Burgundy Wines Short Course - Food and Beverage Service Training #20

Welcome to the Basics of Burgundy course. In this course, we'll be exploring one of the most important wine regions on earth, where there are more famous and expensive wines per square mile than anywhere else in the world. In this lesson, we're going to learn about the location of Burgundy, the history of Burgundy, and the climate and soil of Burgundy. Let's start with the location of Burgundy. Burgundy is a province in the central eastern region of France. The French word for Burgundy is Bourgogne. So if you see this word anywhere, you know it just means Burgundy. It is made up of a few distinct wine growing areas. The furthest north of these areas are the vines of Chablis. About a hundred kilometres south lies the famous wine growing area known as the Côte d'Or, a 50 kilometre long slope that is broken up into two regions, the Côte de Nuit and the Côte de Beaune. Just south of the Côte d'Or are both the Côtes Chalonnaises and the Maconaises. Within these areas, about 300 square kilometres of vines are planted, nearly all of these being either Pinot Noir or Chardonnay. Next let's take a look at the history of Burgundy. Wine has been made in Burgundy for nearly 2,000 years, but it was only in the Middle Ages that work on the vines began in earnest. The heroes of early Burgundy were the Catholic monks who lived and farmed here. The learned monks had the time, experience and skill to experiment with different vineyards and record everything they learnt. They discovered that where a grape grows makes a big difference to its quality and that each wine should reflect where it comes from, a concept the French called terroir. Modern Burgundy, producing wines mostly made from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, really only began in the 1700s. One of the strange characteristics about Burgundy which can make it very difficult to understand is the complex laws around land ownership. Up until the French Revolution, the church owned most of the vineyards in Burgundy. From 1791, the vineyards were sold off and it was common to have one vineyard split between several different owners. Since then, the ownership has become even more fragmented because of a French law that says children must receive an equal inheritance. Some vineyard plots, or climats as they are known in Burgundy, can be owned by so many different people that each may only own a few rows of vines each. It is for this reason that the négociant is so important in Burgundy. A négociant buys wine in barrels from growers who own vines and only make a small amount of it themselves. He then blends this wine, adding his name to the wine label and finished product. Today, with prices for Burgundy rising every year, there are more and more vine growers who are bottling their own wines. Next, let's look at the climate and soil of Burgundy. As Burgundy is so far north, it means that it has very cold winters and cooler summers than most other wine-growing regions. In some years, this can result in grapes finding it difficult to ripen properly. It is because of these conditions that early ripening grape varieties such as Pinot Noir and Chardonnay do so well here. The soil in Burgundy is also very important to the high quality of wine made here. About 200 million years ago, Burgundy was part of a massive tropical sea. The deposits from this ancient sea created the limestone soils of Burgundy, which are rich in calcium from fossilized shellfish. The combination of these limestone soils, plus the limestone mixed with clay, allows these vines to produce perfectly balanced grapes. Winemakers in Burgundy are extremely fortunate, not just to have soils that are perfect for growing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, but that these soils are on hills and slopes that get just the right amount of sunlight for the grapes to ripen properly. What this means is that each truly good wine from Burgundy is trying to express these different soil and climate formations. It is for this reason that in Burgundy the wines are not labeled as Pinot Noir or Chardonnay, but rather as the area or vineyard where the grapes come from. This is because each area or vineyard will have its own particular characteristics, based on the combination of both soil and climate. In this lesson we learnt about the location of Burgundy, the history of Burgundy, and the climate and soil of Burgundy. Perhaps the most difficult part about understanding Burgundy is being able to figure out what sort of wine you will get just by looking at the label. If it is a red wine, you are almost certain to be drinking Pinot Noir, and if it is a white wine, Chardonnay. However, from there it all gets a little more complicated. To help make it clearer, in this lesson we are going to learn about the French Appellation System and the four classifications of wines in Burgundy. Let's start with the French Appellation System. France has a system of designating and controlling the geographically based names of her wines. Under this system, they don't call wines by the name of the variety, but by the place from where the grapes are grown. This system is called the Appellation d'origine contrôlée or AOC. It's like giving the wine a passport, Americans are born in America, the English in England and Chablis wines in Chablis. Every Appellation is regulated and only allowed to plant certain varieties and follow rules that govern how the vines are tended and how the wine is made. Only if these rules are followed can the name of the Appellation, the place, be printed on the wine label. In Burgundy alone, there are over 100 different Appellations. Each one refers to a specific area that can be as broad as the whole of Burgundy or specific as a single vineyard. The wines produced in these Appellations are divided into four levels of quality. Now let's look at the four classifications of wines in Burgundy. Imagine an apartment building with 10 floors. And the higher up you go, the better and more luxurious the apartments become. Now if all the wine Burgundy produces every year had to move into this apartment building, it would fit in as follows. On the bottom five floors would be regional wines. These wines are the first level of quality in Burgundy. Regional wines make up 50% of all the wine produced here and the grapes used for these wines can come from all over Burgundy. The wines are fresh, light and simple, meant for early drinking. Village wines. The next level of quality are the village wines. These wines take up the next four floors of our Burgundy apartment. The AOC restrictions are stricter here and the wines better. The wines are named after the town that is near to where the grapes are grown. So a Chambol Moussigny is a wine made from grapes grown around the village of Chambol Moussigny. Both the Chardonnays and Pinot Noir village wines are more complex than the regional wines. Premier Cru. On the top floor of the Burgundy building are the Premier Cru wines, which account for just 10% of all wines made in Burgundy. These wines come from specific vineyards from particular villages. These special vineyards have been identified as producing top quality Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes. Both the Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays from these vineyards age for longer, have better soils and are more complex than village and regional wines. Grand Cru. In the penthouse of the Burgundy building, making up a tiny 1% of all the wines made in Burgundy, are the wines from the Grand Cru vineyards. These are the rock stars of Burgundy. There are only 33 Grand Cru vineyards in the entire region. These 33 vineyards have been identified as the very best in Burgundy and the wines they produce are some of the most complex, longest lived and expensive wines in the world. To recap, in this lesson we learnt about the French Appellation system and the four classifications of wines in Burgundy. In the next lesson we are going to learn about the different regions in Burgundy, where all these vineyards come from. In this lesson we are going to take an introductory look at the 5 major wine regions of Burgundy. In the first lesson we learnt that we can break Burgundy into 5 major grape growing areas. Let's take a closer look at each one and the sort of wines they produce. These are Chablis, the Côte de Nuit, the Côte de Beaune, the Côte Chalonnaise and Maconais. Let's start with Chablis. Chablis is the northernmost area for grapes in Burgundy and is famous for its zippy and steely Chardonnays. You can remember this by thinking how the further up north you go, the colder it gets. And Chablis' fresh and vibrant flavour is like taking a breath of crisp and cool morning air. Also, the cooler an area, the more acidity and therefore freshness a wine will have. Chablis has plenty of both. Côte de Nuit. South-east of Chablis and at the northern end of the Côte d'Or is the Côte de Nuit, home to some of the world's most famous Pinot Noir vineyards. The Pinot Noirs from the Côte de Nuit are richer, bigger and live longer than other red Burgundies because the limestone soil they grow in is rich in clay. Côte de Beaune. The next area going south is the Côte de Beaune, which produces very good red wines but is better known for its rich and intense Chardonnays. The Grand Cru vineyards here produce the kings of white wine. Some experts say that these are not simply the best Chardonnays in the world but the best dry white wines specifically. The few Pinot Noirs made here are lighter and more fragile than those made in the Côte de Nuit. Côte Chalonnaise. If we carry on travelling south, the next region we arrive at is the Côte Chalonnaise. There are good Chardonnays in this part of Burgundy but you can also find wines made from Burgundy's other white grape, Aligoté. The best wines made from Aligoté are found in and around the village of Bouzeron. These wines smell of flowers, limes and a little bit of honey. Mâconné. The Mâconné region is the largest wine-growing area in Burgundy and the furthest south. The climate here is considerably warmer and the grapes ripen a full two weeks earlier than in Chablis. White wine accounts for 90% of wine produced in this area, all of it Chardonnay. This warmer climate suits the Chardonnay grape and it produces wines that taste of apple, peach and pineapple. The red wines of the area are made from the Gamay Noir grape. These are easy-drinking red wines, meant for early drinking and have the flavours of raspberries, black pepper and cherries with soft and gentle tannins. Well done on learning about the five major wine regions of Burgundy. In the next lesson we'll focus on Burgundian Chardonnay in more detail. As we've already learnt, almost all the white wine in Burgundy is made from Chardonnay. Burgundy is truly the home of this grape variety and for many people it makes the best dry white wine in the world. To learn more about Chardonnay in Burgundy, we're going to focus on the taste of white Burgundy, the Cote d'Or and Chablis. Let's start with the taste of white Burgundy. The Chardonnays in the Cote d'Or are generally fermented in oak barrels for up to a year, sometimes two. Once fermentation is complete, the wine is left on some of the lees. Lees is the leftover yeast cells from fermentation. In Burgundy it is tradition to stir up some of the lees in the wine while it is ageing in oak. This prevents too much oak flavour being passed into the wine, as well as giving the wine a richer, rounder texture. The best Chardonnays in Burgundy are known for their intensity, combining a complex mix of smoky, toasty, buttery and nutty elements with a firm acidity that holds the wine together. The wines manage to be broad, rich and generous, while remaining bright and fresh. It's this combination of power and elegance that makes the white Burgundy so special. Now let's focus on the wine from the Cote d'Or. We already know that the Cote d'Or is broken up into the Cote de Nuit and the Cote de Beaune. While both areas produce red and white wines, the white wines of the Cote de Beaune are better known, so let's go through these areas in more detail. Starting in the south, we'll move up from the bottom of the Cote de Beaune, identifying the important villages known for making great white Burgundy. The first major white wine village is that of Chassin Montrachet. The wines are all made from Chardonnay and are known to be golden and succulent, with aromas of flowers, hazelnuts and honey. The word Montrachet has become known as a signature for excellent white Burgundy. Moving north, there are even more brilliant white wines to be found in Pouligny Montrachet. Here there are a handful of Grand Cru vineyards. The wines from this area are known to be more intense, as if their volume has been turned up. Some say the white wines from Pouligny Montrachet are the best in Burgundy. The next area we move into, just north of Pouligny Montrachet, is Meursault. Typical of Burgundy, even this small distance sees a distinction in flavour. While Meursault does not have any Grand Cru vineyards, its white wines are generally that of a high standard, and its Premier Crus are truly excellent. These wines are known for their buttery and oatmeal-like flavours. The white wines around Beaune, the central town south of the Côte d'Or, are excellent, but the most famous are the white wines grown on a hill just south of the town, called Corton. The Grand Cru, named Corton Charlemagne, is a forceful, rich and decadent wine. If we travel further north, we will move into the Côte de Nuit, which produces only the occasional white wine, as it is mostly known for its red wines, which we will cover in the next lesson. Next let's take a look at Chablis. Nowhere else in the world is Chardonnay made in such a steely, tight and refreshing style than Chablis. The wines produced here are truly a unique expression of Chardonnay. Around the town of Chablis, 10,000 acres of Chardonnay have been planted. The soil here is called Cameridgian limestone. It has a white, chalky texture that is good at reflecting the sun onto the vines. This is important, as Chablis is so far north that the grapes can struggle to ripen. The soil also gives the wines a purity and crispness that Chablis is known for. A big difference between Chablis and the Chardonnays of the Côte d'Or is that not all Chablis wines are matured or fermented in oak. This changes from producer to producer, but generally the wines of Chablis have less oak influence and generally taste of limes, lemons and have an equally fresh acidity. To recap, in this lesson we learnt about the taste of White Burgundy, the Côte d'Or and Chablis. Enjoy serving these wonderful Chardonnays to your guests. Pinot Noir has been called the heartbreak grape. Some of the finest wines can be made from it, but because the wines it produces are delicate and sensitive, many winemakers' hearts have been broken trying to achieve greatness, only to end up with simple, acidic and plain wines. To learn more about Pinot Noir in Burgundy, we are going to focus on the taste of Red Burgundy and the red wines of the Côte d'Or. Let's start with the taste of Red Burgundy. As the Pinot Noir grapes have such thin skins, the wines are lighter in colour, body and tannins than most other red wines. However, even though Pinot Noirs can look light and insubstantial, the best Pinot Noirs have structure, complexity, intense fruit flavours and aromas seldom found in wines made from other grapes. This contradiction, famously described as being like an iron fist in a velvet glove, is what makes Pinot Noir so special. This is best expressed in Burgundy, and particularly in the Côte d'Or. Young Red Burgundy can almost smell sweet, with typical aromas of raspberries, cherries and a hint of mushrooms. When they get older, the best Pinot Noirs develop a silky smooth texture, the fruit flavours deepen and the wines take on a savoury, almost meaty character, along with aromas of leather, mushrooms and earth. Next, let's take a look at the red wines of the Côte d'Or. Just like in the last lesson, we'll start right at the bottom of the Côte de Beaune and make our way north into the Côte de Nuit, focusing on the important villages of the Côte d'Or. There are many areas in the Côte de Beaune that produce Pinot Noir, some of which are excellent, but the first well-known and important area is around the village of Volnay, just south of Beaune. Volnay produces the lightest reds in the Côte de Beaune. They are soft, delicate and perfumed, with a very pale red colour. These elegant Pinot Noirs generally taste of cherry, spice and herbs. Just north of Volnay is the village of Pomar. Pomar is a great example of how the wines of Burgundy can change even though the vineyards are so close together. The clay soils in Pomar produce wines that are bigger-bodied and more tannic. So if tasting the wines of Volnay is like listening to gentle, classical music, Pomar is more like hearing loud, classic rock. The only red Grand Cru vineyards in the Côte de Beaune are in the Appellation of Corton, named after the hill on which the vineyards are planted. The wines made in Corton are famous for their density, richness and ability to age for many, many years. The big, tannic Pinot Noirs found here are generally described as tasting of violets, red berries and earth. If we travel north out of the Côte de Beaune and into the Côte de Nuit, we enter serious red wine country. In fact, when it comes to the Pinot Noir universe, the Côte de Nuit is at its center. Compared with the red wines of Volnay and Beaune, the wines in the Côte de Nuit are deeper-colored, longer-living and show the richness and intensity of Pinot Noir best of all. Starting from the south, the first major area is Nuit Saint-Georges, named as usual in Burgundy after the village the vineyards surround. While there are no Grand Cru vineyards here, the excellent Premier Cru vineyards make wines with aromas of blackcurrants, cherries and earthy mushrooms. The next village north is Vaune Romanie, around which there is a large concentration of Grand Cru vineyards. The most famous vineyards of Red Burgundy, such as Romanie-Conti, La Tache, Le Richebourg and Grand Echezot are here. They grow Pinot Noir grapes in clay-rich soils, producing wines that are opulent and very complex, with a characteristic array of exotic spices such as nutmeg and cloves. Just north is the village of Chambord-Mousigny. The wines made around this village, including a number of Grand Crus, are some of the most complex Pinot Noirs you can find. When they are young, they are muscular, weighty and tough to drink, but as they age they reveal huge depth of flavor and complexity, fanning out over the drinker's tongue like a peacock's tail feather. The commune of Moray-Saint-Denis also has a number of Grand Cru vineyards, and while it is sometimes forgotten amongst its more famous neighbors, its Pinot Noirs are well structured and elegant. Finally at the northern end of the Côte de Nuit, we reach Giveret-Chambertin. This large area has much land that is excellent for growing Pinot Noir. Also, depending on where the vineyards are located, the style of Pinot Noir can vary across the commune. However, it is at its best in the Grand Cru vineyards, where it is known for being very intense, concentrated and elegant. In this lesson we learnt about the taste of Red Burgundy and the red wines of the Côte d'Or. Congratulations on learning more about Red Burgundies! In the next lesson we are going to learn about how to better serve wines from Burgundy to your guests. In this lesson we are going to be looking at some ways that will help you better sell Burgundy to your guests. We are going to look at understanding a Burgundy label and key stories to help sell Burgundy. Let's start with understanding a Burgundy label. Whenever you are serving wine, it is always important to be prepared. This means knowing which wines are on your list and knowing a bit of information about each of them, so that you can confidently recommend them to your guests. By learning how to read a wine label from Burgundy, you will also be better prepared to sell and recommend wines from this region. As we have already learnt, there are four levels of quality in Burgundy. Can you remember what they are? These are Regional Wines, Village Wines, Premier Cru and Grand Cru. Well done! Let's look at how each one is represented on a wine label. If the wine is of the most basic level of quality, a Regional Wine, you will see the These are the only wines in Burgundy where the name of the grape is sometimes also on the label, like this 2009 Bourgogne Chardonnay made by Olivier Le Fleuve. The next level of quality is a Village Wine or Appellation Communale. This means the wine is named after the village where the vines are grown. To determine if the wine is a Village Wine, look at the name, usually in the largest type. Let's look at this example, the 2010 Le Trezin Pouligny Montrachet made by Jean-Claude Boisset. Is the word Bourgogne or the name of the grape variety on the label? No. Ok, so then this is not a Regional Wine. Do you see Premier Cru or Grand Cru anywhere on this label? No, so it can't be Premier Cru or Grand Cru. Based on what you see, but more importantly what you do not see, we know this is a Village Wine and that the grapes all come from this one village. We also know that the grapes come from a single vineyard, called Le Trezin. If the grapes came from a number of vineyards from around the village, the label only has the village name, like this Gervais Chambertin from Joseph Drouhin. The next level of quality is the Premier Cru. This should be the easiest to recognize because the label will either say Premier Cru or One Here Cru. Premier Cru wines will also tell us where in Burgundy the wine comes from. Let's take a look at this wine, the 2010 Les Terres Blanches, Nuit Saint-Georges Premier Cru, made by Domaine de Pedris. The grapes come from a single vineyard named Les Terres Blanches, close to the village of Nuit Saint-Georges, and the wine was made by Domaine de Pedris, and the grapes were harvested in 2010. The final and highest level of quality is Grand Cru. These wines will be very easy to spot, as the words Grand Cru will be clearly visible on the label. There will never be a mention of the village where the vineyard is located on a Grand Cru wine. For example, here is a 2007 Clos de Vouges Grand Cru. The reason the village is not mentioned is because the vineyard itself, no matter how small, has its own unique characteristics, distinct from the village. Finally, the label will also tell you which vintage or year the wine was made in. Guests will generally want to check all of these aspects when you bring the wine to the table. If you are able to know them and recite them to the guest without having to look at the bottle, this is excellent service. Well done, now let's look at some of the key stories to help sell Burgundy. The wines of Burgundy are some of the best known in the world, but as we have seen they can also be quite confusing. Some guests will know huge amounts about Burgundy, but others might not even know what the wines are made of. One of the best ways to sell more Burgundy is if a guest asks for a Chardonnay or a Pinot Noir. You can now suggest that they have a Burgundy instead. Tell your guests that this is one of the greatest regions in the world for these two grapes. Another great way to sell more Burgundy is to recommend it based on the food your guests order. White Burgundy is a perfect match for chicken dishes with white sauces, and rich seafood dishes such as scallops and lobster. If the guests will be eating a lighter fish dish such as red snapper, trout or oysters, the similarly fresh and crisp taste of a Chablis will be the perfect recommendation. Some of the best foods to complement a red Burgundy are white meats such as chicken or pork which are served with a red sauce such as coq au vin. Dishes that have a base of mushrooms are another great match for red Burgundies, as many of the wines have a flavor of mushroom as well. Finally, if the guests are eating game dishes such as rabbit and duck, these will also complement the savory flavors found in red Burgundies. Congratulations on completing the Basics of Burgundy course and learning about how to better serve the wines of Burgundy to your guests.