtel-Dieu (“hospital of god”) in Beaune with his wife Guigone de Salins. One of Burgundy’s most recognizable landmarks today, this charity hospital received sick and infirm poor free of charge, from the 1452 until 1971—when patients were moved to modern hospital facilities and the original Hôtel-Dieu building was restored as a museum.
In 1794—during the Revolution—the Hôtel-Dieu and several other religious charities in Burgundy were seized by the state, carrying their charitable missions forward under a new collective banner: les Hospices Civils de Beaune.
How many hectares does les Hospices Civils de Beaune hold?
Today the domaine holds about 60 ha, making the Hospices de Beaune one of the largest vineyard owners in the region. With its harvests the Hospices de Beaune has, since 1859, held an annual wine auction, occurring on the third Sunday of November
Who are Denis Blaise-Morelot and Jules Lavalle?
Denis Blaise-Morelot created the first real classification in the cote d’Or and Jules Lavalle closely followed with a new classification system.
In 1831, Denis Blaise-Morelot completed the first real classification of the Côte d’Or’s climats, only to be supplanted in 1855 by Jules Lavalle’s seminal classification of Burgundy’s wines and vines. Lavalle’s Historie et statistique de la vigne et des grands vins de la Côte-d’Or became the benchmark classification of Burgundy’s climats in the 19th century, and would inform the development of Appellations d’Origine Contrôlées (AOCs) in the early 20th century. Lavalle’s 1855 map of the climats, refined and completed in 1860, established a quality hierarchy for the Côte d’Or’s climats: tête de cuvée (the best plots, subdivided into two echelons), première cuvée, deuxième cuvée, and troisième cuvée.
When did phylloxera first hit the Cote d’Or?
Phylloxera first struck the Côte d’Or at Meursault, in 1878.
In 1375, Philip the Bold requested a shipment of which type of wine for English and French peace negotiators meeting amidst the Hundred Years’ War?
vermeil Pinot (Pinot Noir)
When was Chablis re-linked to Burgundy?
1477
Charles the Bold perished on the battlefield in 1477, without sons, and legal ownership of the Duchy of Burgundy reverted to Louis XI, King of France. As a result of the reunification of the duchy and France, the wines of Chablis were firmly linked to Burgundy.
In Romanee-Conti, where is the “Conti” derived from?
The Prince of Conti
What historical event caused the monasteries in Burgundy to loose their power and control of the land?
The French Revolution
With the French Revolution (1789-1799), widespread seizures of ecclesiastical and aristocratic lands occurred throughout the country; Burgundy was no exception. The great monasteries of the region lost their lands, as did those nobles related to the house of Bourbon, which lost power when revolutionaries overthrew the French monarchy in 1792. (The Prince of Conti, whose name graces the grand cru vineyard Romanée-Conti, was one such disempowered noble.) These once-vast tracts of vineyards sold at public auction, often passing into the hands of multiple owners. Of course, this system simply replaced old wealth—the clergy and aristocrats—with new money, concentrated in the hands of a new middle class, and the peasants still did the work.
What is Fermage?
Fermage is a simple agreement in which the tenant paid cash to lease the land
What is métayage?
A form of sharecropping
Do Fermage and métayage still exist in Burgundy today?
Yes.
For instance, Domaine de la Romanée Conti leases three separate vineyard parcels in Corton AOP (fermage), and Domaine Georges Roumier farms a parcel in Ruchottes-Chambertin AOP owned by Michel Bonnefond, producing the wine for both labels (métayage). Given the insular nature of modern Burgundy, it is often difficult to determine exactly which parcels are owned and which are covered under one long-term lease or another.
What is Primogeniture? Who eliminated it in Burgundy? When?
Primogeniture, the right of the firstborn son to inherit his family’s entire estate, assured that the aristocracy’s holdings remained intact over generations.
The Napoleonic Code, established in 1804, ended this practice in France
What are the basic difference between Domains and Negociant’s in Burgundy?
In the most basic sense, domaines are the properties of winegrowers who produce wines from parcels that they own—a parallel to estate-bottling in the USA. Négociants, on the other hand, are merchants: they purchase fruit, musts or wines, and bottle the finished product under their own labels. Domaines tend to produce smaller lots of individual wines, particularly at the level of Bourgogne AOP and village appellations, as négociants have the option of sourcing from a number of different growers to amass larger quantities of a blend.
Generally, do wines from domains or negociants command higher prices?
Generally, Domains
Domaine wines may have the greater capacity to both enchant and disappoint; négociant wines may be more reliable from year to year.
Do negociants ever own vineyards in Burgundy?
Yes. They can own property as well as purchase grapes.
Which domain/negociant is the largest landowner in the cote d’Or?
The négociant Bouchard Père & Fils, for instance, is actually the largest landowner in the Côte d’Or, with 130 ha of vines under its control.
Joseph Drouhin, another major négociant house, owns over 70 ha of vineyards stretching from Chablis through the Côte Chalonnaise.
Louis Jadot owns over 150 ha, but like Drouhin not all parcels are within the Côte d’Or.
What are micro-négociants?
small negociants that Vignerons who start their own small-scale négociant operations. Dubbed “micro-négociants” by the press, these ambitious producers may lack the capability to buy additional vineyards, but nonetheless want to expand what may be very limited production. Sourced fruit is typically released under a different label; examples include Domaine de Montille’s “Deux Montille” wines and Domaine Dujac’s “Dujac Fils & Père” project.
When did negociants first appear in Burgundy vineyards?
Early 1700’s
A time when many Burgundy vineyards were still in the hands of lords and the Church, and most wine was still sold through brokers, in barrel rather than bottle.
Which were the first two private merchant houses founded in 1720 in Burgundy?
Maison Champy and Maison Claude Marey
Name a few estates who spearheaded domain bottling in Burgundy in the 20th century?
Marquis d’Angerville Tollot-Beaut Henri Gouges Etienne Grivot Armand Rousseau
When did phylloxera strike Chablis?
1887
When did phylloxera strike Morgon (in Beaujolais)
1874
Did the cote d’or or Beaujolais accept grafting with American rootstock to fight phylloxera first?
Beaujolais. Cote d’Or waited until late 1880’s.
When was the Romanée-Conti Grand Cru vineyard replanted with phylloxera resistant root stock?
Not until the 1945 vintage
The owners of Romanée-Conti, for instance, fought the insect with carbon disulfide for decades, and the Romanée-Conti Grand Cru vineyard itself was not uprooted and replanted on resistant rootstocks until after the 1945 vintage.
What does “en foule” indicate in Burgundy vineyards?
“In a crowd” the reference to pre-phylloxera Burgundy plantings that were not neatly planted in a row.
When vineyards were replanted after phylloxera in the cote d’or what was the primary training method?
Single Guyot method is most common in Cote d’Or
Single Guyot method, a cane-pruning system bearing one cane and one spur. Double Guyot training—cane-pruning with two fruiting canes—is infrequently encountered in the Côte d’Or, but in Chablis it is prevalent (whereas the method named for the region, a cane-pruned system known as Taille Chablis, is much more common in neighboring Champagne than in its area of invention). Cordon de Royat, a system of cordon training—in which the vine retains a permanent arm rather than a one-year-old cane—is also encountered in both Chablis and the Côte d’Or. In the crus of Beaujolais, on the other hand, gobelet training remains widespread
In the cote d’Or what row orientation is pervasive? North to South or East to West?
Most rows in the Côte d’Or run along an east-west orientation, trailing up the slope rather than parallel to it. (Clos de Tart, Clos des Lambrays and La Romanée are notable exceptions.)
What are Côte d’Or AOP stipulations for vineyard density?
Côte d’Or AOPs stipulate no fewer than 9,000 plants per hectare, and 1x1 meter spacing (10,000 vines per hectare)
What are Chablis AOP density stipulations?
In Chablis, AOP law requires a minimum density of 5,500 plants to the hectare, and spacing between rows has traditionally been wider than in the Côte d’Or—1.5 or 1.65 meters rather than one. However, modern vineyards are being replanted at higher densities, and it is not uncommon now to see 1x1 meter spacing here, too.
When was the earliest known establishment of a cru vineyard in burgundy?
630 AD, Chambertin Clos de Beze
After WWII what harmful farming methods saw widespread use in Burugndy’s vineyards?
19th- and early 20th-century applications of carbon disulfide—a highly toxic, flammable insecticide —to combat phylloxera foreshadowed a much wider adoption of chemical fertilizers, weed-killers and insecticides following the Second World War. Vignerons returned from the battlefield to rebuild alongside the rising popularity of what is now termed “conventional” agriculture—intensive use of nitrogen-based fertilizers and systemic application of insecticides and fungicides. Decades of heavy chemical treatments ensued; pesticides were applied habitually, for instance, without consideration of an individual season’s actual risk.
What is Lutte Raisonnée?
The “reasoned struggle,” lutte raisonnée is a tempered approach to vineyard management wherein the grower limits chemical applications to times of necessity, rather than spraying recurrently. In 2002, the French Ministry of Agriculture defined raisonnée as a sustainable practice that “enhances the positive impacts of agriculture on the environment and reduces the negative impacts, without jeopardizing the economic viability of farms.”
What is Lutte Intégrée?
If, in addition, the vigneron first uses natural alternatives or methods in place of synthetic ones when combatting pests, they are practicing lutte intégrée—the “integrated struggle.” With this approach, vignerons prefer to employ natural copper- or sulfur- based sprays rather than synthetic ones, and may choose sustainable options like sexual confusion—the release of pheromones to bewilder male insects and decrease their ability to mate—or the release of natural predators as a first line of defense against grapevine pests.
What is Lutte Biologique ?
Organic Viticulture
In Burgundy, some producers take it a step further and forswear the option of synthetic applications entirely, choosing to cultivate organically instead. Some do so without any oversight, but others choose to gain certification, through third-party organizations like Ecocert. At the close of 2012, the BIVB estimates between 8-12% of the entire Burgundy vineyard is cultivated organically (or biodynamically); the number grows each year.
Which domaine was the first in the Côte d’Or to adopt a biodynamic approach?
Domaine Jean-Claude Rateau in 1979
Name two burgundy domaines that take a biodynamic approach.
Domaine Leroy Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Domaine Leflaive Vincent Dauvissat Comtes Lafon Comte Armand
Which recent vintages were greatly effected by rot and mildew in Burgundy?
2007, 2011, 2012
What is court-noué?
Grapevine fanleaf virus. A feared viral contagion in Burgundy that causes significant fruit set loss, stunted vine growth, and yellowing and curling of leaves.
What is the greatest bacterial disease effecting Burgundy currently?
Flavescence Dorée - A disease caused by the spread of phytoplasma, specialized bacteria that are parasitic to plant material. Leafhopper insects spread the bacteria from vine to vine; growth slows, berries shrivel, leaves yellow, and the vine itself may die. Currently there is no cure beyond uprooting the vine and starting anew.
What parallel does Chablis lie on?
48th parallel
What are different methods burgundy Vigneron’s employ to combat frost
Chaufferettes (diesel-burning smudge pots, designed to heat the vines at night) first appeared in Chablis vineyards in the 1950s, but the cost of fuel—both to the vigneron and to the environment—remains high.
Aspersion - vignerons spray vines with water, and hope to protect delicate spring buds in a cocoon of ice, which prevents the temperature inside from plummeting further. But aspersion has its drawbacks, too: water must be applied constantly when the temperature dips below freezing, and blocked/frozen pipes can pose a real challenge.
Heating cables - effective, but expensive.
Heating cables run along the vines and keep the bud zone at a safe temperature when switched on.
When vignerons have to replant, what are their options?
Vignerons can replant with a certified clone (sélection clonale) or propagate with cuttings from various existing vines in the vineyard (sélection massale).
Both approaches have critics and defenders. With clonal selection, one knows exactly what to expect from the vine (and, it is hoped, the wine); with mass selection, greater complexity may result from the array of cuttings, but negative traits can be renewed if the grower is careless in the selection process.
What are the current common rootstocks in the Cote d’Or to plant on?
420A and 3309C are becoming more popular today.
Burgundian vineyards used to be planted on riparia root stock? What have they moved away from this rootstock?
Riparia root stock has a low tolerance to active lime. Since tractors and other machines now turn up the soil and activate the lime the rootstock doesn’t do as well.
When did the first true clones arrive in burgundy?
1971
What’s another name of the original Dijon clones of Pinot Noir?
“Bernard clones” for their creator, Raymond Bernard
Who is Henri Jayer and what is he known for?
Henri Jayer is a Burgundian Vigneron known for bringing modern techniques to Burgundy. For example, Jayer always de-stemmed, he believed in minimal intervention with heavy chemicals.
He believed low yields were the way to great wine.
He also invented the cold soak method and was known to refuse to filter his wines
When does cold soak occur?
It occurs prior to fermentation to avoid spontaneous fermentation.
At what temperature and for how long does cold soak happen at?
10-14 degrees celsius
Red grapes are crushed and kept on their skins at cool temperatures (10-14° C) for days—sometimes a week or more—which, alongside prudent sulfur dioxide additions, preclude the onset of fermentation.
According to advocates for cold fermentation, what are the benefits?
Advocates believe the water solution provides a good environment for extracting color, produces less astringent tannins, and enhances the development of fruit aromatics in the wine. The technique mirrors the slow onset of fermentation that occurs naturally in Burgundy’s cool underground cellars, where yeasts take a few days to get moving.
Where is carbonic and semi-carbonic maceration used? What is the difference between the two?
Often used in Beaujolais.
Carbonic maceration uses the addition of carbon dioxide and generally utilizes a lid and semi-carbonic maceration begins under the weight of the existing grapes, creating carbon dioxide and fermentation.
Semi-carbonic maceration is more common and more often used in Beaujolais.
What are typical flavor descriptors of carbonic maceration?
bubblegum, banana, or “pear-drop”
Is chaptalization allowed and common in Burgundy?
Yes - allowed.
Less and less common due to climate change and subtractive must enrichment
What is subtractive must enrichment?
Subtractive must enrichment, a technique illegal prior to 2009 allows the producer to remove water from the must to concentrate the remainder by a maximum factor of 10%.
Is acidification legal in Burgundy?
Yes
Years of heavy synthetic fertilizer use left high levels of potassium in the soil—potassium will raise pH in red wine macerations—and many growers acidified to combat it. As potassium levels slowly ebb with modern interest in soil health and organic viticulture, the need to acidify actually decreases.
What is bâtonnage? Does it occur in Burgundy?
bâtonnage is lees stirring. It happens in Burgundy in both red and white wine production
True or False:
All red Burgundy undergoes malolactic fermentation, as do most white wines in the Côte d’Or and Chablis
True
Are winemakers in the Côte de Nuits or the Cote de Beaune generally more generous with new wood?
Côte de Nuits
Do you typically see new wood elevage in Beaujolais?
No
What is a tonnellerie?
A Cooper, a barrel maker
What is the most common barrel size in the The traditional barrel size employed in the Côte d’Or?
The traditional barrel size employed in the Côte d’Or is the 228-liter pièce; however, producers are beginning to move to larger-format barrels for Chardonnay: 350- and 400-liter barrels are an ever more common sight in cellars.
In Chablis, what size barrel do most producers use?
228-liter pièce
How large are feuillettes?
132 liters
the smaller feuillettes, which hold 132 liters of wine, remain the official unit of measurement for growers selling wine to négociants but are rare in actual wine production. Few coopers even make feuillettes today.
Chablis lies on the banks of which river?
The Serein River
What are the three appellations of Chablis?
Petit Chablis AOP
Chablis AOP
Chablis Grand Cru AOP
How many communes are in Chablis AOP?
17 communes
Approximately what percentage of Chablis vineyards are harvested by machine?
Approximately 95%
How many Chablis grand cru appellations are there?
1
Chablis grand cru AOP
Name the seven official Chablis Grand Cru geographic designations
Blanchot Les Clos Valmur Les Grenouilles Vaudésir Preuses Bougros
What is the minimum potential alcohol for Chablis Grand Cru AOP?
11%
It’s 10% for Chablis AOP
Are the chablis grand cru climats generally harvested by machine or by hand?
Generally by hand. They’re more or less the only Chablis vineyards harvested by hand
What is the Union des Grands Crus de Chablis?
A private organization whose membership controls roughly half of the Chablis Grand Cru AOP acreage.
Which is widely considered the top Chablis premier cru?
Montée de Tonnerre
The southwest-facing Montée de Tonnerre,
a stone’s throw across the narrow Vallée de Bréchain from Blanchot, is widely considered the top premier cru in Chablis, and in the right hands (Raveneau, Patrick Piuze, Billaud-Simon) it surpasses many less ambitious estates’ grand cru output.
What is the primary soil of the Côte d’Or?
Limestone
Limestone, forged during the Jurassic period, is the building block of the Côte d’Or, and its topsoils typically contain some combination of limestone and clay.
If the limestone content is higher it may be termed argillaceous limestone; if lower, the soil is known as marl or calcareous clay.
In Côte d’Or, what are Combes?
Dry, transverse valleys, carved during the last ice age by melt-water and erosion, which today serve as conduits for both cool breezes and hailstorms. Thousands of years of erosion deposited deep alluvial fans of pebbles and stone at the mouths of the combes, diversifying soil makeup. The combes play a large role in the complexity of the Côte d’Or’s terroir.
What is the northernmost and newest appellation in the Côte de Nuits?
Marsannay
Established in 1987 and encompasses approximately 230ha of vines
What 3 communes does Marsannay cover?
North to South:
Chenôve
Marsannay-La-Côte
Couchey
Is red, white, or rose produced in Marsannay AOP?
All three are allowed. It’s the only AOP in Burgundy that allows for producers to choose to produce all three colors of wine
