Drinking up Burgundy's Delights
By Rick Steves
No need to imagine Burgundy's French dreamscape. View for yourself the region of wine, cuisine, and countryside known as Burgundy. Only a small part of Burgundy's land is covered by vineyards, but wine making is what the region does best. Along with Bordeaux, Burgundy is why France is famous for wine. Every village produces its own distinctive vintage; road maps read like fine wine lists.
You'll feel comfortable right away in Beaune, Burgundy's fun-loving wine capital, where life centers around the production and consumption of the prestigious, expensive Côte d'Or wines. Côte d'Or means "golden hillsides," and they are a spectacle to enjoy in late October as the leaves of the vineyards turn colors. A compact, prosperous little city of 25,000, Beaune cups a handful of interesting monuments and vineyards on its doorstep. All roads and activities converge on Beaune's perfectly French place Carnot, as do the Wednesday and Saturday markets.
Visit the Hôtel Dieu, a Flamboyant Flemish/Gothic charity hospital built after the devastating Hundred Years' War and Black Death left more than 90 percent of the town's population destitute. Nicholas Rolin, chancellor of Burgundy and a peasant by birth, had to do something for "his people." In 1443, he paid to build the hospital, which was completed in a record eight years.
Collégiale Notre Dame, built in the 12th and 13th centuries, is a good example of Romanesque architecture. View the 15th-century tapestries, a variety of stained glass, and frescoes depicting the life of Lazarus.
You don't have to like wine to appreciate the Museum of the Wine of Burgundy. The history and culture of Burgundy and wine were fermented in the same bottle. Wander into the courtyard for a look at the duke's palace (which houses the museum), an intriguing model of 15th-century Beaune, antique winepresses, and artifacts of Burgundian wine history — but no tasting.
Countless opportunities do exist in Beaune (for a price) for you to learn the fine points of Burgundy's wine. Many small wine shops offer free tastings (with the expectation that you'll buy) and several large cellars (caves) charge an entry fee, allowing you to taste a variety of wines (with less expectation that you'll buy). Beaune's wine smorgasbord, the Marché aux Vins, is the best way to sample its impressive wines. You pay around $15 for a wine-tasting cup (yours to keep) and get 45 minutes to sip, although the time limit is rarely enforced — especially if you look like a serious buyer. Plunge into the labyrinth of candlelit caves dotted with 18 barrels, each offering a new tasting experience.
While the Marche aux Vins is the ultimate wine-tasting experience, you may want to sample other cellars on self-guided tours or minibus excursions to nearby vineyards. Look for Dégustation Gratuite (free tasting) signs. The French term for headache, in case you slosh through too many degustations, is mal de tête.
Get out into the countryside to see Burgundy's sights. Eight miles from Beaune, the splendid, pint-sized castle of Château de la Rochepot rises above the trees and its village. Cross the drawbridge and knock three times with the ancient knocker to enter. Inside, the kitchen will bowl you over. Look for the 15th-century highchair in the dining room. Climb the tower and see the Chinese room, sing chants in the resonant chapel, and make ripples in the well.
The churches of Brancion and Chapaize owe their existence and architectural design to the nearby once-powerful Cluny Abbey. Brancion's nine-building hamlet floats on a hill with the purest example of Romanesque architecture I've seen — a 12th-century church with faint frescoes, a charming chateau, and a 15th-century market hall.
The white cows you see everywhere are Charolais. They make France's best beef and end up in delicious boef bourguignonne. Burgundian cuisine — considered by many to be France's best — is peasant cooking elevated to an art. Several classic dishes were born here, including coq au vin (chicken stewed in red wine) and escargots bourguignonne (snails served sizzling hot in garlic butter).
For lots more information, check out our best-selling Rick Steves' France guidebook — or join us on one of our free-spirited France tours!