Burgundy Flashcards
Brief History of Burgundy
- Archaeological evidence suggests productions dates back to 1st century BC following the Romans conquest of Gaul.
- The first burgundians - Germanic Barbarians arrived in 5th Century as the Roman empire crumbled and embraced viticulture.
- Post that the catholic church rose as powerful and became center for political and cultural activities. They promoted viticulture - The Benedictine order.
- The cistercians an offshoot of the Benedictine order rose to prominance in 12th Century and acquired land in Burgundy ; modern day clos de vougeot and other grand crus. They converted most of the well known vineyards of Burgundy in 14th century.
- By the mid 15th century - winemaking flourished and became powerful and exports rose.
Post 15th Century Burgundy.
- Valois Duke who ruled till 1363 recognized the importance of viticulture and made attempts to control quality.
- Philip the bad ordered Gamay grapes to ripped in favor of lower yielding and superior Pinot Noir and Philip the good promoted hillside viticulture.
Wine world’s most historic and recognizable charity.
The Hospices de Beaune.
- Founded by Nicolas Rolin in 1443.
- The charitable hospital provided free respite to the poor in the a plague-ridden era.
- In time it became the benefiary of donated vineyards in and around Beaune.
- Hospices de Beaune wine auction is held year on the third sunday of November with proceeds benefitting the sick.
- Domaine of Hospices De Beaune has become one of the largest vineyards ownders in the Cote de Beaune.
Describe early 18th century in Burgundy.
- Vineyards transitioned from eccelesiastical to private ownership following the annexation of Burgundy by France.
- Noblemen and Churchmen saw thier lands seized and auctioned as a result of political upheaval.
- in 1804, Napolean issues the Napoleonic code, requring inheritances to be split equally among heirs.
- This code over time fractured vineyards owndership over time and laid the foundation for the division of Burgudy holdings.
- Today’s vineyards are a patchwork; Clos de Vougeot alone claims over 80 growers.
Explain how negociants rose to power.
Following the Napolenic code; growers relied on negociants to handle the costs of actually making and marketing vines.
- The first houses appeared in the 18th century and capitalized uopn the fragmentation in the following century.
- Negociants were uniquely suited to the challenge of fractured vineyard ownership.
- They purchased small lots of grapes or wine and combined them to make a commercially viable product.
- The growers were Bourgeoisie; and negociants controlled the sale of Burgundy untill domaine bottling began in 1920s.
Bourgeoisie in Burgundy.
The growers. They leased land to farmers in metayage or fermage arrangements.
Define Negociants.
Winemakers ; who collected wine or grapes from different parcels and aged/bottled under the negociant name.
Explain Meteyage.
Sharecropping. This is a system of land tenure wherby the cultivator uses the land without owning it and pays rent to the owner. The Meteyer’s family permanently occupies the land that it work in.
Explain Fermage.
Leasing or Rent. The amount of rent payable under a fermage is calculated on a hectrolitre per hectre basic and differs from one appellation to another.
Negociants vs Domaine.
Negociants are still prevelant however many domaines have started producing own wines.
- Negociant tends to be less expensive; access to fruit allows for correction in off years; less exciting.
- Domaines typically produce less wine overall; more expressive and expensive.
Neogciants of Burngundy.
Nuit St Georges negociant Maison Faiveley sources nearly 80% of its fruit from the family domaine.
Bourchard Pere et Fils is the largest landowner in Cote d’Or with 130 hectares of vines under its control.
Wineries that produce Domaine and Negociants wines?
Domaine Leroy, Dujac Pere et Fils and Hubert de Montille
Geography of Burgundy
- Western edge of the Saone River Plain
- Eastern Slops 400-500 meters in Elevation
- Jurassic Limestone and Clay
Saone River Plain filled with nitrogen-rich, humid clay soils which are bad for vines so vineyard less than 2kns wide.
Vines rarel ascend higher than 400 meters in elevation.
What are Combes?
A significant geological feature of Burgundy. These are dry, transvere valleys carved about during the last ice age by water and erosion. Today act as channels for both cool breezes and hailstorms. Thousands of years of erosion deposited deep alluvial fans of pebbles and stone at the mouth of combes.
