Recently my friend and I were enjoying blind tasting a wine as is a typical practice at dinner. After a few moments of careful examination, it was safe to concluded it was from the Old World, likely a 2007, and a Pinot Noir. Yet what [...]

Buffet in Chablis
…. Most of you know what a fabulous experience I had this March in Burgundy, when journalists had a chance to visit the various regions and try wines of many different producers. I really enjoyed my time in Chablis, where I actually got very close to identifying the seven Grand Cru in a [...]

  Today was a tasting of wines from the Cote Chalonnaise at the Tonnellerie de Mercurey. There are four key areas in the Cote Chalonnais. Bouzeron is famous mostly for their Bourgogne Aligote de Bouzeron, a fruity white wine with a clean finish. Most producers [...]

To see Day 2 please click here

To see Day 1 please click here
 
Today was the day to celebrate the Maconnais – one of the sunniest and most southern areas of Burgundy. The soil is limestone here and the wine is high in acidity, but riper than Chardonnay in the North. You can find good value [...]

 
Day 2 of Les Grands Jours de Bourgogne 2010
(to see Day 1, please click here)
To see Day 3 please click here
To See Day 4/5 please click here

People who are new to Burgundy are often amazed at the high price, especially when it comes to the red wines of the Cote de Nuits. Yet when [...]

10th Edition Les Grands Jours De Bourgogne
Wine friends, I’ve been obsessed with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir since my visit to Burgundy to take part in the Les Grand Jours De Bourgogne – a very exciting week in the lives of journalists and trade professionals, and of course the winemakers throughout Burgundy. This was my second [...]

… so it’s not often that one has dinner in a space that was formerly a stable.  That is, unless one is in Burgundy where the chic restaurant Ma Cuisine is built on the grounds of a former royal stable, and the very warm and welcoming home of negociant Becky Wasserman — in a charming [...]

Sunshine so brilliant greeted our arrival in Chablis for this week long "fete" to showcase the treasures of Burgundy it was in direct contrast to the rain and chill of two years prior, where umbrellas and coats were necessary to protect against the winter chill.
One of the hazards of being a wine educator and writer [...]

Erwan Faiveley flanked by celebrity chefs
1st Cru winemakers and Michelin rated chefs from Dijon, the major city near Burgundy, gathered together in Manhattan this week to celebrate a week-long celebration of the creativity and vitality of Dijon.

Nuits saint georges
At a reception for journalists, winemakers set up tables with their best 1st Cru, and the famous [...]

Jean Marie de Champs with her Rose Guy Charlemagne Champagne
On a recent visit to Burgundy for the Hospice du Beaune I was so delighted to meet one of its top negociants, Jean-Marie de Champs of Domaines et Saveurs Collection. If you love fine wine – yet have never been to Burgundy – your second surprise [...]

For Burgundy lovers, it is like seeing precious diamonds everywhere you look — all the famous names right there, beckoning you to try them. I spend some serious time looking at the list of wines and discovering my plan of attack. In addition to the press and trade, local citizens can also enter for about 24 euros each. They seem extremely excited to be here, both to taste the wine and be a part of this very important event surrounding the auction.

Chocolate and Wine — A Perfect Match
Do you like chocolate? If so, you may be curious to know that it pairs very well with wine — especially wine from Burgundy. Here I am, on the kind of gray overcast day that makes the charming city of Beaune even more mysterious, about to attend a chocolate [...]

Nellie Blau Picard in center
Have you ever wondered what it is like to attend the oldest and possibly most prestigious wine auction in the history of the world? Well, I am right here at the center of action in Burgundy at the festivities leading up to the Hospices de Beaune auction.
I just finished a fantastic [...]

 “One of the challenges in the region is creating international awareness that wine from Burgundy can be enjoyed every day, not just for special occasions,” explains a representative from the region. And it’s true – though Burgundy is known for its Grand Cru wines that sell for tens of thousands of dollars a case and [...]

Celebrations surround Hospice de Beaune in Burgundy, France, quite possibly the longest running wine auction in the history of the world. Funds raised are used to support the hospital (known as the Hôtel-Dieu) which received its first patient on 1st January 1452. In the last sixty years, however, the level of bidding is seen as an indicator of the prices growers and negociants can get for their wine.

Today marks my first day in the Jura, a remote and very historical area of France known for its famed Vin Jaune wines. Like Burgundy, Jura offers the international Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, yet it also offers the white Savagnin and two delicious red grapes, Trousseau and Poulsard.
As the region is just two hours’ drive [...]

Quick! When you think of Burgundy wine, what is the first thing that comes to mind? “Expensive” is one possible word. Everyone around the world has heard about the famous tiny vineyards where wines can sell for hundreds of dollars…